--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the problems with watching TV is…" description: "\"One of the problems with watching TV is that you've got a fairly low level of language operating all the time. Quite a small vocabulary and really no c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/jeanette-winterson-166_abstract_one-of-the-problems-with-watching-tv-is_1155407.png" --- # One of the problems with watching TV is that you've got a… ![“One of the problems with watching TV is that you've got a fairly low level of language operating all the time. Quite a small vocabulary and really no conceptual or abstract thinking. That's an issue. If you've got a wide vocabulary, you can learn. The complexities of grammar, in themselves, force…” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/jeanette-winterson-166_abstract_one-of-the-problems-with-watching-tv-is_1155407.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/jeanette-winterson-166_abstract_one-of-the-problems-with-watching-tv-is_1155407.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f20/jeanette-winterson-166_abstract_one-of-the-problems-with-watching-tv-is_1155407.png) > “One of the problems with watching TV is that you've got a fairly low level of language operating all the time. Quite a small vocabulary and really no conceptual or abstract thinking. That's an issue. If you've got a wide vocabulary, you can learn. The complexities of grammar, in themselves, force you to think about time in a particular way. Force you to widen your outlook on the world.” [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She critiques television for limiting language development, arguing that a richer vocabulary expands conceptual thinking and temporal awareness. **In simple terms:** TV limits language growth. Key Takeaway Seek diverse language experiences. Themes education language cognition Mood analytical inquisitive Type educational reflective When to use this quote - reading - learning new languages - creative writing Key Concepts linguistics media studies critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape thought? - What activities broaden your vocabulary? A Different Perspective TV can also provide educational content. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract/) [Abstract thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstract-thinking/) [Complexity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexity/) [Grammar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grammar/) [Issues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/issues/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Outlook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlook/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) [Watching tv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/watching-tv/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [It's been interesting how kids have had hardly any problems watching it, but adults have more trouble. This happened way back even with Jabberwocky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-gilliam/it-s-been-interesting-how-kids-have-had-hardly-any-problems-watching/) [Terry Gilliam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-gilliam/) > [“Not a hunch. A fact. Some small, trivial fact. What was it? Could it be the answer? Something was bothering me terrifically. I tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-spillane/not-a-hunch-a-fact-some-small-trivial-fact-what-was-it-could-it-be/) [Mickey Spillane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-spillane/) > [Critical thinking is not something you do once with an issue and then drop it. It requires that we update our knowledge as new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/critical-thinking-is-not-something-you-do-once-with-an-issue-and-then/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [The best language is always found in books because it's considered. It's a high language. Sometimes, it is complex and difficult. It's empowering and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/the-best-language-is-always-found-in-books-because-it-s-considered-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“He wasn't normally conscious of it, but there was one part of his body that was extremely sensitive, somewhere along his back. This soft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/he-wasn-t-normally-conscious-of-it-but-there-was-one-part-of-his-body/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I think, first and foremost ,Marie Antoinette was intellectually impoverished. 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The categories are listed below along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-wylie/there-are-three-categories-of-criteria-that-an-individual-must-meet/) [Philip Wylie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-wylie/) > [Art - when it is really doing what it should do - teaches abstract thinking; it teaches teamwork; it teaches people to actually think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-t-jones/art-when-it-is-really-doing-what-it-should-do-teaches-abstract/) [Bill T. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-t-jones/) > [“The brain works in a holistic, cooperative way that makes our basest desire or most abject fear as expressive of who we are as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-amerland/the-brain-works-in-a-holistic-cooperative-way-that-makes-our-basest/) [David Amerland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-amerland/) ## More by Jeanette Winterson > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. 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What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. 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It's sort of an abstract silliness, that sometimes the joke isn't the star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-carvey/describing-comic-sensibility-is-near-impossible-it-s-sort-of-an/) [Dana Carvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-carvey/) > [For people of color - especially African Americans - the idea that racist cops might frame members of their community is no abstract notion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/for-people-of-color-especially-african-americans-the-idea-that-racist/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [The word of the Lord never comes to us as an opinion, no attempt is made to support it by argument, it comes as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-w-ivins/the-word-of-the-lord-never-comes-to-us-as-an-opinion-no-attempt-is/) Anthony W. Ivins > [A mobile is an abstract sculpture made chiefly out of sheet metal, steel rods, wire and wood. 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