Question of the Month 18: Why Was the Television Invented?

Retro red television on wood table

Television had long been a distant dream for many inventors and engineers. Numerous attempts were made, and the mission to make it possible started well over 100 years before the name ‘television’ was even conceived. By the time the dream became a reality in the mid-1930s, there had already been well over 50 serious proposals for television and, up until the 1920s, ‘television’ had been referred to by many other names we would not recognise today: Radiovision, Seeing by Wireless, Distant Electric Vision, Telephonoscope and so on.

But why was it so important for these people to get it right? Why was the television even invented?

The out-of-date TV on a white background

Entertainment

Some may argue that the main reason the television was invented was for entertainment purposes. This would make sense considering that the inventor of the world’s first electronic television, Philo Taylor Farnsworth, lived in a house without electricity until he was 14 years old. When he started high school, he began to conjure up the ideas for a system that could capture moving images, transform those images into code, then move those images along radio waves to different devices. We don’t blame him for getting creative with his inventive mind, setting his sights on a new form of entertainment.

The radio was a popular form of entertainment at the time, so the next logical step was to turn sound into visuals.

 

Breakthrough in Technology

The invention of the radio was a huge innovation. Being able to listen in live to everything from concerts and sermons to “Red Menace” ideas, caused the entire nation to go wild. The radio was certainly one of the most important inventions of the early 1800s (though it  was only commercialised an popularised in the 1920s), not just because it brought everyone together – from nations to families – but it also brought a whole new way for people to interact and communicate with each other. This was a huge step for humankind within technological advancements and could be said to be the gateway to the entire field of electronics as we know it today.

 

Togetherness and Social

Before TV was the radio. And unlike radio today, those frequencies were the reason for gathering together as a family and simply listening. The latest news which affected your communities, updates on the wars occurring at the time and the whereabouts of your friends and family at war was communicated to you through the radio.

While cinema, a precursor to TV sets, was an inclusive and social activity, televisions were likely invented to offer private viewing in the home; the bonus is that it allowed people to spend time with their loved ones as well.

 

Other Speculation

Some people speculate that the television was created or allowed to exist in such vast quantity so that the government could control the masses. There are plenty of records online of the past and current ongoing controversy surrounding the idea that television is being used as a tool for mass control or even brainwashing. Take this video as an example:

Another reason the television could have been invented is for profit. The first ‘Dual Exhibition Receiver Televisor’ cost an eye-watering £40, which was a whole lot of money at the time. Not like our amazing cheap TV deals which will help you to buy the TV of your dreams without breaking the bank.

Whatever the reason was for the invention of the television, we can all agree on one thing – we are very grateful for it. We can now kick back, relax, and enjoy our favourite form of entertainment our own way. The television has progressed in the technological field to a point where we can watch our much-loved shows with the mere touch of a button – and some don’t even require that! (Thank goodness for voice recognition.)

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