TV shows' impact on society

In class the one day after watching "Merchants of Cool" we discussed whether or not it is tv that impacts what people do or think or if we are the ones that impact what goes on tv. As I was talking to my friend today I was tossed into thinking more about it and which is really true. We were watching One Tree Hill and there was a scene where one of the boys was cheating on his girlfriend with another girl. My friend was frustrated at the fact that this would happen and said that he needs to break up with his girlfriend if he's going to mess around with someone else. My friend then continued by saying but they make this show as to reflect society and what happens.While I completely understand his point I continued to point out that not everyone thinks the same, and that it really does happen with some people not everyone treats everyone appropriately when they date or in any situation. This is what made me think. I tried to defend what happened on the show just because I have seen it in real life whereas with my friend was frustrated that the boy was continuing to cheat showing the two different points of view we discussed in class. I let what I saw happen in real life think that since its on tv it wasn't a big deal but and to some degree it didn't matter but it really does. There are too many cases when we let tv dictate our choices and what we think is wrong and right rather than looking into what really is wrong and right. This is where it turns into the feedback cycle that we also discussed. We watch a tv show and let what happens become what we believe to some degree then they see that we like it so they continue to put it on tv and brainwash us with whatever else they can think of along those lines. So even though we watch the bad stuff causing the stations to in return put more stuff on I think it is the tv that dictates the trends not us. I believe we tend to get more ideas from the tv then they do from us for the most part. However, I in no way would let someone treat me in that manner it just shocked me that I found it ok because I have seen it before.