How Does Tv Affect Children

Television is the mainstream of our culture. Violence on television has been a topic of conflict since before 1950. There have been repeated debates on how to protect children from the harmful effects of violence on television. Television is one form of modern media that influences the everyday lives of people. Televised violence has a major effect on how children perceive the world and how they behave. "American television has become the most violent in the world. It is for this reason why researchers have focused their attention toward television violence" (Cantor & Hoffner 424-4-25). Children enjoy watching television and now with the increased technology of cable and movie

In the United States children watch an average of three to fours hours of television daily (Cantor & Wilson, 1984, p. 28). Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is violent. Studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may become insensitive to violence. Consequently, they tend to gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems by imitating the violence they observe on television; and they identify with certain characters, good or bad. Therefore, extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater

Today nearly 98% of American households have televisions. This makes television the single most important source of media in the lives of children and adolescents. Research shows that about 21- 23 hours per week on average, that children between the ages of five and twelve are exposed. This brings much controversy as to how television delivers the news, media, and violence to young children and adolescents. Many argue that the viewing of television during these crucial years of development can be very harmful involving the link of violence with aggressive behavior, hindering emotional and social development, the lack of exercise, health and activities, the development of temperament in young children, and sleep deprivation.

Over the past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages.

In watching my 13-year-old daughter, and constantly trying to get her to complete the simplest of tasks such as loading the dishwasher. I have often wondered if watching too much television has anything to do with her inability to complete the smallest of tasks. Some people think that children who watch too much television are likely to develop ADHD; however, it may be the opposite. The child who is prone to Attention problems may be drawn to watching television to sooth their minds (New Scientist, 2007).

Toddlers learn to give attention from their parents and a prolonged contact with materials around them. “Toddlers who watch more TV are more likely to have problems paying attention at age 7,” according to Dr. Hill. TV is a distraction. It constantly changes, and this does not teach children to deal with the same task for an extended period. Some sources disapprove not only toddlers watching a TV but also a background TV. The Urban Child Institute, through their research, found that, “Background TV can threaten cognitive and language development and may be linked to attention problems late in childhood” (“Infants, Toddlers and TV”). Most parents expose their children to TV for a different intention. They think TV teaches toddlers a language, their surrounding and giving attention. Intuitively, it seems accurate. However, a scientific evidence and logical reasoning prove toddlers who watch TV are missing what they should be from their surrounding: exploring, playing and interacting with objects around

There is no benefit in watching television in the first two years of life; increased television use is resulting in children spending large amounts of time alone and not interacting. (Napier, 2014). Screen media use could cause their cognitive and socioemotional development to be delayed and possibly their physical development if they are just sitting there watching television. Some people like to use the television as a babysitter and they tend not to interact with their kids. Infants spend more time in interaction with screen media that they do in any other activity, except sleeping. (Napier, 2014). The article also talks about how background television can be a barrier to parent-child interactions, as well as being a visual distraction. (Napier,

Television has been in American Society since 1920’s and has gradually been spreading around the world. Television is like a drug in American Society, it is addictive to all ages including children. It has the most effect on children that are young and do not know anything about television. As children grow older they focus

Studying the effects of children watching television has been a popular field of research for many years and is becoming increasingly important as more of children’s time is spent on television. There are strong arguments for both the benefits and the detriments of television exposure. One of the most common arguments against television is the suggestion that it increases violence. Other cases for the negative effects include lowered self-esteem and increased materialism. Research supporting the benefits of television suggest an increase in pro-social behavior, tolerance of diversity, and an increase in general knowledge. Studies show that children spend an average of seven hours per day watching television or using another form of media (Strasburger, Jordan & Donnerstein, 2010). With such a significant amount of time being spent watching television, it is important to study the effects and use the information to optimize child development.

585). Statistics such as this one display the facts about what is shown on television. The National Television Violence Study evaluated nearly 1000 hours of programming over a two year period and found that 61% of that programming contained interpersonal violence (Sclozman, 2002-2003, p 87). Something very provocative about the study was that most of the violence was displayed on children’s shows. An article in Pediatrics Magazine states, “.Of all animated feature films produced in the United States between 1937 and 1999, 100% portrayed violence…” (“Pediatrics,” 2001). The evidence if irrefutable, Television does display high levels of violence.

Since 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health, along with other reputable health organizations has collected data that connects media violence, with violent acts. Conclusions deduced from this data prove that violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch those programs. Television violence affects young people of all ages, all socio-economic levels, and all levels of intelligence.

How is there such a big impact on them just because of watching television? Television can affect learning and school performance if it interferes with the time kids need for activities crucial to healthy mental and physical development. Some shows (SpongeBob) teaches that it is fine to commit an inappropriate action because there will not be a punishment and kids feel that if they do the same thing as their favorite character from the program who committed the crime they will be a hero. Researchers have identified three potential responses to media violence in children: increase fear, desensitization to real life violence, and increase aggressive behavior. It may desensitve kids so much they think it is okay and no big deal for somebody to be hit or to hit someone in the head with a hammer. Kids who view violent acts are more likely to show aggressive behavior, but also fear that the world is scary and that everyday something bad will happen. Scary-looking things like grotesque monsters especially frighten children aged two to seven. Telling them that the images aren’t real does not help because kids under age eight can’t always tell the difference between fantasy and reality (Television and Children). When watching a television shows usually every episode has a bad situation or a lot of drama in it so kids will start to have that mind frame that things will happen to them just like on the show. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under

Violence on TV affects how children view themselves, their world, and other people. In fact, experts warn that viewing violence can have lifelong harmful effects on children’s health. By the time children complete school, the average child will witness more than 100,000 acts of violence on TV, including 8,000 murders. The more violence children watch on TV, the more likely they may act in aggressive ways, become less sensitive to other’s pain and suffering, and be more fearful of the world around them. Since we live in a violent society, we’re constantly hearing arguments that seeing TV violence, particularly children, desensitizes us so we accept real violence more easily and maybe it even triggers real violence. The theory behind the TV

Children view violence in different ways when they watch it on television, whether it is cartoons or a type of drama and action programming. After children have watched these television shows, they may have interpreted the meaning into a negative behavior. It could influence them by becoming aggressive, afraid of the world that surrounds them, or it may lead to confusion. When it is said that children may become confused because their parents teach that violence is wrong. When they view someone in a “superhero” position participating in violence, they may see that as it is all right for the simple fact the good person does the action. According to the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry, “the impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the child's behavior or may surface years later (AACAP, 2011).”

As evidence has shown, children view many violent scenes while watching television, movies, or playing video games, but the question still remains: What psychological effect does violence in the media have on children? Research over the past 10 years has consistently shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life aggression (Strasburger 129). Violence in the media can lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the various programs. Of course, not all children who watch television, or movies, or play video games develop aggressive behavior. However, there is a strong correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior. A study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, examined how children's television viewing practices are related to aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that children who reported watching greater amounts of television per day had higher levels of violent behavior than children who reported lesser amounts of television viewing (Singer 1041). Witnessing violence is an important determining factor in violent behavior. The media serves as a means for children to witness violence. According to Bandura's Social Learning Theory, children imitate behavior that they see on television, especially if the person performing the behavior is attractive or if the