Television : A Blessing And A Curse

on television they are more likely to imitate such acts at a younger age. When children watch violent shows they become more aggressive and they have more violent tendencies. Children view characters in T.V. shows as their role models when they see them doing risky acts they think that it is normal behavior, and are more likely to mimic the acts in their preteen years. Physiologist have linked childhood exposure to violence through media.When children watch television shows that are too mature for them they are more likely to see the world as a scary unsafe place. Even television that is designed for kids can send a message that fighting and destroying things is fun and acceptable.”Children under (age) 2 learn a lot by facial expression, tone of voice, and body language — much of which doesn’t translate well on a flat screen, especially in animated or cartoon form.”(Darice).Many shows today paint an unrealistic picture of what teen agers should look like and be like. When young kids see such things they are more likely to to try to live up to these standards even if that means taking substances or starving themselves to do it. Too much T.V. time can also lead to behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder commonly known as ADD. Children who consistently watch four hours of television a day are more likely to be overweight. Physical activity is getting pushed aside in favor of Television shows

Television plays a very important role in everyday life. As children grow and develop, they can be influenced by what they see and hear.

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

Violent media; a strikingly relevant phenomenon millions are becoming captivated by. It’s everywhere you go, on your phone, the TV or on the computer. As much as people try to avoid it, they soon realize it’s ineluctable. Gerard Jones, a comic-book author, released a brief report, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” that argued violent media is not only beneficial to children but also inspiring. He goes on to support his claim by sampling his own personal experiences. However, not all forms of violent media are necessarily helpful. Some are more preferable while others can harm them. To an extent, violent media can help children by helping them release built up emotions, learn lessons regarding the real world, as well as create something for themselves.

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.

The Television is often the centerpiece of typical American house. TVs are now a representative the American dream. TVs are even used to measure finical wellbeing. Huge flat screen TVs symbolize success, while smaller TVs represent modesty. People crowd around the TV to watch the big game, to catch up on the news and keep up with pop culture. Is there something wrong with this so-called wonder device known as the Television? Marie Winn, author of book Unplugging the plug-in drug, argues this point in the chapter “The Trouble with Television” claiming that the television negatively affects families and specifically children. Marie Winn is an author and journalist who is known for her write ups on wildlife and television. The book was published in 1987 and describes eight ways in which the television is damaging. Winn makes it a point not to argue against the content of television, but rather how the television effects family relationships and is a detriment to children’s development. While I agree with some of Winn’s, overall, I disagree with her assessment of television. The points that Winn made that I disagree with include, TV allows kids to grow up less civilized, TV keeps family from doing other things, TV makes children less resourceful, TV has a negative effect on children’s school achievement and TV has a negative effect on children’s physical fitness.

Thus, for children who are regularly exposed to television violence it could have a worse or similar effect to video games (Berger 2002).

Many believe that children’s programs show happy, colorful images that influence the child’s mind positively. However, what goes unknown is the fact that those “happy” and “colorful” programs actually average more than fourteen violent acts per hour--eight more than adult programs (TV Media’s Influence). Parents would obviously be appalled at this number due to the fact that by age eighteen, their child will have witnessed about two hundred thousand acts of violence, including eighteen thousand murders (TV Media’s Influence). Instead of subjecting children to the television that imprints their minds with violence, parents should instead spend quality time educating, playing, or reading with them. By doing this, the disgusting knowledge of crime and violence will not be apparent in a young child’s life. They will have a chance to remain unpolluted, their minds full of important family values versus murder and bloodbath. Exposure to television and media too early in a child’s life leads to health problems. By age three, one third of children have television sets in their bedrooms. This puts them at risk for delayed sleep onset, increased caloric intake, and nightmares from overstimulation (Stein). The excessive early exposure to electronic media correlates with language delay, attention problems, and deficits in executive function. What many people do not realize is that putting a child in front

Television is especially influential on the children of today. Thirty years ago, not every home had a television; they were considered a luxury that only the rich could afford. Now, most households have two televisions and children watch them incessantly. Many children's programs are extremely violent and a child can learn violent behavior from watching these programs. For example, about a month ago, in Norway, a small girl was beaten, stripped, and left to die by three boys aged 5, 6, and 6. When asked why

The American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association have all concluded that there is a relationship between television violence and aggression among children (Gale, 2003, para. 9).

          Due to violence on television, children become less sensitive to that pain and suffering of others or to become more aggressive to others. It also makes children more fearful to the world around them. (Abelard 1) Viewing habits of children observed for many decades deduced that violence on TV is associated with aggressive behavior, more than poverty, race, or parental behavior. It also reported that a TV show contains about 20 acts of violence an hour.

Television is a big part of today’s society. Everybody watches television, including the children. There is a potential problem with letting children watch television. Ask this question, would someone let their own child watch some of the programming that they watch, too? Some of these programs are intended for the adult generation, not young children. Violence has a major role in television these days. Letting children watch this violence could corrupt their minds and eventually lead to bad behavior. There needs to be a limitation on the types of television programming that parents let their children watch, because violence in television can negatively affect children.

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

"Impact of media use on children and youth” explores the good and bad effects that media can have on a young child’s development both mentally and physically. In the beginning of the article, they provided examples of how watching television can expose young children to violence, sexuality, and offensive language. The author made an interesting point that connected an increase in violent behaviors with children who watch violent