The Role of Television on Childhood Violence Essay

​Violent T.V shows and video games can increase children's aggression. Dr Phil explains "the number one negative effect is they tend to in appropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it.  They can attack someone, they can kick a wall or they can be mean to a dog, abet or even people." It means that the kids who are exposed to violent shows or

Viewing violence encourages children to see other people as enemies rather as individuals with thoughts and feelings like themselves. Violent scenes less arouses children whom watch a lot of TV than those who only watch a little. They are less bothered by violence in general and less likely to see anything wrong with it. "For example, in several studies, children who watched a violent program instead of a non-violent one were less quick to intervene or to call for

Does violence on television have a negative effect on children and teenagers? The violence seen on television has had surprising negative effect. Violence shown on television causes children and teenagers to develop behavioral problems and learning disabilities. Such behavioral and learning problems include; language development, school performance / learning, cognitive development and their general behavior to others (Kinnear 27). In a study on the correlation between violence and television done with 1,565 teenage boys over a six-year period in London, William Belson, a British psychologist, found that every time a child saw someone being shot or killed on television they became less caring towards other people. William Belson also

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

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.

There is no question that television and films these days are filled with violence and antisocial behavior. Virtually every show, movie or news story nowadays has some sort of violent theme. Studies have shown that for every hour of television, there are 6 violent exchanges shown, and this number increases to 14 exchanges an hour

The federal government in the US has taken the initiative to curb not only the amount of violence that can be shown by one program, but also the level of violence that can be shown and to what audiences. By limiting the amount of violence shown on television before 10pm, the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, is trying to make sure that children are not exposed to the levels of gratuitous violence intended for more mature audiences. As early as the 1960s, studies reported that watching television can make children more aggressive. In fact, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the National Institute of Mental Health have all linked

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

As noted on the National Coalition on Television Violence's homepage one can see the effects of television violence on children simply by observing kids at any playground. These children are pretending to be Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers. These are the heroes of today's children. These heroes are not chosen due to character, but by physical strength. The strongest and most violent are usually chosen by young people as the "heroes" to imitate. These characters usually portray violence as an effective, common, and acceptable response.

    We've all heard the numbers on the amount of television that children watch and the amount of violence that they're exposed to. In fact, sources that blame TV for children's conduct quote this kind of data profusely. American children and adolescents spend 22-28 hours per week viewing television  more than any other activity except sleeping (_Effects of Television_). These kinds of facts are strewn about with the hopes of convincing the public that television is to blame for children's misbehaviors. Sources like these have one thing in common: They believe that if television disappeared, so would many of kids' aggressive behaviors. Though arguing whether or not television is indeed an

          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.

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

Some watched cartoons that had many violent and aggressive acts; others watched shows that did not have any kind of violence. The researchers noticed real differences between the children who watched violent shows and those who watched non-violent shows. Children who watched the violent shows were more likely to argue, disobey, strike playmates, and become impatient ( ). Children’s minds are like sponges; they take in everything around them, and unless they are told something is not ok, they will believe that it is ok to do the example presented to them.

In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.