FREE ESSAY ON TV AND CHILDREN

TV AND CHILDREN

Television Violence and Children
Thanks to the miracle of television the average American child watches 8,000 murders and
100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school (Early Concerns 113).
Television violence is responsible for the increase in childhood violence. Watching
violence is a popular form of entertainment, and watching it on television is the number
one way that children are exposed to violence. Local news shows provide extensive
converage of violent crimes in order to increase their ratings (Felson 96). Violence
usually refers to physical aggression and aggression is usually defined as any behavior
involving intent to harm another person (Sege 34).
Television is a central feature of contemporary American life. American children spend
more time watching television than they do in school. In 1989, the average child in the
United States spent more time watching television than performing any other activity,
except sleeping. In 1989 The Nielson Report on Television commented that children age 2
to 5 viewed approximately 27 hours of television per week. Children 6 to 11 years of age
viewed more than 23 hours of television per week, and adolescents between 12 to 17 years
of age viewed 22 hours of television per week (Sege 32). During the past several decades,
violent programs have been steadily increasing in numbers on television screens. Many
believe that there could be the possibility that a direct relationship exists between the
violence witnessed on television and the increasingly violent behavior of children and
adolescents (Palermo 23). Coming at a time when the homicide rate is 
rising six times faster than the population it is theorized that television violence does
cause actual violence (Early Concerns 114).
The year 1992 set an all-time record for violence in children's shows, with an average of
32 violent acts per hour. The nightly dose of splattering blood, rapes, car wrecks and
screaming victims on television has tripled in the last decade (Johnson 18). 
Only on television is there violence without pain. Sometimes, television violence is even
supposed to be funny, but grownups know, or are supposed to know, that real violence
causes lots of pain and sadness. 
A young gunshot victim is brought into an emergency room and he astonished 
his Doctors. He expressed surprise that his wound actually hurt. His Doctors 
first thought, "Boy! This boy is really stupid." But it dawned on the Doctors 
that what the sees on television is that when the superhero gets shot in the arm, 
he uses that arm to hold onto a truck going 85 miles an hour around a corner. 
He overcomes the driver and shoots a couple of hundred people while he is at 
it. (Early Concerns 112)
Another example of violence in children's television is seen in the cartoon Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles. This cartoon causes confusion between fantasy and reality. Several
children really do think it is okay to use physical violence with other children because
the Turtles do and the Turtles are the good guys (Early Concerns 115). Children's
cartoons are among the most violent shows on television, often exceeding 24 acts of
violence per hour and earning high violence ratings from The National Coalition on
Television Violence. Researchers say children's aggressiveness increases measurably
after
viewing the cartoon violence of Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker, which are
rated as very high violence with 55 or more acts of violence per episode. (Early Concerns
113). 
Just as children learn things from their older brothers and sisters, they also learn from
their television heroes- even bad things. Some children who watch lots of violence on
television learn to fight more and others learn to become victims. Many children learn
that violence is fun to watch, even in real life. These kids encourage their friends to
fight. When television characters use violence to solve their problems, then some
children believe that it is okay then to use violence to solve problems that they might
be having. As parents we want our children to solve their problems without fighting (Sege
33-35).
Violence is a diverse problem and it is necessary to address it as such. There is no
doubt that excessive and extended exposure to television violence may promote violence in
some children. Television promotes violence because it hits children in a suggestible
period of their life, when they lack the capacity to reflect and discriminate and to
integrate what they see in the proper perspective and with objectivity (Felson 96). 
Professionals and parents must be aware of all sources of impute for their children. Not
only peers, textbooks, teachers, and relatives, but also from the subtle "stranger" in
the living room, the television. Television "talks" to our children daily with complex
messages of fear and violence and only occasionally with messages of sharing, friendship,
and concern for others (Johnson 18). Parents need to limit the amount and type of
television that their children are watching. If children are allowed to watch 
violence on television, then most children will believe that violence out on the
playground is acceptable behavior.
Most children who spend a considerable amount of their time viewing television are
irresponsible, need constant supervision, and lack social skills. These children replace
their daily activities with other children with viewing television. Television usually
reduces their attention span, portrays a reality far from real life, and corrupts their
young minds (Johnson 18).
Young people must learn at home and in school that violence is not a means of settling
differences with others, as they have come to believe from watching television (Palermo
23). We, as parents, must discourage violence on television for our children's safety and
anyone who cares about children, and has access to them, needs to urge the children to
stay away from the tube to keep societies youngest safe. 
There are some people who would argue that there are many non-violent television shows
for children. Although this is true, the shows that they are speaking of are those such
as Barney, Sesame Street, and Bear in the Big Blue House. These types of children's shows
are mainly for very young children. Older children quickly lose interest in these shows,
and the more violent cartoons and action films capture their interest. The overall number
of violent films far exceeds the number of nonviolent shows and it is very obvious that
children will want to watch the more exciting, violent shows. 
Putting a child in front of a television is an easy way to keep them busy. However, it is
also an easy way to lose control of a youngster if the content of what they are watching
is not carefully monitored. Children learn many things by mimicking. A child who sees
somebody enjoying an act of violence is more apt to try to re-create that act.
Works Cited
Early Concerns. "TV Violence." The CQ Researcher: 3:12. 26 March 1993: 112-115.
Felson, Richard B. "Mass Media Effects On Violent Behavior." Annual 
Review of Sociology 22 (1996): 96.
Johnson, Merrily O. "Television Violence and Its Effect On Children." Journal 
Of Pediatric Nursing. 11.2. (1996): 18.
Palermo, George B. "Adolescent Criminal Behavior: Is TV Violence One Of 
The Culprits?" International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative 
Criminology. 39.1 (Spring 1995):23.
Sege, Roberts; Dietz, William. "Television Viewing and Violence in Children." 
The Pediatrician As Agent Pediatrics Journal 94.4(Oct. 1994):33-35.
What can parents do to help protect their children from TV violence and real-life
violence? 
1. Don't put a TV set in a child's room, where you won't know what he or she is
watching.
2. Limit your child to two hours of TV a day.
3. Help your child to choose programs that are not violent.
4. Watch TV together, and talk about what you're 
watching, ask your child:
? Is this real or pretend?
? Is this the way we do things at home?
? What do you think would happen if you did that?
Tell your child how you feel about violence. Tell him or her that it makes you sad and
angry when they are violent.