Tv Violence & Childrean

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorCollege, Undergraduate April 2001

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Children watch an average of four hours of television a day. Television is damaging to children, and damaging children is damaging our society. If we damage our society, our future will be damaged. By watching TV, children will grow up with aggressive acts and behavior and that can be harmful to our society. If children today are aggressive, maybe in the future, they will buy more guns or do things that can destroy families and damage our society.

Television violence can affect children in various ways. One example is that children may become immune to the horror of violence. There was a study about this statistic that showed that children who watch a lot of TV are less aroused by violent scenes than are those who only watch a little. They are less bothered by the violence in general and less likely to see anything wrong with it.

Children may, too, accept violence as a way to solve problems.

This statistic had a study based on it. The study proved that on TV, violence is an attractive, effective and preferred way to solve problems and conflicts. People who watch a lot of TV watch a lot of violent acts, and because of that they come to see violence as a normal and accepted way of life. These people are the ones who use violence more often and more quickly in their lives.

Another way that TV violence affect children is that children imitate the violence they observe in TV. A study investigated the effects of the popular children's program, "The Mighty Morphine Power Rangers" on aggression. If found out that young people in a group who watched Power Rangers committed seven times more aggressive acts in a subsequent two-minute play period than did the control group. Studies following groups of children over long periods of time indicate that heavy doses of violent television during childhood contribute to the violent behavior in adulthood.

Children may also identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers. A study made by the Pennsylvania's School and Communication found out that long-term, regular exposure to television could contribute to people's sense of vulnerability, dependence, anxiety and fear. Of the children they observed who were heavy viewers (6 hours per day), most are not violent and aggressive as adults, but they have grown up with the idea of a very "mean world". They feel a need to protect themselves. They buy more guns, more watchdogs, and more burglar alarms and locks.