Effects of Televison on the Modern Family

Effects of television on the modern family
You wake up and with a push of a button simply turn on the television set and the day of violence begins. When we need a moment we turn to television for our relaxation time, we also use the television as a way to amuse our children and entertain our spouses. It is such a simple and easy stimulant that it has become a necessary part of the culture and world we live in and pass time of every family. It is the only time, when we can forget about all the family troubles and the difficulties of our day. The sofa sitting across from the television set has become the place of rest, contemplation and place of togetherness for the “family” of the 20th century. People choose sitting down to a movie, television show or sports game instead of playing together, having in-depth talks, eating a family meal together and use this time as their family bonding time. “It is senseless to deny the all-embracing negative effect the existence of television has brought to our lives. But to make our point of view ultimately convincing we will introduce to your attention certain facts that people do not want to accept and often try to justify.” (Steyer 2003) The groundwork for tomorrow’s society are the children of today, and the way they develop reflects how our world will look tomorrow and television has played a huge role in how our children are influenced and developing. The television epidemic has negative effects and these are facts that are well known to all parents, but are ignored by most of them in order to put some of the responsibility for bringing up their children on the shoulders the television networks, movie companies and advertising companies. The modern parent or parents work a lot; have errands, meetings and other tedious tasks. However it is often when they get home from their “busy” day they are not eager to spend quality time with their child. “The consequences of this fact are the following: kids are given to themselves and watch everything they want or TV plays a role of a babysitter. Therefore children learn moral principles from the television, where by the age of 16 they observe 100,000 violent acts and 33,000 murders.” (Steyer 2003)

What television attempts to portray does to always come across as they intended, even our every night news broadcast can go from enlightening to depressing in a matter of moments. Children do not always handle such drastic change in emotions, so they learn to adapt and accept that even if you are a “good” guy killing or fighting is o.k. “Statistics have proved that the growth of time spent next to the TV-set scales up the development of aggression.” (Grossman/Degaetano 1999) Over the years children have looked to their parents, grandparents and other prominent adult figures in their lives as role models, persons to look up to and people they hope to become one day, but now a days these examples come from hit-thrillers and violent films where the personages imitated are cruel, impartial and often purely negative personages. Nowadays, resulting this phenomenon, children instead of playing leap-and–frog on the open air pretend to be “terminators” and run around “killing” each other.” (Grossman/Degaetano 1999) Children seem to identify with violence and this has effects on how their personalities develop and how they choose to form relationships with other peers. “Violence becomes an ordinary way of interaction, alongside with anger. Early exposure to sexual scenes may lead to early sexual contacts, with destroy the healthy development of a child.” (Grossman/Degaetano 1999) Children do not always know what is fiction and reality so in a sense they take in all they see on television as reality when in fact they are seeing far more fiction; this gives children a false sense of right and wrong. “Parents ultimately bear the responsibility for the environment in which their children are raised. We can pass laws to keep this garbage out of the hands of kids, but parents have to guide their children away from the polluting environment the greedy purveyors of violence are eager to sell” (Hoffman 2011) As parents spend less time with their children they are sometimes unable to reverse all the negative effects the television has placed on their children and the role television has held in the development of that child. “We do not have to go far away for examples when kids get guns and go to their schools shooting their teachers and schoolmates. This becomes a call to get somebody’s attention on them, the result of the TV violence and examples influences that overfills their minds.” (Grossman/Degaetano 1999) Even if the television programs that are viewed are not violent but watched for numerous hours a day assuming this is done day after day this could possibly have a compelling impact on the developing personality of a youth or even an adults personality, causing psychological issues that need mental health care. “All the hidden effects in the films and commercials subconsciously depress children and grown-ups.”(Grossman/Degaetano 1999) Television is often a distraction to children and adults. It can cause issues at school for children who do not get their school work completed perhaps due to excessive television watching instead for homework. For adults it can cause them to be behind with work projects or duties in the home. This can cause more stress and tension in our lives. It would be safe to say that television causes more problems than psychological, television can be blamed for the laziness of today’s youth, and obesity is also on the rise in both children and adults. We spend far too much time sitting at a television and not enough time getting our daily recommended physical activities.
Television can also have positive effects in children and adults as far as learning programs and educational television. Children are developing at an earlier age and able to retain so much they are learning at a much more rapid rate than they were 50 years ago. With programs such as Sesame Street, Dora the explorer, Reading rainbow and many others children are learning how to spell, read, number counting, foreign languages and also learning good manners that will help them become positive members in a future society. Now as for many adults television is a source of entertainment and can put you in a variety of moods. Television can also teach us about worldly cultures and show us things, people and places we would have never seen otherwise allowing us to become much more cultured adults than many of our ancestors. Television can be stress reducing if used in moderation and as a source of entertainment or learning not just a way of life. Television can also be educational for adults as well, many educational institutions use a source of media weather it’s a movie, video clip, a show, documentary or an educational program in many classes. Employers use videos or television for training purposes as we as human being learn from the actions of others all the time. If used as a learning tool and within reason television can be just as important to whom we are or have become as anything else.
I have stated both pros and cons as to what are harmful or helpful effects of excessive television watching among children and adults. It would be my opinion that if we use the television as learning tool for our children and not an electronic babysitter the violence they witness on the screen will be at a minimal and not have everlasting effects in how their minds develop. We as a society need to spend more time together interacting as a family or as individuals as well and well time sitting on that most adoring sofa or comfy chair placed across from the television. Dinner time is a time for bonding and should be done television free; take time and talk to your loved ones don’t just rely on TV play the place of your only source of entertainment. Don’t be afraid to push that off button and go play with your children. Life is short and flies by try to enjoy all the world has to offer and get out there and see as much as you can do not spend every awaken moment in front of the television and you will reap the best of what this world has to offer. Teach your children that the world will not end with a push of the button and that not all they see or hear on television is real and limit their programming with parental controls so that you don’t have to wonder what it is they are watching in their free time you will know. Treat the television as an electronic devise in the home not a family member.

Works Cited Page

Hoffman, Allan M. "Combating the Culture of Media Violence." Pediatrics for Parents 27.5/6 (2011): 11-13. Print

Mulick, James A. "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano, 1999, Crown, New York, 196 Pp ." Behavioral Interventions 16.2 (2001): 137-40. Print

Steyer, James. ""The Other Parent: the inside Story of the Media 's Effect on Our Children"" Astria, 2003. Web. Fall 2011

Cited: Page Hoffman, Allan M. "Combating the Culture of Media Violence." Pediatrics for Parents 27.5/6 (2011): 11-13. Print  Mulick, James A. "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman and Gloria DeGaetano, 1999, Crown, New York, 196 Pp ." Behavioral Interventions 16.2 (2001): 137-40. Print Steyer, James. ""The Other Parent: the inside Story of the Media 's Effect on Our Children"" Astria, 2003. Web. Fall 2011