How Television and Computers Affect Kids

How Television and Computers Affect Kids

Have you ever felt hypnotized, entranced or transfixed? Television (TV) and computer consumption by children in today 's society is felt in this way by an overwhelming majority. Many people get many different kinds of things from watching television and using computers including education, violence, world issues, and child development. Television has become a replacement for family interaction. Family dynamics could be suffering from these programs. The negatives of kids watching television and using computers outweigh the positives in my opinion. You might ask yourself what is wrong with a little bit of television every now and then? But when it comes to your children, it is a huge deal. It may be great for parents, but television is not something kids should watch in excess. For parents, television can be a way of getting away from the kids. Kids can sometimes be in a parent 's way, so it becomes a good stress reliever too often. To keep stress away, it can be used as a babysitter or to even keep them occupied when times are demanding around the house. In the late 1940 's, television had became one of America 's newest arrivals. It was becoming more of a place for fathers, mothers, and kids to spend more time at. Even now, television is everywhere, but in 1946 there had been only about six thousand sets in the entire country. A fact that is almost stunning is that today more households have television than telephones or indoor plumbing (Greydanus 179). Years ago the jokes had been clean and the controversy did not exist. Today there are more sexual innuendos and foul language. Kids will have distorted views of themselves and of the world if they watch too much uncensored TV. Many shows now seen on TV are uncensored and give the wrong impressions to children about important issues. Parents would like their children to spend less time around televisions since it has pushed its limits. People know the influence that TV has on children, but they still try to go over boundaries. A "vast wasteland" was declared by the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Newton Minow in 1961, which was at the height of TV 's "golden age." Television has increased its volume of sex, violence, and bad language during the times that families want to watch TV together. Also, smoking, drugs and alcohol has become more readily used by teens because of the media influences (Eyer, Golinkoff and Hirsh-Paske 95). Television violence has been a big impact on kids ' lives because they can become aggressive and their behavior can change in a dramatic way for the worse. Violence that is in the home can also be a factor in a child 's behavior. The kids who were more into the television shows that are associated with violence are more likely to grow up with that type of behavior. These kids are more likely to have a criminal record as an adult. The type of incidents that are likely to happen because of the affect of TV are chokings, knifings, fights, and other confrontations. Children have become numb to the violence and media affects on TV. They see so much they are not even bothered by it. Once they become immune to it then you know that they have really been negatively affected by it. Car accidents, shootings with the police and incidents with animals are shown even more on TV. Kids think that since they saw other people do it, then it is okay for them to do it as well. There are so many "bad guys" in movies that the "good guys" even commit acts of violence (Seiter 1188-189). The media has shown young girls body types that are unrealistic, and they try to be like the ones they see on TV. Girls think that they need to be a certain weight and height just to be like celebrities. They think that this will help them conform to a certain image. Girls will become anorexic or bulimic to try to look like other women on TV, and then some women become overweight because they do not think they are good enough. There are different standards of beauty for men and women. There are stereotypes for males, females, and different races and ethnic backgrounds in the media. In movies there is a lot more violence, sex, and drug use than there is on the television. It has become more graphic in movies than it was even a few years ago. When kids are in the stage of phobias and fears, it is the most important time to keep them away from television. If they do watch anything that could scare them then you need to reassure them that it is not real and explain it to them. When a kid has imaginary friends, it is most important to let him explore his own thoughts and not watch too much television. Television can force kids to think that bad things such as wrestling or some kind of violence, is okay for them to do. They will not find their own identity by watching fake things on TV; they will only conform to something that the media shows as a positive (Brazelton 324-325). Kids have found ways to try to "out smart" their parents and let them watch movies and TV shows that are not age appropriate for them. Some kids would tell them that they had already seen the violent parts of the movie on the previews so that their parents will let them go see the movie. Some kids are not allowed to watch these movies and shows until a certain age which is a good idea. Children should only see the shows that are age appropriate for them by their parents standards and what they have already discussed with them. Technology has been dominating kids ' activities. They become less focused on physical activities and more focused on TV and computers. Children know more about what is going on in the media than in their school and extracurricular activities. Kids who are more involved with their community are less likely to become involved with drugs and alcohol and getting into trouble. Even though it is easy for them to just sit down and watch TV, parents should encourage their children to become more active in their lives. Leisure activities should have goals other than just for pleasure. A not so surprising survey was taken by Sylvia Rimm (84-85) that showed that kids spent an average of 6.9 hours watching television or using the computer in a day. Parents who use their gut feelings and trust their instincts are on the right track to finding ways of balancing TV time. If you think that your child is doing something that is wrong, they need to be confronted. TV has consumed them and taught them to become less active in life. TV affects kids by the violence it shows and how it makes celebrities appear. There are many ways of limiting them from watching TV and playing on the computer. Guidelines should be followed by kids at all times when watching TV and using a computer. Computers and televisions should be put in rooms that are out in the open where everyone can see and not in any bedrooms. There should be a limit to both each day, depending on the homework they might have. TV should not be watched during mealtime or while doing homework. You should be explaining and discussing the shows and movies that are seen and make sure all their questions are answered in an age appropriate manner. Depending on the child, some shows may be watched if they can handle it. Parents should be aware of everything their kids are doing on the computer and they should always check (Rimm 119). Keeping up with school work and having a life outside of school is hard enough for kids today and they do not need extra stress. Helping them learn how to use a computer and TV correctly can help improve their grades and their social life in a dramatic way. There are certain ways of using the computers that should be followed, like how you sit and the position of the computer screen or the TV. When doing homework they should take breaks, but during those breaks they should not be watching television because they will be put into a passive mode and then they will not want to keep studying. Studying should always come first and TV should be put off until the time is right. It should not be encouraged for them to watch TV, too much (Rimm 242-243). Parents should always try to stay calm when enforcing rules and when kids are watching shows that have some violent content. They need to make rules and really stick to them but also be flexible with things. Kids will react well to these messages and will realize what they should not do. The exposure to television should be started early so that they learn not to be affected by fake things. Kids should only be watching television when they have finished their chores and homework. This should be a rule parents make so that television is not all that they are thinking about. There should be lists of what they can or can not watch and make sure they know all their TV limits. Advertisements on television have had a huge impact on kids and parents. Ads on television are very unclear to some people and can confuse kids into thinking fake things are actually real. Advice and advertisements could be blurred and seem to be alike. Ads can distort childrens minds about the real world and about life. Kids will make bad decisions because of what they have seen on television of what other people are doing on shows and movies. Televisions have increased conflicts that happen when children want more from their parents that they know they cannot get. Some effects on children that some people worry about range from facial tics to passivity. Experts had assigned a job to mothers to censor, monitor, and be with their children while they watch televisions. When mothers did their work then they would lose the free time that they earned from the TV. If they did do their work then they would use the television as a babysitter, and have the feelings of guilt. There should be some ground rules for kids watching TV and movies, and they should always be enforced. To prevent TV from becoming an addiction, there should be other activities and productive things for kids to do. They should not be told to "go watch TV," but they should be encouraged daily to stay active in their school work and studying. For the older aged children, television was not harmful or specifically beneficial to them either. Parents are very disturbed and angered by the shows that kids watch. They want their child to learn that all men are good, but kids know that they are not always good. Shows contradict what parents teach their children about monsters and demons. Aggressive behaviors that are on these shows can be damaging to a child 's mind psychologically. Children will attain these bad behaviors and use them in their real lives. Kids will learn racism and sexist ideas from different shows and movies, so their parents should teach them how to deal with these issues when they are faced with them. Under some circumstances, kids can benefit from the television. There can be some educational growth in children from shows like Sesame Street. Blue 's Clues, which helps with developing attention and focus, and also Mr. Rogers which helps children deal with everyday life events. It is also a way of helping a child 's personal development, and may get their minds away from unhappy thoughts. TV viewing could be used as a short-term solution to stress. The drawback with this is that it does not help solve the problem, but simply avoids it for a short time. Computers and the Internet are readily available to kids in their homes, libraries and schools. Even if parents were to guard their children from this harmful material then who would guard them at libraries and schools? If parents knew more about the negatives to computers and internet then they would realize how they needed to deal with it. There are some positives to computers and the Internet that should be considered such as utilizing them for school work, learning tools, and doing research. But these can also hurt a child if not used correctly. Questions have been raised in the media about how the use of computers could make a difference in their lives: from helping with homework, to causing depression to encouraging violent behavior. There should be a control over the use of computers. Parents, teachers, and librarians should work together to show kids how to use computers in a proper manner. As with TV, the use of computers by children should be limited and monitored, and the computer needs to be in a room where everyone can see it, like the living room. In addition, children should learn that it is a supplemental tool used in education rather than an end-all solution. Computers can cause many different negative affects to kids. They are more likely to become overweight by sitting at the computer for long lengths of time and they will not go outside and play physical activities. Academically, kids could rely on the computer too much for information instead of trying to do their own work. Socially, kids can become reliant on the computer and become less social with others. These negative affects can ultimately hurt them in the end. When they are introduced to the "real world" they might not obtain the skills they will need to interact properly with others and in their careers. Kids who use the television and computers too much may have some positive effects in the end but it all comes down to how they are taught and raised. The negatives of television and computers on kids outweigh the positives. The truths about TV and even computers are that they try to pursue some profits from kids and their parents. They can be very deceptive and trick people into thinking the wrong things. Computers will consume kids from their abilities to do productive activities such as school work and physical activities. TV will erode family and life values that should be taught to kids and this leaves kids in trouble for their future.

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Works Cited

Brazelton, T Berry. Touchpoints: Your Child 's Emotional and Behavioral Development. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1992.

Dalton Jr, Richard J. "Internet safety on the radar: Foley scandal bumps up parents ' interest in computer monitoring." www.Newsobserver.com. 10 Nov. 2006. 1 Dec. 2006 .

Ferguson, Sue. "How Computers Make Our Kids Stupid." www.Newsobserver.com. 6 June 2005. 1 Dec. 2006

Cited: Brazelton, T Berry. Touchpoints: Your Child 's Emotional and Behavioral Development. Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1992. Dalton Jr, Richard J. "Internet safety on the radar: Foley scandal bumps up parents ' interest in computer monitoring." www.Newsobserver.com. 10 Nov. 2006. 1 Dec. 2006 . Ferguson, Sue. "How Computers Make Our Kids Stupid." www.Newsobserver.com. 6 June 2005. 1 Dec. 2006