Preview

Reality Television's Affect on Children

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2834 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Reality Television's Affect on Children
Running Head: Reality Television and Children 1

Values Portrayed On Reality Television Programs
Gloria Cheek
Eng 122
Instructor Bernadette Anayah
October 4, 2010

Reality Television and Children 2
Values Portrayed On Reality Television Programs Television violence affects all who watch it, but its biggest effect is on children. Children’s minds are like a blank page, and television is writing violence on that page. Television violence is one of the causes of aggression and violent behavior in children. This problem is not new, but in recent years it has gotten worse. In the last few years, violence in television programs has increased greatly. A study in 2000-2001 compared to a study in 1998-1999 showed violence is, in fact, on the rise. Verbal violence and coarse language alone increased by a staggering 78% (Lavers). How did violence become so prevalent on television? Sadly, violence is what people want to see; it sells. Society has slowly put its guard down allowing violence to creep in. Now we are faced with this detrimental situation which has been created. Reality television has affected the morals and minds of our young children in today’s society. The values portrayed in reality television have had a big impact on the morals of our adolescent children in today’s society. Young children and adolescents have no respect for older people, parents or people in authority. Due to these issues it is felt that reality television is very harmful to our children and something needs to be done to stop the harm to our young people’s cognitive thinking. Young children, starting at about age three, begin to really watch a television program designed for their age. They will begin to imitate what they have seen on the television. Children ages six through about ten often do



References: Abelman, B. director of the Media Arts and Technology Division, Cleveland State University American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) (Updated March 2001), Facts    Anderson, Kerby. “Violence in Society.” (1995): Probe Ministries. 30 Sept. 2002 . Bernstein, M. (2008, March 15). Does Reality TV for Teens Induce Bad Parent Television Council, PTC Special Report: Reality TV Study, 2001-2002 www.parentstv.org

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Pros and Cons of El nino By Roderick Gardner Although El nino cause and consequences are very complex, scientists from many disciplines working together have created a pretty good picture of what going on. El nino does not work alone;like clark kent and superman, it appears only when its alter ego, La Nino,isn't around. Over much of the pacific ocean, when an El nino occurs, the water is unusually cool.this great alternate periods, when La Nina is in the pacific, the water is unusually warm. In alternate periods, when La Nina is the pacific the water is unusually cool.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Therefore, the media should reduce the amount of violence that is in children television shows. Rethinking the plots and making shows more educational but fun at the same would leave a more positive affect on the young children watching. The violent media displayed to kids can influence the decisions they make in everyday life. According to the American Psychological Association, “Violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children teens who watch these programs”(APA,249). In other words, the American Psychological Association believes that these violent programs have a high influence on children and young teens. These aggressive behaviors exhibited by young children can cause bodily harm and also emotional harm for children. Once a child develops a pattern of aggressive behavior caused by TV Violence, it is a very process to reverse or get rid of this…

    • 1550 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    A reality TV show stars a non-celebrity or a volunteer who wants to participate in the program. The core role is to see what their reactions in certain scenarios are, and how they face given situations. The audience feels like they have a connection with the show’s stars as they feel that they are real and normal people representing them. Viewers are then entertained by the sadness, depression, frustration, and emptiness that the reality stars will express in the show. Audiences cannot seem to get enough of the drama of other regular, everyday people placed in unrealistic settings manipulated for the world to see. Overtime, exposure to these shows will subtly cultivate viewer’s perception of reality. Reality television shows have a negative influence on today’s society by portraying a false sense of communal experience, creating unrealistic standards of living, as well as affecting the productivity of growth to the younger generation.…

    • 1101 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In today’s society many television Reality Shows have been geared for total entertainment purposes only, unlike many shows of the past that displayed family values, ethics and morals. For instance, Reality Shows are supposed to be based on real life situations and experiences. Reality Shows are built upon showing and exposing human emotions. In this aspect reality television has successfully portrayed an image that many viewers can now relate to. In reality the characters of reality television are somewhat like celebrities. There is no doubt, that reality television provides viewers with such entertainment that does not exemplify family values. In fact, reality television has influenced our society in different ways by showing loud and rambunctious behavior. These types of shows exhibit plenty of profanity, sexual content, violence and drugs.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many discussions about the effects of reality TV on society. Positive and negative effects of reality TV are two parts of a coin. Unfortunately the coin mostly falls on the negative side. Many reality TV shows are created purely for profit without thinking about its consequences on the mindsets of viewers, especially young viewers . Media companies accept that they make these shows for profit and they do not care about the effects on people. They say that they just show us what we want. Is it right not to care about the viewers mental health just to make more money? Most of these shows do not portray reality and this weakens the ability of critical thinking, causes to depict a ''false image of life'', develops wrong notions, erodes some ethical and moral practices.…

    • 998 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Reality Tv Stereotypes

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page

    Reality television has influenced the lives of countless people across the world. What is done on a reality TV show, either it be moral or corrupt, is usually mimicked by people. For example, the fashion, actions, as well as way of life. Most reality television shows however, promote a dangerous stereotype. These stereotypes are then seen by viewers and influence their actions. Since teenagers are the main audience of reality television, the dangerous stereotyping affects this age group the most causing them to act or want to be like the people they see on TV. Therefore, reality television promotes dangerous stereotypes that must be put to an…

    • 108 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Television has become a “member” of almost every single family on our planet. And not just an ordinary member, but a very important one, because the time spent next to it exceeds the amount of time spent together with any other family member. You do not have to apply any efforts to talk or listen to complaints while “communicating” with it. Television has the power to alter society. Whether we realize it or not, what we watch and listen to stays in our brains for many years. But “what is reality television?” one might ask. Reality TV is defined by MSN Encarta as “television programs that present people in live, though often deliberately manufactured, situations and monitor their emotions and behavior.” Television is filled with a variety of shows. The variety ranges from cartoons to soap operas. The list goes on. These shows air on a daily basis and most of them contain negative comments, actions, or innuendos. However, the main culprit is reality television. This genre of entertainment has expanded its horizons in recent years. Boundaries have been broken and morals have been compromised. Reality television shows such as Jersey Shore, The Bachlorette, Toddlers in Tiaras, and Keeping Up With the Kardashians are all shows that have a negative influence on young adults, sometimes even adults themselves.…

    • 535 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Since the creation of reality television, people have been influenced for both the better and worse. Many professionals have invested their time and resources into finding out just how and why reality TV has had such a big impact on society and they have come up with many different perspectives on the matter.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Persuasive Essay

    • 888 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many movies, television shows, music songs, and video games are filled with violence: murder scenes, nonstop profanity, rape and torture scenarios. By placing scenes like these in the movies for the children and teenagers to see, the media is causing them to become more violent than it already is. What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present; in the streets, back alleys, schools, and even at home. Even if one might be a pacifist, violence will keep its way into our homes through the television. Many parents these days are busy with their work, and sometimes it is hard to keep track what their children do. They are working singles or couples who must rely on others for the parenting and raising their children. Even baby sitters use television as the easiest source of entertainment for the children. Since every family has televisions and the children play video games almost every day, truly the media affects the children. The average hours of American youth watching television is about four hours, which means children spend more time watching television than in any other activity, except sleep, after school. So, parents should control the television that children watch. They need to be aware that media violence affects in the real world.…

    • 888 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    ASSIGNEMENT 2 MCOM213 1

    • 280 Words
    • 1 Page

    Studies have tackled the viewing of media violence promotes aggressive behavior, insensibilities, and pessimism in young adults as well as children. It has been affirmed that parents undermines the impact of television on their children, and its violent effect on their behavior towards each other on the one hand, and towards their parents on the other hand. This attitude has taken the society at the risk of increasing the aggression levels as well as accepting the perspective of violence in our lives.…

    • 280 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Sex and Violence Paper

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Josephson, W.L. (2011). Television Violence: A Review of the Effects on children of Different Ages. Retrieved from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resourse/research_documents/reports/violence…

    • 1411 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Have you ever set there watching your favorite reality television show and wondered what effects it could have on you, your family or your friends? Truth is most people do not think about the effects television shows can have before watching them or allowing their children to watch them. This paper will discuss rather reality television is real or fake, what the appeal of reality TV is, how reality television has changed television viewing habits, and the impact of reality television. Even though reality television can be inspirational, reality television can have a negative impact on people because it gives people unrealistic expectations, it has antifamily values, and it portrays a deceptive view of reality.…

    • 1699 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Television has become an integral part of American culture; it is being watched more now than ever, nearly every household has a television, and the shear number of channels available is astounding, it is becoming an evermore profitable market. Television is becoming increasingly violent with representation being seen in everyday life. However, it is not fair to blame TV for everything wrong with society; parents are using the television as a baby-sitter. Children's shows may not be violent, but they leave an opening for more violent shows to take the place of them later on in life. The fact of the matter is violent TV attracts viewers, who then make money for the networks, by buying products advertised by companies who pay millions of dollars to be shown on popular television shows. It may be a fact that children are becoming more violent with the excessive amounts of TV they watch. Parents who substitute television for parenting are reducing the amount of time of real influence in their children's lives and are unable to…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.(2001). Children And Watching TV Facts for Families No. 54 Retrieved from, http:/www.aacap.org/page.ww?name=Children+And+Watching+TV§ion=Facts+for+Families.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Kids spend more time watching television every day than on any other single activity, aside from sleeping. Since the first television sets appeared in homes, in mid-twentieth century, television has grown into a phenomenon found in almost every household. In the beginning, there were only three principal broadcast networks; today, there are hundreds of channels available. There is no doubt that television has an impact on all of us, especially on children, so that it came to be accompanied with criticisms and concerns. Children love watching cartoons and movies, but too much of it during developmental years can have a significant negative impact on them. To minimize the potential negative effects of television, parents should be control TV watching and substitute it with healthy activities.…

    • 1359 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays