The Negative Influence of Television on Children
For decades there has been debate as to how television media affects our children. Many parents have been concerned since the beginning of television. Through extensive research over the last few decades, television has been thought to desensitize and have detrimental effects on our children, which inhibits them from developing feelings of security, compassion, diplomacy, and discernment. Television watching also promotes violence, unsafe sexual practices, and eating disorders in children.
According to Muscari, the average American child spends approximately 28 hours per week watching television. By the time a child reaches the age of 18 they will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 other acts of violence. American media is the most violent in the world; 80 percent of American television programs contain violence (31). This does not include other forms of media such as: movies, video games, music, and in current day, the Internet. Berk notes that violence is rarely condemned, nor or ways of solving problems often depicted. It is because children do not see the seriousness of violence that they often do not get the full impact of the consequences, such as what happens when someone is shot with a gun. Children are learning that violence is the answer to problems. Boys and children from low socio-economic backgrounds tend to be the more frequent viewers of television (347). Therefore for these children, television should especially be monitored.
Many children cannot distinguish between real and fantasy violence. Two and three year olds cannot tell the difference from what is on television and what is real. If a young child is asked if a bowl of popcorn pictured on television would spill if the television were knocked down, they will almost always answer yes. In addition, preschoolers have trouble combining different scenes into one whole story. They cannot view a character's motives or consequences. It isn't until age seven that a child begins to understand that
According to Muscari, the average American child spends approximately 28 hours per week watching television. By the time a child reaches the age of 18 they will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 other acts of violence. American media is the most violent in the world; 80 percent of American television programs contain violence (31). This does not include other forms of media such as: movies, video games, music, and in current day, the Internet. Berk notes that violence is rarely condemned, nor or ways of solving problems often depicted. It is because children do not see the seriousness of violence that they often do not get the full impact of the consequences, such as what happens when someone is shot with a gun. Children are learning that violence is the answer to problems. Boys and children from low socio-economic backgrounds tend to be the more frequent viewers of television (347). Therefore for these children, television should especially be monitored.
Many children cannot distinguish between real and fantasy violence. Two and three year olds cannot tell the difference from what is on television and what is real. If a young child is asked if a bowl of popcorn pictured on television would spill if the television were knocked down, they will almost always answer yes. In addition, preschoolers have trouble combining different scenes into one whole story. They cannot view a character's motives or consequences. It isn't until age seven that a child begins to understand that
Cited: Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2005 Burns, Kate, eds Press, 2004. Cecil, Nancy Lee. Raising Peaceful Children in a Violent World. San Diego: LuraMedia, Inc., 1995. Linn, Susan. Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood. New York: The New Press, 2004. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2004. 31-44. Steyer, James P. The Other Parent: The Inside Story of the Media Effect on Our Children. New York: Atria Books, 2002. Press, 2001. 80-84