The Effects of Media on Children

There is a lot of debate about the effects of the media. A certain group that most attention is paid is the group of younger children, teenagers and younger. I feel that the media, be it television, the internet, movies, or video games, have a negative effect on children growing up. Children become so occupied with television and other forms of media that they do not have any time for much else. They don’t spend as much time with the family, they don’t spend much time outdoors or exercising, and they don’t spend much time studying.

Television, video games, and the internet can be very addicting. Many kids can sit in their room for hours playing games or watching television. With many children having electronic devices such as television, computers, and play stations, it gives children little reason to leave their room. The children would also rather play the new violent video game then to play an old fashioned board game, or cards, with their family. The parents become less and less involved in their children’s lives because of the amount of time they spend in front of a screen rather then with their family.

With all of the video games and television a kid can watch, not many decide to instead go outside and play. Fewer and fewer kids ever go outside and ride their bikes because they want to play to latest video game, or catch up on their favorite show. With television, video games, and computers requiring nothing more then sitting in front of something, and using your hand to move a remote, joystick, or mouse, children get much less exercise then before they were able to have all of these things to occupy their time.

With the tests getting harder now, children should spend more time studying, though they should still spend time studying anyway. Sometimes the children get too pre-occupied with television or games to notice how much time goes by and they miss a lot of time that could have been used studying. They also could be too hooked on a game to even consider studying. Children also read very little now.