Tv Violence and Children

TV Violence and Children

As a society we attempt to guide our children towards proper decisions and right paths. However, television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior. It has been stated the, “Extensive viewing of television by children causes greater aggressiveness” (Children & TV Violence). Studies have shown that a child’s aggressive behavior increases after watching a violent television program. This perception has been a debate for years. Violence on television greatly influences the behavior of children.

Some people believe that children who come from violent parent and neighborhoods commit more crimes. “On a daily basis, children in America are victims of violence, as witnesses to violent acts in their homes or communities, or a victim of abuse, neglect, or personal assault” (Media Violence in Children’s Lives). In some studies, children that come from abusive surroundings have stated that television violence is not responsible for their behavior. At the same time some people suggest, “that the more violence viewed, the greater the likelihood of aggressive behavior” (Chandler). Young Children are visual learners; they model both the positive and negative behavior that they see. By watching violent television programs, a child learns that fighting and violence is the way to resolve a problem. Not only does a child learn that violence is acceptable, they also become immune or numb to the horror of violence itself. Violence

becomes a fact of life, and over time the child will lose his ability to empathize with both the victim and the victimizer.

Television standards have evolved to the darker, more violent side in the past several years. Critics of television violence say that when children watch an endless stream of violent acts, they become desensitized to the damaging effects of aggressive behavior and feel less sympathy for the victims of aggressive acts. Children become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others by watching violence on television. “The fictional programs on television require a crime, murder or fist- fight to develop plot and story” (Kaufman). Seeing the violence makes children more fearful of the world around them. Some children may find some of the images frightening and, in some cases, develop anxiety and phobic reactions. This brutality causes some children to develop short lived nightmares and other sleep problems. Children who watch a lot of violence on television are more likely to think that the world is a cruel and dangerous place. “For children already inclined to be fearful, it unsettles them further and makes the world seem like an even scarier place” (Jana). Most children behave differently after watching a violent television program. Television is a powerful teacher. When children watch their favorite character using violence or aggression to get what they want, children will do the same thing. Children feel that if they copy their hero that they will become a hero also. “The hero is always “justified” in one way or another when committing violent acts” (Kaufman). Seeing their hero go unpunished shows the child that he or she can commit crimes and acts of violence and not get in trouble for it. Children who view shows in which violence is realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. Children begin to think that criminals are powerful role models. Many researchers have tried to find out why children are so mesmerized by this big glowing

box and the action that takes place within it. “By the age of 8, aggression becomes so ingrained in a child that it predicts adult aggression” (Beckman). Not only does television violence affect the child’s youth, but it can also affect his or her adulthood. As a child matures into an adult, they can become bewildered; they have a greater distrust towards others, a superficial approach to adult problems and even an unwillingness to become an adult. Television violence destroys a child’s mind. Some experts, like University of Michigan professor L. Rowell Huesman, argue that fifty years of evidence show “that exposure to media violence causes children to behave more aggressively and affects them as adults years later” (qtd.in Research on the Effects of Media Violence). The effects of this violence can be long- lasting if not never- ending.

A solid relationship exists between anti- social portrayal or violent episodes and behaving anti- social. “Cartoons were not only the most anti- social type of program but contained the lowest rate of pro- social behaviors” (Hapkiewicz). Watching violent cartoons also causes an increase in aggressive behavior in children. Studies have show than when children watch violent cartoons like the Woody Woodpecker show they will