9098 children and tv violence

Children and TV Violence
American children watch an average of three to
fours hours of television daily. Television can be a
powerful influence in developing value systems and
shaping behavior. Unfortunately, much of today's
television programming is violent. Hundreds of
studies of the effects of TV violence on children and
teenagers have found that children may:
• Become "immune" to the horror of violence;
• Gradually accept violence as a way to solve
problems;
• Imitate the violence they observe on
television; and
• Identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers:
Extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness.
Sometimes, watching a single violent program can increase aggressiveness. Children,
who view shows, in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished,
are more likely to imitate what they see. The impact of TV violence may be immediately
evident in the child's behavior or may surface years later and young people can even be
affected when the family atmosphere shows no tendency toward violence.
This does not mean that violence on television is the only source for aggressive or
violent behavior, but it is a significant contributor.
Parents can protect children from excessive TV violence in the following ways:
• Pay attention to the programs their children are watching. Watch some with them.
• Set limits on the amount of time they spend with the television.
• Point out that although the actor has not actually been hurt or killed, such
violence in real life results in pain or death.
• Refuse to let the children see shows known to be violent, and change the
channel or turn off the TV set when something offensive comes on, with an
explanation of what is wrong with the program.
• Disapprove of the violent episodes in front of the children, stressing the belief

that such behavior is not the best way to resolve a problem.
• To offset peer pressure among friends and classmates, contact other parents and
agree to enforce similar rules about the length of time and type of program the
children may watch.
Parents should also use these measures to prevent harmful effects from television in
other areas such as racial or sexual stereotyping. The amount of time children watch
TV, regardless of content, should be moderated, because it keeps children from other,
more beneficial activities such as reading and playing with friends. If parents have
serious difficulties setting limits, or deep concerns about how their child is reacting to
television, they should contact a child and adolescent psychiatrist for help defining the
problem.


There are no commun conclusion about this matter . There are people who say :
There is a "general consensus among social scientists that television violence increases
the propensity to real-life aggression among some viewers".
but others think
"There is presently little evidence indicating that TV violence increases real-life
agressions among young viewers.
What do you think?
Read a part of a internet discussion. Write a paragraph expressing your opinion.

Discussion on the Internet
Rachel
First and for most, we are not saying that if children watch violence on TV they are
GOING to become violent, we are saying it DOES affect them in some way or another.
Parents ARE responsible for censoring what their children watch. TV can be very
educational, but if you are not watching Martha Stewart or Julia child make cookies
most of what we see includes violence. Children learn by observation, and they do what
they see. That is a fact but that doesn't mean that they are going to do everything they

see, therefore TV violence does affect children but we cannot put all the blame on TV
violence.
Trish
I am a 21 college student, and I am also reading these opinions for a paper I am
currently doing, each of us are entitled to our freedom of speech which is a privilege
given to us by our forefathers, yet there are some things on TV, in lyrics, and in literature
forms that I do not believe were the intentions that the writers of the Bill of rights had.
We are a blessed nation, and we are fortunate enough to have the freedoms we do; yet
I believe there should be a limit concerning our morale. The more we let things slide by
the worse this nation is going to become. THE MENTALITY OF CHILDREN IS
AFFECTED BY TELEVISION. Some of the previous passages I read from teens stated
that they were not affected by media, however they are WRONG, if you are wearing
leather pants, GAP clothing, Old Navy, etc. you have been affected. In the stages of our
life we will be affected in many different ways. Small children are influenced by parents
and any other role model; parents cannot be with their children 24hrs a day, so yes they
need to educate them, however, the producers of filth need to think of something else
besides money.


Liz
I think violence in TV does affect children... first of all programs such as " Power
Rangers" or Ninja Mutant Ninja Turtles give children role models to follow, then they
start liking fighting and act aggressively. I think the fault is TV's industry, and at the
same time the parents, they should be careful in what their children watch.
Nina
I do not believe that violence can effect one person so much and change people' moral
values to a point where every thing must be censored. I am a healthy twelve-year-old
girl who gets good grades and listens to r&b and rap. I also watch television. I am not
filled with the devil and I am not an ax murder. So what's up?
Mandy

I think that people are always looking for someone else to blame! Yes, T.V. is violent, but
I think that to be affected by these violent shows, movies, lyrics, ect. You'd have to be
kind of messed up in the first place. All I watch is violence and rap videos, and I am a
perfectly normal 15 year-old girl. When the shootings happened in Colorado the parents
didn't want to take the blame, and so they decided that the music was to blame! They
raised the kids and should have noticed something was wrong. Moral: watch your kids
and explain to them what they are seeing on T.V. And even if we take out all the
violence in shows, kids can still see it on the news! So, why take it out of shows that
need it for entertainment values? Parents should just teach this new generation what's
right and wrong and expect SOME violence, because even Barney and Sesame Street
has SOME violence in them, just know where to draw the line and tell the kids that its
not ok.
Donna
I think that it is completely wrong for these psychiatrists' people to sit here and say that
television is affects the kids of today. First of all, I know tons of people who watch violent
movies and shows for more than 4 hours, and it doesn't affect us a bit. We watch
wrestling on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays, and it doesn't affect us. What really
affects this kids, is the environment they grow up in. If their parents are abusive, they
might end up being abusive. So, all this crap about T.V. affecting us is completely
wrong. From- a 14 year old chick who knows what she's talking about.