Effects Of Television Essay Research Paper effects

Effects Of Television Essay, Research Paper

effects of television

Television violence is a negative message of reality to the children who see it. In this essay I am going to show and prove that violence on television causes children to be more violent.

Over the years there have been many studies to show that there is an excessive amount of violence, not only in adult programs, but also in children s programs. Television and the American Child by George Comstock, states on page 27, that the National Television Violence Study, which took three years to finish, shows shocking information about what we are viewing everyday. What the analysis of 2,693 television programs from 23 channels showed is that a majority of programs contain what the researchers call harmful violence . They found that in 73 percent of the scenes, the violence went unpunished. In nearly half of the programs with slugfests and shoot-outs, the victims miraculously never appeared harmed. In 58 percent they showed no pain, in fact, only 16 percent of the programs showed any long-term problems physical, emotional or financial. We must show the children that the things that the characters do hurt people, and that violence is never the answer to any problem. We must teach the next generation how to work out his or her problems with his or her “enemy” by talking the problem out with the other, and finding other means of solving their differences. Another example of the amount of violence in kids television shows can be seen in Marilyn Droz s, director of research for the National Coalition on Television Violence, study on the Power Rangers. This is what she came up with:

1. Seventy percent of the kids who watch the show say the fighting is what they like

best.

2. In an hour of Power Rangers programming, there is an average of 211 acts of violence.

3. A typical Saturday morning cartoon hour generally has 25 violent acts per hour.

4. A typical hour of an adult show has six acts of violence. (Meltz. A1)

The Power Rangers are an entertaining part of our children s lives but the few minutes a day they watch may have severe circumstances. The morals and views of reality of the kids are shattered. These children do not think that what they are doing is wrong when they hit or kick. They say,” The Power Rangers do it, why can t I?” This makes it even tougher on the parents. They must explain that what the Power Rangers do on the television set is make believe. This confuses the child because they see it with their own eyes, yet when they kick and hit they are punished for doing something bad.

Not one parent I know wants his or her children watching people getting blown away or thrown off cliffs. In reality, maybe parents cannot be there 24 hours a day to monitor what their children are watching. In fact the television is often used as a baby-sitter, so that the parent can do housework, have an adult conversation, or just relax after work.

It is a proven fact that children learn imitation at a very early stage in their life. A researcher by the name of Meltzoff proved this by studying learning in infants. This in

itself is a large topic, but it was narrowed down to how early in life infants start learning. He concluded that babies start to learn even before birth. A study by Meltzoff demonstrated observational learning in 14-month-olds. After watching an adult on television handling “a novel toy in a particular way,” the babies were able to imitate the behavior when presented with the toy 24 hours later (Wood.292). This study indicates that babies learn imitation very early in life, and parents should be more particular with what they allow their susceptible children to view on TV.

The types of people who are the most likely to be harmed by the surplus of violence on TV are children. Ed Donnerstein stated in the February 15, 1996 edition of the Boston Globe the following:

Violence turns out to do a lot of harm when it looks harmless. One of the lessons

children learn watching television is that there are few consequences to the person

who commits violence or to the victim. Add to this positive portrayal of

negative behavior the fact that children s programs were least likely to show the bad

effects of violence and most likely to make it funny (Goodman 23).

What we are really showing children is that violence is humorous and can do no harm. A very good example of this can be seen on a number of television shows and programs. A crime is committed and the offender is then seen walking off into the sunset on his or her way to Mexico where the rest of his or her life is spent drinking margueritas on the beach.

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, television show for children, is a very good example of how violence on TV can affect our children. It is one of the highest rated kids television shows today. The Power Rangers is one of the most violent shows around right now and kids love it. The violence in the show has led New Zealand and two of the major networks in Canada to ban the program from their daily schedules. Nancy Carlson-Paige of Lesley College said in an issue in the December 1, 1994 Boston Globe,” Locally, teachers see evidence that Power Rangers interferes with normal childhood development. It threatens to undermine children s mental health

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