Television Violence Related To Children
Do you know what your children are learning by watching television? You may think of the television as an educational device, but what exactly are the educational messages TV senRAB? Studies show that violence and deviant activities among children are a result of television viewing. According to most social psychologists, aggression among children is a learned behavior. There are many devices that contribute to a child’s learning experience and television has proven to be one of them.
Television plays a major role in shaping how children perceive the world. When a child is watching their favorite television program, he/she has a problem differentiating reality from fiction. The child sees his/her favorite TV character involved in dangerous situations without consequences, the child then concludes that their dangerous actions will result without negative effects. For instance, when viewing The Road Runner cartoon, Wyle E. Coyote is repeatedly injured in what reality is considered dangerous acts but never seems to be harmed. During one episode of the show, he may fall off of a cliff, get blown up by a borab, hit by a car and be involved in various other harmful accidents. Oddly enough, none of these accidents ever seem to hurt Wyle E. Coyote, or stop him from repeating his harmful actions. He shows no pain, never goes to the hospital, nor does he ever receive any attention or affection from those who care about him, his family. Cartoons, such as The Road Runner, that children view are misleading them, in the fact that they to can partake in these dangerous acts and never face serious consequences. The case of the young boy who set his house on fire after watching an episode of the ever so popular, Beavis and Butthead, is a prime example. Children witness their favorite characters, their heroes, involving themselves in dangerous situations but never getting hurt and they wrongly conclude that they too can do something dangerous and not be affected in any negative way.
Should you ban your child from watching television? This is a question that raises a lot of controversy, because not everything on television is harmful for children. When considering this question, it may be helpful to review the study performed by Robinson and Bechman. In their study, they came to the conclusion that the amount of television a child views contributes largely to the amount of aggressive behavior a child portrays. They performed their study by separating nine to thirteen year old children of both sexes into groups, and then they had the different groups of children watch different television episodes. One group watched shows with a high amount of violence, while another group watched shows with little or no violence. Robinson and Bechman then presented different situations to the children and recorded how each child reacted. In one situation, for example, the children were each asked to pretend that they were playing on the swing set and another kid comes along and pushes them off. They were then asked how they would react to this situation. There were two possible ways in which the children could react, either by using verbal or physical aggression or by using non-violent behaviors. Through their study, Robinson and Bechman showed that 45 percent of the children who watched highly violent television chose to handle the situation by using some form of physical or verbal aggressive behavior. Compare this to the 21 percent of the children who watched little or no violent television programs (Murray). Thus, it goes to prove that the more violence a child watches, the more apt they are to behave in an aggressive manor.
Another study was performed to see what effects viewing the popular children’s show The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had. This study showed that a group of children that had watched a televised Power Ranger episode performed seven times more aggressive acts than a control group of children, in a two-minute period. The result of this study clearly links television violence and real-life aggression (Cesarone). These two studies are just two of many that support the theory that violence on television does promote violent and aggressive behavior among those children who watch it. A study was also performed by the Fleming County FCH Chapter, which surveyed one hundred second grade students on what type of television programs they watch after school. Most of the children watched the more violent programs than they did the more subtle, non-violent programs (see attached graphic).
Today, there is a tendency for parents to use the television as a “babysitter” while they work and do their chores around the house. It seems to be a very convenient and inexpensive way to keep children entertained and out of the way. But should parents do this to their children? Or is this just harming the children by allowing them to watch whatever it is they want without censorship? By allowing your child to watch anything they may choose, you are just making it that much easier for them to learn and repeat unwanted behaviors. What type of unwanted behaviors are children learning from television? Children view about five acts of violence pre hour, and by the time they finish elementary school they will have viewed 8,000 murders (Walsh). By viewing these programs children are exposed to violent activities.
As you can now see, television is and can be used as an educational device for children but they are not always being taught the correct and appropriate things. The study preformed by Robison and Bechman, and the study on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers proves that children are learning violent behaviors. Violence portrayed by children has been linked to television for many years now and the question is how can we put a stop to it. One possible solution that could positively be enforced is for parents to stick to their morals and values and pass them down to their children. During a child’s adolescence stage is the most important time for a parent to guide their children in the right direction by teaching them moral, values and beliefs (Macionis 76). By doing this you are preparing your child to make good decisions throughout life. Another way to cut back on the amount of violence children view on television is to simply monitor what they watch. True, you can not be around all of the time to monitor what your child watches but when you are, do not allow them to watch shows that promote violence and aggression or shows that are misleading. Limiting the amount of time that you allow your child to watch television could also prove to be helpful. Another solution parents could try is to find other, more educational things for their children to participate in. Set aside a couple of hours each day/week for “family time”. During this time you could play games, go on trips, or simply just talk about how things are going. Communicating between family merabers proves to be the most effective way to solve problems anyway (Macionis 70). If you do not approve of what your child is watching you should be able to explain to them why you disapprove and they should respect your decision and discontinue watching that certain program. There are many solutions that could help protect children from turning aggressive, but they will never be effective until parents apply them.
Do you know what your children are learning by watching television? You may think of the television as an educational device, but what exactly are the educational messages TV senRAB? Studies show that violence and deviant activities among children are a result of television viewing. According to most social psychologists, aggression among children is a learned behavior. There are many devices that contribute to a child’s learning experience and television has proven to be one of them.
Television plays a major role in shaping how children perceive the world. When a child is watching their favorite television program, he/she has a problem differentiating reality from fiction. The child sees his/her favorite TV character involved in dangerous situations without consequences, the child then concludes that their dangerous actions will result without negative effects. For instance, when viewing The Road Runner cartoon, Wyle E. Coyote is repeatedly injured in what reality is considered dangerous acts but never seems to be harmed. During one episode of the show, he may fall off of a cliff, get blown up by a borab, hit by a car and be involved in various other harmful accidents. Oddly enough, none of these accidents ever seem to hurt Wyle E. Coyote, or stop him from repeating his harmful actions. He shows no pain, never goes to the hospital, nor does he ever receive any attention or affection from those who care about him, his family. Cartoons, such as The Road Runner, that children view are misleading them, in the fact that they to can partake in these dangerous acts and never face serious consequences. The case of the young boy who set his house on fire after watching an episode of the ever so popular, Beavis and Butthead, is a prime example. Children witness their favorite characters, their heroes, involving themselves in dangerous situations but never getting hurt and they wrongly conclude that they too can do something dangerous and not be affected in any negative way.
Should you ban your child from watching television? This is a question that raises a lot of controversy, because not everything on television is harmful for children. When considering this question, it may be helpful to review the study performed by Robinson and Bechman. In their study, they came to the conclusion that the amount of television a child views contributes largely to the amount of aggressive behavior a child portrays. They performed their study by separating nine to thirteen year old children of both sexes into groups, and then they had the different groups of children watch different television episodes. One group watched shows with a high amount of violence, while another group watched shows with little or no violence. Robinson and Bechman then presented different situations to the children and recorded how each child reacted. In one situation, for example, the children were each asked to pretend that they were playing on the swing set and another kid comes along and pushes them off. They were then asked how they would react to this situation. There were two possible ways in which the children could react, either by using verbal or physical aggression or by using non-violent behaviors. Through their study, Robinson and Bechman showed that 45 percent of the children who watched highly violent television chose to handle the situation by using some form of physical or verbal aggressive behavior. Compare this to the 21 percent of the children who watched little or no violent television programs (Murray). Thus, it goes to prove that the more violence a child watches, the more apt they are to behave in an aggressive manor.
Another study was performed to see what effects viewing the popular children’s show The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had. This study showed that a group of children that had watched a televised Power Ranger episode performed seven times more aggressive acts than a control group of children, in a two-minute period. The result of this study clearly links television violence and real-life aggression (Cesarone). These two studies are just two of many that support the theory that violence on television does promote violent and aggressive behavior among those children who watch it. A study was also performed by the Fleming County FCH Chapter, which surveyed one hundred second grade students on what type of television programs they watch after school. Most of the children watched the more violent programs than they did the more subtle, non-violent programs (see attached graphic).
Today, there is a tendency for parents to use the television as a “babysitter” while they work and do their chores around the house. It seems to be a very convenient and inexpensive way to keep children entertained and out of the way. But should parents do this to their children? Or is this just harming the children by allowing them to watch whatever it is they want without censorship? By allowing your child to watch anything they may choose, you are just making it that much easier for them to learn and repeat unwanted behaviors. What type of unwanted behaviors are children learning from television? Children view about five acts of violence pre hour, and by the time they finish elementary school they will have viewed 8,000 murders (Walsh). By viewing these programs children are exposed to violent activities.
As you can now see, television is and can be used as an educational device for children but they are not always being taught the correct and appropriate things. The study preformed by Robison and Bechman, and the study on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers proves that children are learning violent behaviors. Violence portrayed by children has been linked to television for many years now and the question is how can we put a stop to it. One possible solution that could positively be enforced is for parents to stick to their morals and values and pass them down to their children. During a child’s adolescence stage is the most important time for a parent to guide their children in the right direction by teaching them moral, values and beliefs (Macionis 76). By doing this you are preparing your child to make good decisions throughout life. Another way to cut back on the amount of violence children view on television is to simply monitor what they watch. True, you can not be around all of the time to monitor what your child watches but when you are, do not allow them to watch shows that promote violence and aggression or shows that are misleading. Limiting the amount of time that you allow your child to watch television could also prove to be helpful. Another solution parents could try is to find other, more educational things for their children to participate in. Set aside a couple of hours each day/week for “family time”. During this time you could play games, go on trips, or simply just talk about how things are going. Communicating between family merabers proves to be the most effective way to solve problems anyway (Macionis 70). If you do not approve of what your child is watching you should be able to explain to them why you disapprove and they should respect your decision and discontinue watching that certain program. There are many solutions that could help protect children from turning aggressive, but they will never be effective until parents apply them.