Children and Violence on TV

Children and Violence on TV

In the past twenty years, violence on TV has become more common and

more acceptable in society. This generation is growing up in an

increasingly cruel world – where children are exposed to violence,

murders and bullying on TV. Guidelines have been put in place – but

are they really enough? In this essay I shall be discussing the

positive and negative effects of violence on TV and ask if legislation

is the way forward for TV.

Violence is shown in all types of children’s programmes, from cartoons

like “Tom and Jerry”, to children’s dramas such as “Byker Grove”.

Violence can take place in different forms – bullying and mugging are

just some of them. Today it is becoming a way of life.

Violence on TV can have quite a deep impact on children, depending on

the context in which it is shown. For example, children old enough to

understand that violence in cartoons is not real may not be influenced

by them – unlike very young children who may imitate the violent

events shown in the programme. More realistic programmes such as

“Eastenders” may be more influential to a child because the programme

contains characters that represent real people.

Soaps are often used as a vehicle to portray difficult situations with

a clear message for viewers to learn from, e.g. Janine Butcher in

“Eastenders” and her drug taking and prostitution. Her friends

started leaving her and her appearance went downhill. This was

designed to send a clear message to viewers who were contemplating

this behaviour that it would only lead to a downward spiral.

Soaps also include real life situations which the child may be

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... in life.

I do, however, think that fines should be imposed to companies that

break these guidelines regularly, or to those who broadcast a

particularly offensive programme before the nine o’clock watershed.

Children should not be unnecessarily frightened by programmes that are

intended for their audience.

As long as it is made clear to children what is an acceptable way of

behaving and what isn’t, TV violence should have no major impact on

society. Should violence increase dramatically in years to come,

perhaps these guidelines should be more strictly enforced, or even

backed by law. For now, programme makers should follow the guidelines

with the utmost concern for the audience their programme is intended

for, and take great care to ensure children are not influenced by the

programmes they are broadcasting.