Marketing to Children (Violence in Media/Technology Dependency)

Researchers have discovered that repeated exposure to violence on television causes children to become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Viewing violent television programming also causes children to view the world as a frightening place. Children who observe violence on television are likely to act out what they see, and to think that violent acts are acceptable. According to George Gerbner, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, for the first time in human history most of the stories about people, life, and values are told not by parents, schools, churches, or others in the community who have something to tell, but by a group of distant conglomerates that have something to sell. We need to examine exactly what these companies are telling children and the effects these violent stories are having on the children who watch them.

Violence on television can be harmful in more ways than one. On the one hand, kids will imitate what they watch, but kids are also very easily brainwashed. Children may get a false impression of what the world is really like. If all the children see is violence on television, then, of course, the children will be a little apprehensive about the world. All of the violence could also m... ... middle of paper ... ...e lack of exercise shows for children.

The basic reason is because violence is what people want to see. Much of the American viewing audience, and especially children, will watch the shows with more action before they even think about watching the morally correct ones. Another reason is that some broadcasters claim that there is not enough evidence to prove that TV violence is harmful. But, scientists who have studied this aspect have stated that TV violence and aggressive behavior are linked. In a Children Now Executive Summary, only one of many studies on the issue, experts agreed, among other relevant topics, "that television can have a negative effect on children, encouraging anti-social behavior such as dishonesty or violence."

A larger audience brings networks more money. This all looks simple enough except for the fact that all of the viewers aren’t old enough determine fact from fiction or right from wrong. With violence in schools on the rise, the question arises: Does violent television programming influence our children and their actions? According to some psychological research, violence on television affects children negatively. The three major effects of seeing violence on television are:  Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others.

Countless mothers and fathers put their children in front of the television so they can have time to themselves. As a result, the kids are subjected to unnecessary media violence. I feel as thought this violence has a great effect on the children’s lives. The impact of television violence on youth behavior has been an issue for many years. Television stations and their executives tend to deny television’s contribution to youth violence.

Children’s vulnerability poses as the main problem due to desensitization. Psychologists’ studies report that children become immune to television violence and adopt the behavior as a way of problem solving. Other people argue and say that television can not be blamed for the increase of violence among our society. They believe the increase comes from a lack of discipline and the large amounts of violence children view in their environments. Others feel that a large number of parents use television as a babysitter and do not spend enough quality time with their children.

Television has the ability to “traumatize children.” (Boyse) The impact television has over society hinders the ability for many to recognize the dangers that come from it. Negative outcomes from too much screen time at a young age include: obesity, irregular sleep patterns, behavioral problems, even impair academic performance (Mayo). Due to the conclusions drawn from research and observational studies, one is able to support the claim that young children watching television obtains far more downfalls such as health problems, behavior abnormalities, and unfit lifestyles than benefits such as convenience. When you are a child you are influenced by many things. The things you hear, smell, and most of all the things you see.

Children and Television Violence Through what they experience on television, children are forced into adulthood at too young of an age. The innocence of youth is lost when children stare endlessly at a screen displaying the horrors of murder, rape, assault, devastating fire, and other natural disasters. Although these are occurrences in everyday life, things adults have grown accustomed to hearing about, children do not have the maturity level to deal with these tragedies appropriately. Children's behavior changes because they become desensitized to the violence. There are many preventative techniques that can be applied to ensure that negativity on television will not interfere with a child's development.

Censorship of TV Violence Not Necessary Censorship of televised media often begins as a result of the concern many adults show over what their children watch. Children begin watching television at an early age, and they are usually lifetime viewers by the time they are two to three years old. There is usually a steady increase in the amount of television watched during a persons' childhood. This is followed by a decline during adolescence. What is more of a concern to the American people, however, is the amount of violence depicted on the television screen.

If parents do not monitor what their children are watching, then the media will have a great impact on their children’s life. Most people when analyzing this issue tend to focus on drugs, sex, and violence in terms of the television media. How ridiculous though, it would be to forcibly say that television is the sole cause of changing behavior and attitudes in children. More apropos it would be to ascertain which types of imagery, programs, and activities are more likely to alter a child’s behavior and determine which of these appear on television. “A recent study at UCLA reported on the percentages of unrealistic outcomes displayed on TV shows.