Media Violence - Television Perpetuates Violence

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Television Perpetuates Violence

Bullets whizzing, knives twirling, fists flying -- not an uncommon sight on the television set of today. From cartoons to sitcoms, television shows depict violent acts that go unpunished and contain no painful consequences. This view of the world does not reflect reality nor does it teach our children the values, morals or behaviors we constantly tell them to practice.

Many parents don't realize that their children view the most violence watching the most innocent of shows. For example, Nickelodeon's "Loony Tunes," actually contains 80 acts of violence per hour and prime-time shows register at 60 acts of violence per hour. Children's programs are the least likely to show negative and harmful consequences of violent acts.

Even more appalling than the neglect of consequences is that 2/3 of children's programs depict violence as humorous. With violence conceived as funny, children are less likely to be bothered by violence in general or see anything wrong with it. This desensitizes children, who become more willing to tolerate increasing levels of violence in our society and also become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. When the typical American child witnesses 200,000 acts of televised violence by age 18, this desensitization becomes inevitable.(1) Children predisposed to this violent behavior accept violent acts and consider it more "normal".

Television shows give children the false belief that they are invincible. On the cartoon "The Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote", the coyote miraculously survived countless acts of violence. On one such episode the coyote attempted to catch the roadrunner by rigging a catapult to throw a huge boulder as the roadrunner ran past. As us...

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...arents to violent or sexually explicit programs, backfires because it attracts children to such shows. Parents must stand up and take control. Watch television with your children and talk about what you see. Limit your child's exposure to inappropriate programs.(5) Television ruthlessly allows a parade of losers, con-men, murders and rapists to march through our homes and influence our children.

Works Cited

Murray, John. "Children and Violence." Kansas Journal of Law and Public Policy 04.3 (1995): 7-14

Solutions to Violence. http://edie.cprost.sfu.ca/gcnet/iss4-21d.html

Television. http://www.local.access.com/hardebeck/killtv4.htm

Vasta, Ross, Marshall M. Haith, and Scott A. Miller. Child Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995.

Endnotes

1. Murray

2. Television

3. Vasta 47-49.

4. Vasta 49.

5. Solutions

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