TV or No TV

TV or No TV

This is a question millions of parents are pondering across America. Violence, along with sexual content, on television is at an all time high. So are the ratings, however. Sex and violence seems to draw a larger audience. 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.

 Children may be more fearful of the world around them.

 Children may be more likely to behave in aggressive ways toward others.

Sometimes kids act differently after they've been watching violent programs on television.In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 preschool children were observed both before and after watching television. Some kids watched cartoons that had many aggressive and violent acts while the others watched shows that didn't have any sort of violence at all. The researchers picked up on a lot of real differences in behavior between the kids who watched the violent shows and those who watched nonviolent ones. The kids who watched the violent shows were more likely to strike out at playmates, argue, disobey authority and were less willing to wait for things than those children who watched nonviolent programs.

Some studies found that kids who watched many hours of television violence when they were in elementary school had a greater tendency to show a higher level of aggressive behavior as they grew older. One of these studies observed these same youngsters until they were 30 years old. The results show that the ones who had watched a lot of television when they were eight years old had significantly greater chances to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults.

Some steps have been taken in the right direction, however. The television industry took steps toward implementing a rating system for its programming at a meeting with President Clinton in late February.