TV's Negative Impact on Children in the USA

Education comes in many ways such as books, television, magazines, and advertising. Furthermore, education for children is very important. It is widely believed that television viewing has a negative impact on school achievement. A conclusion that television had no major effects was difficult to support, since the review also reported that little research had been conducted on several issues, such as the influence of entertainment television on children’s academically relevant knowledge. Early exposure to age appropriate programs that are specifically made for education are associated with cognitive development and academic achievement, whereas exposing a child to pure entertainment can lead to behavior problems, poor cognitive development, and lower academic achievement. Scholars agree that through television and books, that the media impacts children in a negative manner by not being truthful and changing behaviors.

Many authors use logos to represent their belief of the effects of media on education, behavior, and gender roles of children. In the article Television as Teacher, written by Neil Postman, he discusses the affects of television learning on children. The main example he uses is Sesame Street, how it teaches and what it teaches children. Postman states, “Its use of cute puppets, celebrities, catchy tunes, and rapid-fire editing was certain to give pleasure to children and would therefore serve as adequate preparation for their entry to a fun-loving culture” (422). “We now know that Sesame Street undermines what the traditional idea of schooling represents” (Postman 422). The producers of Sesame Street used research and over 1,000 studies and experiments to create the show and test its impact on the youn...

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...ce and opinions.

In order to persuade the audience reading thesearticles, proper ethos, pathos, and logos are needed. Using media for education differs from using the media for entertainment; however education helps improve cognitive development and entertainment slows cognitive development. Fortunately, many young children will learn from educational media that interests them. Using media for education is beneficial to children, because it gives them different ways of learning. These different ways of learning can expand a young child’s horizon of learning.

Works Cited

Greene, Stuart. From Inquiry to Academic Writing. Boston, MA. 2012. Print

Hade, Daniel. Lies My Children’s Books Taught Me: History Meets Popular Culture in the American Girls Books. New York. 2005. Print

Postman, Neil. Television as Teacher. New York. 2005. Print