Children in Front of TV Violence
In Brooklyn, New York, the six-year-old son of a policeman asked his father to give him real bullets because his little sister "doesn't die for real when I shoot her like Bruce Wills kills in "Die Hard" ". For years now, researchers have been trying to answer the question on whether TV has harmful effects on young viewers or not, but the debate still remains. On the one hand, there are those parents and social commentators who are enthusiastic about the opportunity television presents to children. Not only do they learn about the wonders of the world, but they also get a glimpse of the goodness and badness of humankind. In addition, they also strongly support the so-called "catharsis" potential of television. On the other hand, thoughtful parents and social critics are very much aware of television's faults. The purpose of this essay is to present this conflict of violence that influence offspring via the attendance of TV programs. Television programming has been under attack on the grounds that it is heavily loaded with violence and sadism and that it encourages and stimulates aggressive behaviour in the adolescent audience. This problem exists firstly, because children tend to imitate what they see and finally, they have limite
Most clinical and experimental psychologists agree that television is a school of violence. A lot of child psychiatrists argue that crime programs have very damaging effects on kids. Their mind is coloured by so much violence like killing, shooting, cheating, raping, etc, that they grow up without understanding and misunderstanding what is wrong and what is right. Why does the problem exist with children and TV violence? As Steve Wulf summarizes, "Our children are the public interest, living and breathing flesh and blood" (66+). Another characteristic of young children is that they tend to imitate aggressive or immoral behaviour seen on television. Hundreds of studies show that children and teenagers become immune to the horror of violence, gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they observe on television and identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers. A research from National Cable Television (NCTA) reveals that: perpetrators go unpunished in 73% of violent scenes, 25% of violent interactions on TV involve the use of a handgun and only 4% of violent programs emphasize on anti-violence theme. 4) Be aware of what your kids are watching. Watch at least one episode of their favourite show and ask them what they like about it. This activity gives you the chance to discover and correct a child's faulty impressions. One additional reason that we should give our children a healthier television environment is the fact that young viewers consume tremendous amounts of time in front of the television set. Aimee Dorr indicates that children of age three or older commonly spend an average of three or four hours a day watching television (102). By the time most Americans reach the age of 18, they would have spent more time in front of a television screen than in school, with their teachers and even their parents! (Steve Wulf 66+). Currently, many developing countries and especially the United States are concerned about the amount of violence that is portrayed in television programs. In one study for example, 19% of first graders, 22% of sixth graders and 9% of the tenth graders reported that their parents do not set them rules seriously (134). Therefore, it is necessary for parents to protect their children form the consequences of TV violence by taking under consideration a number of solutions. As a parent you should: ressive behaviour is acceptable. For example, a battle, a rebel, or a fight is always against an enemy. As a result, in a TV program, it is more important
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Approximate Word count = 1713
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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