Television's positive and negative effects on children

¶ … Bad Influence TV has on Children

Research on television viewing in the United States indicates that an American child watches television an average of 25 hours per week or 3 1/2 hours a day. This means that children in the U.S. spend more time watching television than in any other activity except sleeping ("Fact Sheet"). It is obvious that an activity carried out for such long periods during a child's formative years would have enormous influence on his or her behavior. Such influence can be good or bad depending on the extent and the type of television content watched by the children.

Let us examine the benefits of television viewing on children first. Shared viewing provides an opportunity for family members to spend time together. Educational programs on TV can develop children's socialization skills and news, current events and historical programs enable them to become more aware of other cultures and people. Quality television can teach the children important values and programs with positive role models can influence them to change their behavior for the better. Parents can even use TV as catalyst to get their kids interested in reading. ("The Good Things about Television") Some studies have also revealed that moderate amount of TV viewing promotes cognitive development in young children and "children who spend a moderate amount of time with TV perform better [in schools] than non-viewers." (Alexander, para on "Learning from Television") According to "The Research Center for Families and Children" television, if used in moderation, can stimulate a child's education and creativity. (Quoted in "How Television Viewing Affects Children")

The negative influences of television on children are far more numerous and have been brought out in numerous research studies. Excessive television viewing, which is now the norm in most U.S. households, replaces other healthy activities in children's lives necessary for their normal development. These include playing with friends, being physically active, getting fresh air, reading, playing imaginatively, doing homework, and doing chores. ("What do I need..." para on "How Big a Presence...") The adverse effects of excessive television viewing include violent and aggressive behavior, poor school performance, obesity, early sexual activity, and drug or alcohol use.

Children begin watching television at very young ages even before they reach the age of 2 years, since the TV is on "most" of the time in more than half of American households. ("What do I Need..." para on "How big a presence...") The "American Academy of Pediatrics" believes that too much television at such an early age can negatively affect brain development since the first 2 years of a child's life are especially important in the growth and development of the brain and a child needs good, positive interaction with other children and adults in this period. (Ibid.)

The link between violence on television and violent behavior in children has been well established in numerous studies and is particularly disturbing. Statistics indicate that the typical American child is exposed to 12,000 violent acts on television a year and children's TV programming alone contains about 20 violent acts an hour. (Ibid.) Children imitate what they see and watching violent TV programs teaches children that violence is an acceptable way to solve problems. According to the "American Psychological Association," besides learning aggressive behavior, children exposed to TV violence are likely to become desensitized to real world violence and develop a fear of being victimized.