Television Violence and the Effects on Children

Television Violence and the Effects on Children

Although the debate goes on as to whether or not television violence has a negative impact on children, there is ample evidence to verify that indeed, children are impacted in largely negative ways by being witnesses to violence on television. This paper provides six reasons why allowing children to watch violent TV is a bad idea and can create aggressive people later in life.

Reason ONE: An article in the peer-reviewed journal Pediatrics (van der Molen, 2004) points out what may not be obvious to parents and others involved in raising and educating children. That is, local news on television, which is not fiction of course, is found to "rely heavily on sensational presentations of violence" (van der Molen, 1771). And what kind of news is typically shown on the "local news"? Certainly violence is a constant theme, along with rape, robbery, shootings, car wrecks, and kidnappings. Studies show that children in the highest grades of elementary school watch local news "at least several times a week" and even 3-to 8-year-olds watch local news or national news often. The bottom line for Reason ONE: children of all ages are "regularly confronted with highly dist4ressing and violent accounts of murders, catastrophic accidents, war, and other suffering," and this leads to heightened levels of "aggression…fright reactions, fear of the world as a scary place, and desensitization" (van der Molen, 1772).

Reason TWO: When tested in laboratories, individuals (not just children) do "tend to behave more aggressively than do subjects in control groups" (Felson, 1996, p. 103). When a meta-analysis is conducted (examining of many similar tests in laboratories) of existing research, those studies consistently show "substantial media effects" on the subjects involved (Felson, 105). There are arguments as to whether lab experiments are valid, but when looking at a meta-analysis, and they all indicate that violence on TV has a negative effect, it's believable.

Reason THREE: An article in the peer-reviewed Psychological Science in the Public Interest asserts that based on "unequivocal evidence" it can be stated that "frequent exposure" to violence on television in childhood is linked with "aggression later in life" (Anderson, et al., 2003, p. 81). Moreover, the aggression later in life is apt to include physical assaults and spousal abuse, Anderson explains (81). Recent surveys show that there is an "extensive presence of violence in modern media," and many children and adolescents spent "an inordinate amount of time consuming violent media," which, according to the empirical research, leads to aggressive behaviors later in life for children (Anderson, 81).

Reason FOUR: When 350 parents completed questionnaires about their children's television watching habits, it was found that TV watching habits of parents "…had an influence on those of their children" (Yalcin, et al., 2002). Given that finding, the authors of this article suggest that pediatricians should take a close look at the TV habits of parents and children, and help educate parents as to the negative effects violence has on their children (Yalcin, p. 622).

Reason FIVE: An article in the Journal of Advertising suggests five alternatives to prevent kids from becoming aggressive through TV watching: a) parents should prepare kids to cope with advertising; b) regulate ads and programs aimed at kids; c) get parents more involved; d) work with advertisers and media companies to bring more wholesome programming; and e) have media companies "self-regulate" their programming (Walsh, et al., 1998).