TV and Violence Doctors Monroe

TV and Violence

Doctors Monroe M. Leftkowits, Leonard D. Eron, Leopold O. Wilder and L. Rowell Huesmann a few years ago surveyed a third graders in Colombia County in New York and compared their aggression response in class with their exposure to television (Fraracci, 2002). The doctors found that those who watch more television are generally more aggressive. Information was gathered from the children themselves, their parents and their classmates. The children were given an aggression rating as to who were likely to disobey the teacher, start fights, take things from classmates or display other forms of misbehavior in class. Then their television habits were also gathered and rated. The children who were considered highly aggressive by their parents and classmates watched more violence on TV. Two of the doctor researcher followed this group of children through high school. The succeeding survey revealed the same connection between their aggressive behavior and exposure to violence on TV. Some of these male students, who were accused of shooting in Columbia, admitted to the influence of the media, especially television, on their lives. These consistent findings reflected the consequences of children's reaction to what they see on TV. The findings correlated violence on TV with aggressiveness in third grade and more in later years. Many other studies on young people showed the same connection between the violence they see on TV every day and their response to everyday life (Fraracci).

How has this come about? Statistics say that, in 1950, only 10% of American homes had a TV set (Fraracci, 2002). By 1960, the figure went up to 90% and 99% today. Now, virtually everything is shown on television. One way of other, everyone is drawn to TV programming. The negative effects of violent TV programming appeal to, and affect, young viewers most of all. According to researchers, children begin to notice and respond to violence on television at an early age. At age 3, they imitate someone on TV as easily as they do an actual person in their lives. Some parents may explain that TV is a convenient way to keep a child occupied with little effort and attention. These parents admit using TV as a pacifier and entertainer. The problem begins when it is used to entertain on a daily basis. Children and young people perceive things differently from adults. This is why television has a greater influence on their daily lives than other factors or causes. They become more susceptible to the negative effects of TV on account of performers they admire. Their attention span is short and it is caught by attractive colors and images on the TV screen. Researcher said that most of what children see on TV consists of high action and lacks motivation and character development. Their attention is captured by the characters depicted, whether as a complete villain or a hero. The story or program may present conflict, but it does not provide a way to teach how this can apply to real and daily life. Quite often, the only solution to problems presented by the story or program is violence. This is what children imitate and pretend to be. They imbibe the concept beyond play. They soon execute in a real classroom what they first learn from television. TV teaches them how to interact with their classmates, friends and other peers but in a negative way. They change the teacher to a different subject when they get bored (Fraracci).

Children's minds are most impressionable, hence are at great risk when exposed to violence on TV (Fraracci, 2002). They cannot distinguish what is real from what is imaginary. This can be prevented if parents explain what their children see on TV. They can train their minds on what their children should instead perceive. TV is an effective medium for the transmission of useful as well as destructive information and this will continue and increase as technology continues to advance (Fraracci).

A series of earlier researches made the same connection. The rate of violent behavior among young children in a rural town in Canada rose 160% within two years since television was introduced there in 1973 (Etzioni, 1993). The study conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago discovered that children who watch more television are likelier to grow up into abusive adults. This was the finding despite control factors like intelligence, socio-economic status and baseline aggressiveness. This presented alarming evidence, considering that half of all children 6 years and older have their own TV sets in their own bedrooms. A CBS-commissioned study found that children who watch more-than-average amount of television would, as teenagers, tend to commit crimes like assault, rape, serious vandalism and abuse of animals 49% more than those who watch less TV violence. Harvard psychologist Ronald G. Slaby commented that these children were also more likely to develop increased fearfulness and callousness and insensitiveness to violence. "The Deer Hunter" movie's Russian-roulette scene produced 29 imitative incidents, 26 of which were fatal (Etzioni).

More than two decades ago, Ruel Huesmann of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Riva Bachrach of the Kibbuts Child and Family Clinic in Tel Aviv studied Israeli Kibbutz and other city children who watched a lot of violent TV shows for three years (Bower, 1985). Most of the shows were produced in the United States. The kibbutz children went to school in the morning, worked with peers in the afternoon, had dinner with their families and returned to the barracks where they could watch TV and then sleep. The city children-respondents, like children in the United States, went to school during the day and afterwards had a lot of time to watch TV by themselves or with others. After three years, 74 children, their parents and peers were interviewed and tested. The researchers found that children from the city watched TV far more often and regularly than did the kibbutz children, although the latter chose violent as well as non-violent shows. City children tended to consider violent programs accurate reflections of real and identified with aggressive characters in the shows or programs. Children from educated families also watched more violent television programs and more television in general. In comparison,

TV viewing among children in the United States and Europe tended to decrease with an increase in education level among their parents. Huesmann found that aggressive behavior was more acceptable in the city. Popularity among classmates was not affected or hindered by aggressive behavior. Among the tested kibbutz children, Huesmann discovered that popularity decreased among the more aggressive ones (Bower).

The Center for Disease Control obtained statistical evidence that violence and exposure to violence as common experiences among children and adolescents (Mazza and Reynolds, 1999).

It reported that only 12% of inner-city adolescents said they had not been exposed to violence. Other studies linked children's violence exposure with mental health problems, like depression, suicidal ideation and post-traumatic stress disorder. Depression was a frequently encountered psychological problem among inner-city children and adolescents. A separate study on inner-city elementary children disclosed that those who were exposed to violence on TV experienced more depression than those who were not significantly exposed. A further study of 3, 735 high school students showed depression as a significant factor in the connection between exposure to violence and psychological trauma symptoms. Findings of the Center's study indicated that post-traumatic stress disorder mediated and linked violence exposure and depression and suicidal ideation. It brought to light that violence in schools, communities and the lives of young people merited serious concern. Exposure to violence had both direct and indirect effects. It delved into internalizing factors, specifically PTSD, depression and suicide. It warranted further studies on other internalizing and externalizing factors and disorders in order to fully explore the overall impact of violence exposure on the young (Mazza and Reynolds).

Confirming and reinforcing previous studies linking children's violence TV viewing and violent behavior in adolescence and young adult life, a March 29, 2002 study in the United States clearly made the connection between TV viewing and the development of violent behavior among adolescents and young adults (Better Nutrition, 2002). Researchers at the Columbia University in New York surveyed the television viewing habits and aggressive behavior of 707 young individuals over a 17-year period. Their findings confirmed the significant connection between the amount of time they spent watching violence TV and early adulthood and the likelihood of committing aggressive acts, such as robbery, assault and threats. The American Academy of Pediatrics stated in the February 2001 issue of the Pediatrics Journal that many younger children cannot distinguish between what they view on TV and what is real in actual life (Better Nutrition).