Television's Impact on Children: Risks, Benefits & Tips

Introduction

Over time, television has become a must-have household item for most American families. Today, unlike several decades ago, a television viewer has a wide range of channels to choose from. However, the ever-increasing relevance of the television set has not come without criticism. In most cases, the criticism leveled against television viewing has largely been founded on its impact on viewers—most particularly children. Television viewing can be informative and even entertaining. However, the negative impact it has on young viewers cannot be overstated.

Television and Children: An Overview

The role television plays in our lives today is simply enormous. To begin with, it is the most convenient source of news from around the world. In addition to keeping us informed, television also entertains us through a wide range of programs, including movies, reality shows, and talk shows. With a wide range of channels available, both children and adults have over time established strong bonds with their television sets.

Many children are spending too much of their time watching television. Indeed, in the opinion of Newman and Newman (2008), the effect television has on the behavior and attitude of a child has been an issue of great concern. Most experts agree that excessive television viewing has a negative impact on not only the mind but also the body of children.

The Negative Impact of Television on Children

Field experiments, laboratory experiments, and other studies conducted over the last three decades have clearly demonstrated, according to Newman and Newman (2008), that televised violence has definite negative consequences for young children's behaviors and beliefs. As Silver (as cited in Newman and Newman, 2008) further points out, it has been estimated that from age 3 to age 12, a child views approximately ten thousand violent acts and eight thousand murders for every 27 hours spent before a television set each week. In addition to being surprising, these statistics are deeply troubling. It therefore follows that by age 12, a child exposed to such a high number of violent acts and murders would likely become numb to them. Such acts could even stop being disturbing or surprising to the child at such a young age.

This desensitization does not come without consequences. For instance, a child exposed to such levels of violence may not only imitate the depicted violence but also begin to view violence as a legitimate problem-solving tool. As Hoffman (2008) points out, the media has consistently portrayed firearms as an acceptable means of conflict resolution. In most cases, it is not unusual for children to identify with characters they regard as heroes or with whom they spend most of their viewing time. The risk arises when a child tries to align his or her character with that of a violent TV or movie character. Imitating a violent character could put both the safety of the child concerned and that of his or her peers at risk.

Secondly, too much time spent watching television can have a negative impact on children's health and academic performance. In the opinion of Hoffman (2008), many hours of television viewing can displace other meaningful activities, including reading and exercise. Without supervision, children are more likely than not to substitute study time with TV viewing, which can drastically affect their academic performance. It is not unusual for a child to rush through homework just to catch a favorite TV show.

Excessive TV viewing among young children has also been associated with increased rates of childhood obesity. Today it is common to find children glued to television screens for long hours, sometimes staying up very late watching movies or programs of their choice. This interferes with both their sleep and their exercise time. Watching television is a sedentary activity—it does not involve much movement or physical exertion. As Koplan, Liverman, and Kraak (2005) point out, TV watching is one of the most studied sedentary behaviors linked to obesity. In the authors' words, "many epidemiological studies have found positive associations between increased prevalence of obesity or overweight and greater lengths of television viewing time" (Koplan, Liverman, and Kraak, 2005). As children watch more TV, their health is impacted the most—particularly given that obesity is linked to a wide range of other health complications.

Too much TV viewing can also affect a child's ability to interact effectively with other people. The more time a child spends watching television, the less time he or she has to interact with other children and family members. These interactions are vital to the development of language and communication skills. Excessive television time can also increase the emotional distance between children and their parents. This disconnect could prove costly in the long run, as a parent may fail to notice vital behavioral changes—especially when the child's behavior begins to be shaped by what he or she sees on TV. A child needs meaningful interaction with others for healthy emotional and social development.

It is also important to note that the advertisements running on TV exert a significant influence on child viewers. Today, the media is filled with advertisements for a wide range of products, including unhealthy foods, alcoholic beverages, and cigarettes. Most unhealthy snack food advertisements and promotions on TV specifically target children, particularly when popular cartoon characters are used to promote junk food. Such advertisements drive up the consumption of unhealthy foods among young people, further complicating efforts to combat obesity in the young population. Furthermore, according to Hoffman (1996), alcohol advertising often appears in the context of other high-risk behaviors, such as car racing, implying that driving and drinking can go hand in hand. This sends entirely the wrong message to children. It can also be observed that when behaviors such as smoking and drinking are advertised on TV, they may appear socially acceptable or even admirable.

Finally, there are those who believe that television—both in news reports and general programming—has contributed to increased rates of teenage suicide (Hoffman, 1996). In the author's words, "imitative suicides are consistent with learning theory that postulates behavior as learned through modeling." Through programs, news items, and movies, the media can successfully portray suicide as a socially accepted response to hardship. For a child who is unable to differentiate reality from fiction, suicide could appear to be an ideal way to end depression or other life challenges.

Conclusion

Based on the discussion above, parents should at all times be mindful of the programs their children watch. This is especially important given that research has clearly indicated that the wrong choice of programs can lead children to regard certain antisocial behaviors as acceptable. With proper planning and adherence to the recommendations outlined in this paper, parents can protect their children from the negative effects of television viewing while still allowing them to benefit from its educational and prosocial potential.