This paper examines the negative effects of television on children, arguing that despite media industry claims to the contrary, TV exerts a significant influence on young viewers. The paper considers how children are particularly vulnerable to television's influence compared to adults, focusing on three main areas: depictions of violence and antisocial behavior, the underestimated impact of cartoons on neurological development, and the manipulative power of child-targeted advertising. The paper also notes that heavy television viewing can induce biased thinking with lasting effects into adulthood, and briefly addresses how children might be protected from harmful programming.
While the modern era provides the general public with a wide range of sources from which to obtain information, the media still holds enough power to influence the masses. Children are among the most vulnerable individuals affected by the media world, and depending on a series of intervening factors, they are more or less susceptible to TV's influence.
Television has revolutionized the contemporary world to the point where people would rather watch TV than read books or attend live performances. Both of these traditional practices have lost considerable ground in favor of their more advanced counterpart, and people's capacity for being selective has decreased significantly.
Media moguls claim that the effect television has on society is limited and that it does not play a decisive role in shaping the lives of frequent viewers. This position is largely driven by commercial interests — broadcasters are less concerned with the wellbeing of their audiences than with the ratings they receive. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how TV has a negative effect on children and how that influence is manifested.
Adults are generally more selective about what they watch on TV. Children, by contrast, are less capable of effectively choosing what they watch and are more likely to be negatively influenced by it. Nonetheless, children can also be positively influenced by certain programs. Shows such as Sesame Street were cleverly designed to teach children how to differentiate between right and wrong. However, constructive programming of this kind is less common than its opposite.
TV plays an essential role in the lives of children who are not provided with guidance when they watch it. Violence is commonly depicted on television, and many parents feel there is little point in trying to intervene and control what their children watch, believing it is virtually impossible to filter the content TV delivers. This is partly true: in some instances it is extremely difficult to differentiate between scenes likely to harm children and those that are not.
Children — boys especially — are predisposed to watching scenes of violence for extended periods without feeling the need to change the channel. According to research, this exposure leads children to display antisocial behavior as a consequence (Gunter, Charlton, Coles, and Panting, 2000).
"Child-targeted ads manipulate beliefs and values"
"Heavy TV viewing distorts children's long-term judgment"
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