It seems that violence on television does contribute to aggressive behavior, yet it is important to note that television is only one of many causes of aggression (Gunter and McAleer, 1990). Many other factors unrelated to television influence violence, and the specific impact of televised violence is dependent upon age, sex, family practices, and the way violence is presented. One statement is often repeated: television has major effects on a small number of individuals, and little effect on a large number of people. In the future, the questions and approaches will continue to evolve, and currently, groups funded by both the cable and network industries are examining levels of violence in order to provide better information on the type of violence being shown on television.
References
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP). (April, 1999). Children and TV Violence. AACAP Facts for Families Journal, No.13.
Beckman, Jeanne. (1996). Television Violence: What the Research Says About Its Effect on Young Children. Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.jeannebeckman.com/page18.html.
Gunter, Barrie, and Jill L. McAleer. (1990). Children and Television: The One Eyed Monster? New York: Routledge.
Huston, a.C., Donnerstein, E., Fairchild, H., Feshbach, N.D., Katz, P.A., Murray, J.P. Rubinstein, E.A., Wilcox, B. & Zuckerman, D. (1992). Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Szaflik, Kevin. (May 3, 2000). Violence on TV: The Desensitizing of America. Ridgewood. Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.ridgenet.org/szaflik/tvrating.htm.
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
Attitudes and practices varied by age of the child and the gender of the parent. Colorito, Rita. (2002) "Violence on Television News Programs is a Serious Problem." Is Media Violence a Problem? Ed James Torr San Diego: Greenhaven, 2002. 24- 30. Colorito says that even though rates of crime decreased in the 1990s, television news coverage of violent crime increased. TV news shows like 20/20 and Dateline frequently show stories on
In fact, the relationship between academic performance and television is not clear cut. Research has shown that children who watch a large amount of television typically do poorly in school, yet those who spend a moderate amount of time in front of the television do better than non-viewers. There is a small negative relationship between television viewing and a child's IQ. However, there are significant subgroup differences. There are
In contrast, TV influences children in abandoning the theories they were taught and embrace other concepts, most related to violence. Also, after being exposed to TV violence children feel that it is perfectly natural for them to behave similar to the characters on TV (Langone, 1984, p. 48). It is extremely important for a child to be assisted by an adult when watching TV. Studies have shown that children are
Two of the most important things that the industry is doing now is making sure that all television programs are rated, and using v-chips to keep children from seeing programs that contain violence (Szaflik, 2000). Neither one of these ideas are foolproof, however, and therefore more must be done. Unfortunately, not that many parents and educators are aware of what else can be done to help, and therefore television violence
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Social Psychology: Television Violence and its Contribution to Aggression of ChildrenSocial psychologists take violence as a great concern since it is creating a negative impact on the mental conditions of the young generation. In the United States, children watch television shows that comprise 60% of violence in any form, and even 40% of them consist of substantial violence (Huesmann, 2007). Even the video games that are a form
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