Violence And TV Essay, Research Paper

English 111, Section 06 23 October 1999 ?TV: The Other Parent? Is it

parents? fault or children?s that they sit hours in front their big glowing

box mesmerized, and learning violent behavior as a means of relating to others.

The truth about television violence and children has been shown. Studies have

been carried out and all the results point to the same conclusion: Violence on

Television affects the behavior of children who are watching it. In fact,

violence on TV causes children to be increasingly violent, and the effects could

be life-long. ?Some psychologists and psychiatrists believe that continued

exposure to violence can speed up the impact of the adult world on a child?s

life? (Douglas Carter T. V. Violence and the Child). Exposure to violent

material can force the child into a kind of premature maturity, and make the

child become bewildered and have a greater distrust towards others. It even

could make the child have awkward approach to adult problems and they might even

develop a desire not to become adults. Television violence can destroy a young

child?s mind, and the effects may be ever lasting. This is made obvious in New

York, where a 16-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police caught him

and asked him why he was wearing gloves, he said that he had learned not to

leave fingerprints from TV. And even another case in Alabama where a

nine-year-old received a bad report from his teacher and had plans to send her

poisoned candy like he had seen the night before on a TV show (Michael Howe J.

A. Television and Children). This proves that after viewing television violence

the world, through a child?s eyes, becomes distorted in comparison. The

children create violence to help keep them-selves satisfied. The reason children

are so drawn to the violence on TV today is that the characters on TV make it

look fun, so the children find it fun to imitate. The Mighty Morphin’ Power

Rangers are a prime example of kids imitating TV characters as fun. Our

government has conducted an experiment where children were left alone in a room

with a TV playing a videotape of other children at play, and soon things got out

of hand. The kids who had just seen commercial violence accepted much higher

levels of aggression than other children did. And in other research conducted,

it was found that U.S. children feed off each other?s aggression, academic

problems, unpopularity with peers, and violence. And this promotes the violent

behavior in children today. It has been found that kids who watch more

television are more likely to solve their problems with violence rather than

kids who don?t, and sit down to talk their problems out. But as much violent

programs that there are out in the TV world there were (and maybe still are)

those programs that teach the right way to resolve things. Like the once popular

TV series ?Little House on the Prairie?. Michael Landon taught the moral

values of solving problems without the use of violence. Fixing this problem

isn?t easy, it will never go away, and in time will get worse. About the only

way to correct this ever-growing problem is to stop it where it starts: in the

home. The parents should take up the responsibility to be more into what their

kids watch. The parents are the role models for the children so if the parents

can teach the children that violence isn?t necessary, along with keeping a

close eye on what they watch, then maybe this problem soon wouldn?t be as bad

as it is now. After all the children are everyone?s future rulers of this

world and what would happen if they were all violent?