Children and Media Violence

950 Words2 Pages

If I asked you how many people in the united states, children as well as adults, have seen a commercial or advertisement, what would you say? I’m sure many would agree that the answer most people would respond with is; a lot. Let me start off by giving you just an idea of how much media exposure we Americans take in on a daily basis. According to Roy H. Williams, whose Wizard of Ads books contain a large amount of relevant and extremely helpful information on media and Ad exposure and how they influence our society. Americans are confronted by more than 5,000 selling messages per day. Radio, television, magazines, newspapers and billboards floating on an ocean of store signage, posters, point-of-purchase displays and product packaging. All in hopes to gain our undivided attention and ultimately increase their profit through our consumption of their advertised product.

Furthermore, according to a 2010 study commissioned by the TVB or (Television Bureau of Advertising), “TV reaches over 80% of the general population”. Based on a 2010 census, the population of the United States is 308,745,538. That would mean that commercial ads have reached approximately 248,000,000 people through television. Now just to clarify, that’s just Commercial advertising by means of television. In light of this new information, you now have an idea how many Americans are subjected to media advertisement. Children are bombarded by huge amounts of televised commercial ads. Here are just a few statistics in relation to children and the media;

More than 4 in 10 (43%) of children under the age of 2 watch TV every day and nearly 1 in 5 (18%) watch videos or DVDs every day. 88% of parents with children under the age of 2 who watch TV every day say...

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...ur children. The amount of TV children watch can have lasting effects on their mentality of how they view the world and the people around them. The media messages being sent to children show the use of stereotypes as being acceptable and most times fail to show the negative consequences of using stereotypes. Parents can help children develop media literacy skills by helping children distinguish between fantasy and reality. Teaching them that real-life violence has consequences. Watching television with children and discussing the violent acts and images that are portrayed. Ask children to think about what would happen in real life if the same type of violent act were committed. Would anyone die or go to jail? Would anyone be sad? Would the violence solve problems or create them? Asking children how they feel after watching a violent TV show, movie, or music video.

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