Television Violence and Its Effects on Children
Television violence affects all who view it, but its biggest effect is on children. Children’s minds are like a blank page. Television is writing violence on that page. Television violence is one of the causes of aggression and violent behavior in children. This problem is not new, but in recent years it has gotten worse. In the last few years, violence in television programs has increased greatly. A study in 2000-01 compared to a study done in 1998-99 showed that violence is, in fact, on the rise. Verbal violence, coarse language, alone increased by a staggering 78% (Lavers). How did violence become so prevalent on television? Sadly, violence is what the people wanted to see; it sells. Society has slowly put its guard down allowing violence to creep in. Now we are faced with this detrimental situation which we have created.
Young children, starting at about age three, begin to really watch a television program designed for their age. They will begin to imitate what they have seen on the television. Children ages six through about ten often do not fully understand the difference between reality, and what they see on T.V. (Ledingham). With that in mind, consider the violent content in television programs. A recent content analysis, The National Television Violence Survey, had several interesting findings in regard to violence in television programs:
1. 61% of television programs contain some violence, and only 4 percent of television programs with violent content featured an “antiviolence” theme.
2. 44% of the violent interactions on television involve perpetrators who have some attractive qualities worthy of emulation.
3. 43% of violent scenes involve humor either...
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Williams gives us insight into Lincoln’s thought process into who Lincoln really was. Williams superbly supports this with various examples and...
An important aspect of Abraham Lincoln’s overall performance is his personal and political background. Concerning his opinions on slavery, his personal background shaped his ideals in a very unique way. James McPherson, author of the short biography Abraham Lincoln, provides some insight into Lincoln’s background, writing that Lincoln’s fathe...
The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo completely shatters the illusion of the 16th President as the liberator of the slaves. DiLorenzo provides convincing evidence for Lincoln’s overt racism as expressed in his documented views on racial supremacy as stated in his desire to colonize all American blacks outside the United States (p. 4); Lincoln’s views were matched by the majority in the North who used such tools as state constitutional amendments to prohibit the emigration of black people into Northern states like Lincoln’s home of Illinois (p. 4); and that the Presidents war which killed 620, 000 Americans and destroyed 40% of the economy, was a singularly terrible, unjustified conflict given the proven success in the 19th century of the peaceful end to slavery through the policy of compensated emancipation (p. 4). DiLorenzo accordingly notes that, “Between 1800 and 1860, dozens of countries, including the entire British Empire, ended slavery peacefully; only in the United States was war involved (p. 4). DiLorenzo documents that history’s claims that the abolition of slavery as the leading motive behind the Union’s aggression against the South is untrue. He states that Lincoln’s motives were economic and political and in no way altruistic. Lincoln did oppose slavery, but his opposition did not stem from any moral motive. He wished to preserve white labor, and to avoid artificial inflation of Southern representation in Congress under the three-fifths clause of the Constitution, under which every five slaves counted as three free persons for the purpose of allotting number of congressional seats.
...he former. Also, Lincoln shows a remarkable change in character from his ambitious ante bellum days, to his later years concurrent with the civil war, which are drenched in solemnity and even a little bit of religious zeal. It is interesting to watch his growth as a politician, from what could be considered a firebrand, insensitive to the issues at hand, to the unforthcoming fresh president fearful of civil war, to the previously mentioned zealous patriarch. As one can see, his personal and political growth goes hand in hand; being very difficult to separate. Ultimately, by examining Lincoln’s major speeches, one can arrive at a variety of conclusions, being that one can trace the changes of Lincoln’s character and political personality over the years, and determine as to what extent was Lincoln a democratic autocrat; the answer to the latter conclusion being hardly.
Abraham Lincoln is perhaps the most revered American that has ever stepped foot on United States soil. Countless books have been written about him, and even today there are still authors who write their own take on his fascinating and unique life. Yet, for as famous and significant as this man was and continues to be, he is still a tremendous enigma. Historians have sought to know who the real man was ever since his life was prematurely ripped away by an actor whose heart was with his “country.” Of the many intriguing aspects of Lincoln’s life, there is one that has taken up steam almost immediately after April 15, 1865.
Leo, John. "The Amount of Violence on Television Has Been Exaggerated." Media Violence: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1999.
Furthermore, the secondary source chosen for the final project is a study regarding Abraham Lincoln’s interpretation of the United States Constitution and the impact he had on the Constitution during and after the Civil War. Also, Dr. Dirck masterfully details the chronology of Abraham Lincoln’s role as an antebellum politician, how he became a fervent opponent of slavery and as the President of the United States. Additionally, the author also integrates Lincoln’s value system
The colonial relationship between Australia and the ‘Mother Country’ Britain, had a profound effect on the decisions made by the thousands of young Australian men during 1914 at the onset of the First World War (WWI). Fervent nationalistic ties to Britain undoubtedly contributed to the deluge of youthful, enthusiastic men eager to render themselves available for overseas service. However, the reasons for their enlistment cannot be attributed to a single factor — the war spirit and the general belligerent enthusiasm within Australia certainly prompted some, while others were driven by the almost inherent glory associated with fighting alongside the all-powerful British
Abraham Lincoln is often viewed as one of the great heroes of American history, due in no small part to his issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, amidst the chaotic, intense rivalry of the Civil War - the battle between North and South, between freedom and slavery. However, prior to the Civil War, Lincoln had given a speech proclaiming that he, in fact, had never been in favor of equalizing whites and African-Americans. Seemingly contradictorily and inexplicably, he had then elected to free all slaves in United States territories. Yet, there exist several viable explanations for Lincoln’s course of actions. Namely, he had harbored moral arguments, and a general character, against slavery, he had primarily aimed to accomplish the implicit goals of the Republican party on which he sided, and he had established an “official duty”, which could only have been accomplished via the abolition of slavery. Clearly, despite having taken a remarkably contrasting viewpoint from the perception of the public, Lincoln had considered other factors as well, which
Many Americans feel that the viewing of violence in the media reinforces negative behavior in society, especially among children and young adults. "Three thousand studies have been done since 1955 on the link between television and violence; 2,980 of them found a correlation between the two. We hear little about that because we get most of our news from television" (Peterson). With this much research one must acknowledge that there is a problem in America involving sex and violence in the media. We cannot blame all societal problems on the media and its portrayal of these issues, but we can become educated, ourselves, in order to better facilitate the healthy lives of our children.
Thanks to the miracle of television the average American child watches 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school (Early Concerns 113). Television violence is responsible for the increase in childhood violence. Watching violence is a popular form of entertainment, and watching it on television is the number one way that children are exposed to violence. Local news shows provide extensive converage of violent crimes in order to increase their ratings (Felson 96). Violence usually refers to physical aggression and aggression is usually defined as any behavior involving intent to harm another person (Sege 34).
addition the average American child will witness over 200,000 acts of violence on television including 16,000 murders before the age of 18 (DuRant, 445). Polls show that three-quarters of the public find television entertainment too violent. When asked to select measures that would reduce violent crime “a lot”, Americans chose restrictions on television violence more often than gun control. Media shows too much violence that is corrupting the minds children, future leaders of our society. In a study of population data for various countries sh...
Senate Committee on the Judiciary. “Media Violence Causes Youth Violence.” Mass Media. Ed. William Dudley. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 121-130.
The article “Television Violence: The Power and the Peril” is an article written by George Gerbner in 1994 that covers information about television violence over a period of twenty one years. Gerbner’s purpose in this article is to address the audience about the problems that exist in television today. This article covers a very big controversy that has brewed up in our society. The controversy is that there is way too much violence on television, and therefore it could be affecting the way that we think and act on a regular basis. In this article Gerbner presents the audience with poll results and statistics about what we actually see on television.
Furthermore, television violence causes aggressive behavior in children. Many people believe that children who watch violent television programs exhibit more aggressive behavior than that exhibited by children who do not (Kinnear 23). According to the results of many studies and reports, violence on television can lead to aggressive behavior in children (Langone 50). Also, when television was introduced into a community of children for the first time, researchers observed a rise in the level of physical and verbal aggression among these children (Langone 51). The more television violence viewed by a child, the more aggressive the child is (“Children” 1).