Television and Media Essay - TV and the Impact on Children

687 Words2 Pages

Television and the Impact on Children

Have you ever wondered how television affects your children? The

average child watches television 2 hours per week and most of this viewing is of

violence or sexual acts. During this time there is a violent act shown every 6

minutes and on Saturday mornings there is 20 to 25 violent acts shown every hour

on prime time t.v. especially in cartoons or animated programs. So no matter

what your child is watching it is damaging their sense of imagination and

creativity. Now there is no need for children to use their imagination and

creativity anymore, television has even taken that away from them.

In today's generation television has a great influence on children.

Unfortunately most of the programs watched by children have a negative impact

and give the wrong impression of what really happens in everyday life. It also

influences their development and their behaviours. "In fact childhood

development experts say infants as young as 14 months old imitate behaviour they

see on t.v and children up to the age of 5 lack the cognitive ability to

distinguish fact from fantasy"(Internet; Children and television violence)

Therefore what they see on t.v is what they are most likely to imitate.

Cartoons are even showing numerous acts of violence and most of this violence is

done by the "good guys". For example, Power Rangers; how do they get rid of the

bad guys? by fighting . During the whole episode you see the "Rangers" kicking,

punching and attacking the bad guys. Other shows like X-men, Sailor Moon,

Looney Tones, and even Care Bears show violence towards others. It's no wonder

children think it's okay to act this way when even their "Super Heroes" who are

supposed to be the good guys are hurting others. They see the good guys doing

these things and think it's appropriate.

I've notice even with my own cousin that when he has finished watching

an episode of Power Rangers he tends to get aggressive and hyper-active. He

copies the exact same moves that the Power Rangers use. It's almost like he

believes he is one of them. He believes that when he punches people or kicks

them that it doesn't hurt because that's what he sees on t.v. It's not like you

see the characters ever show any pain. Even when he plays with his friends they

pretend that they are Power Rangers vs. the bad guys and fight each other. Shows

like this even have the use of guns, which I don't believe in.

In schools, teachers have noticed the difference between children who

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