Television Violence

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Over the course of human history, there have been many inventions that have been deemed social menaces. These problem causing aspects of life have caused some people to believe that with these menaces, the downfall of society will come. In today's world, there are several social menaces that people fear may cause some type of destruction in our lives. One of the most common societal fears is the effect that violence in the media has on people, mainly young children. Many scientific studies have tried to prove that there is a link between violent behavior in real life situations and violence in the media, television being the main focus. These scientists believe that humans are desensitized through the violent fictions of the media. Since children, boys and girls under the age of thirteen, are more likely to be consumed by the false realities of media, they are at a higher risk of committing violent acts on others.

With many new inventions comes fear. This fear is caused by the unknown factors that the invention stands for. Nobody truly knows if the invention will work properly or if it will have a positive or negative effect on the people who use it. This was the feeling when the first quality television was created in the 1930's. People did not know what to expect while the new hysteria of live television was sweeping the nation a few decades later in the 1950's. At first media started off slow, but after a few years of existence, television would become popular and an extremely common form of entertainment. Little did people know that this new and appealing form of recreation would one day be considered as a social menace and as a cause of the downfall of society.

In the early stages of television's popularity, everything ap...

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.../classes/stephens/History%20of%20Television%20page.htm>.

The Candy Prophylactic: Danger, Disease, and Children's Candy Around 1916.

Authors:

Kawash, Samira1

Source:

Journal of American Culture; Sep2010, Vol. 33 Issue 3, p167-182, 16p

Abstract:

The article presents an examination of children's health in the United States in the early 20th century. It explores the relationship that existed between candy consumption and the fear of polio and discusses how American candy culture changed as a result of polio. Seen as a source of contagion, new candy wrappers began appearing that offered consumers a safer, higher-quality candy as opposed to cheaper or impure candies. The article examines socioeconomic issues related to candy consumption and explores how social issues such as hygiene and immigration became intertwined with candy consumption and the threat of polio.

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