Childhood Exposure to Television

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Childhood overexposure to television can cause a detrimental effect on reading skills and behavior. Bar-on (2000) states, “The exposure of American children and adolescents to television continues to exceed the time they spend in the classroom: 15,000 hours versus 12,000 hours by the time they graduate.” (p. 289) Children are more vulnerable than adults, to the influences of the behaviors that they view. The pediatrics association estimates that for every hour a child under two spends in front of a screen, he or she spends about fifty minutes less interacting with a parent, and about ten percent less time in creative play. (Carey, 2011, p. 2) Although there have been some studies that found some prosocial and educational benefits, significant research has shown there are a lot more negative effects. (Bar-on, 2000, p. 289) This paper will describe in detail the effects that can be caused from too much television.
One of the main effects from an abundance of television is an increase in violence. In a paper done by Dietz and Strasburger they found that on average young people view over 1000 rapes, murders, armed robberies, and assaults every year while watching television. (Bar-on, 2000, p. 289) Numerous studies have shown that elementary children will imitate violent behaviors they see on television, particularly if the violence is rewarded. (Wilson, 2008, p. 100) With all of the violence on television children are developing more bad habits. It was found, in a study, that elementary school children exposed to a single episode of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers committed significantly more intentional acts of aggression such as hitting, kicking, and shoving compared to those who didn’t watch the episode. (Wilson, 2008, p. 100) The...

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...on that is watched matters. (Diehl, Toelle, 2011, p. 2-3) It has been found that children who watch educational television for one to ten hours a week were positively associated with scholastic achievement, compared with no television at all. (Schmidt, Vandewater, 2008, p. 64)
For example, Sesame Street, probably the most studied television program of all time, has been shown to have a variety of benefits for preschool children, including increases in vocabulary, ability to count, and general school readiness. Another study found that the benefits of educational television were most noticeable for those with moderate exposure, and for children who had the lowest levels of skills prior to viewing the program. (Diehl, Toelle, 2011, p. 3)
While a limited about of the right programs could help a child, the usual case is either too much television or an unhealthy kind.

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