Does Television Affect Social Interaction?

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A major research concern for behavioral psychologists and sociologists today circles an integral part of the American family routine and life. Something that has become so inset into homes that it would be rare to find one without it. Research has shown a hidden danger lurking in our homes, and the origin may surprise you. Television has been around since the early 1950’s but behaviorists have just recently begun to start studying the effects these machines may have on children, social interaction and families. Research has begun to show negative consequences of television on children’s development and socialization proving that it does reduce and affect social interaction.

Television, the dancing pixels behind a glass screen that have entranced many a youth since its mainstream release in the 1950’s, has evolved into an entity of its own. Most homes have at least one television; many have two or more. In fact, 98.2% of all homes in the United States have television sets, with most people owning 2.4 sets (Tischler 2007). How has this affected family life, social interaction and even self-image? Researchers have begun to work at answering these questions and have produced some startling results. Statistically, people today have become more isolated from the world by reducing their interactions with real life relationships. Social disengagement is on the rise with fewer people voting, attending church, volunteering and getting together less (Kraut 1998, Tischler 2007). Social disengagement has negative consequences for both societies and individuals with individual’s health and quality of life suffering, and crime rates, political involvement and civic life being affected negatively in societies (Kraut 1998). Internet also plays a ...

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...w.cs.cmu.edu/~kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/kraut98-InternetParadox.pdf

Tischler, H. L. (2007). Socialization and Development. Introduction to sociology (9th ed., pp. 99-101). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Ward, L. M. (Feb. 2002). Does Television Exposure Affect Emerging Adults’ Attitudes and Assumptions About Sexual Relationships? Correlational and Experimental Confirmation. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 31, No. 1, February 2002, pp. 1-15 (2002). Retrieved June 11, 2011, from http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45292/1/10964_2004_Article_364602.pdf

Shrum, L. J., Wyer Jr., R. S., & O'Guinn, T. C. (1998). The Effects of Television Consumption on Social Perceptions: The Use of Priming Procesures to Investigate Psychological Processes. Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 447-458. Retrieved June 11, 2011, from the JSTOR database.

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