How Television Impacts our Children

Television has been around for over a half century. The first view of TV in the United States took place at a World's Fair in 1939, but standard television broadcasting did not begin until the late 1940s. Worry about the influence of television on children began when TV was in its early years. Early on in the 1950s, educators and parents began to ask legislators to "do something" about the amount of violence on TV. This concern still exists today. Parents have reservations about the quality of television programs intended for children, the amount of advertising aimed at young viewers, and the manner in which television depicts men, women and ethnic minorities. There are also apprehensions about the effects of the amount of time that children spend watching television in general.

The quality of children's programming has changed over the years. Violence on television is increasingly gaining acceptance from today's society. Studies show that viewing violent acts on television affects children negatively. The impact of violence can desensitizing a child's feelings to the pain of others, produce fear of the world around them, and promote aggression towards others. Studies have shown that children's television shows contain about 20 violent acts each hour and also that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a cruel and dangerous place.

Children often behave differently after watching violent programs on television. In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 preschool children were observed both before and after watching television; some watched cartoons that had numerous aggressive and violent acts; others watched shows that didn't have any kind of violence. The rese...

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Works Cited

Neil Hickey. Violence on Television. New York: TV Guide, 1992.

Aletha C. Huston, Edward Donnerstein, Halford Fairchild, Norma D. Feshbach, Phyllis A. Katz, John P. Murray, Eli A. Rubinstein, Brian L. Wilcox, and Diana Zuckerman. Big world, small screen: The role of television in American society. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1992.

Robert M. Liebert and Joyce Sprafkin. The early window: Effects of television on children and youth. New York: Pergamon Press, 1988.

Edward L. Palmer. Television and America's children: A crisis of neglect. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Dorothy G. Singer, Jerome L. Singer and Diana M. Zuckerman. Teaching television.- How to use TV to your child's advantage. New York: Dial Press, 1981.

www.cyfc.umn.edu

www.alianceforchildhood.net

www.mcspotlight.org

www.rebelmothers.org