Is Violence on Television Acceptable for our Growing Generation?

“Is Violence on Television Acceptable for our Growing Generation?”

I. The Beginning

Since the beginning of time, there has always been violence. From the death of Abel by his brother Cain in the Bible, to the mighty gladiator stadiums in Rome ruled by Alexander the Great, to the horrible accusations of the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, to what I will talk about specifically in this position paper, violence on the famous family fun center, the television.

To start off, John Logie Baird invented the mechanical television in 1926. The soul purpose of the mechanical television was to be able to see images at home from current events from around the world right in your very own home. But what Baird did not know was that in the future much controversy would come from what was viewed and played on the television set that he had created.

The television set has been the center of media violence since the 1950s.

II. The Facts

Children will have spent more than 50% more time in front of the television than in front of the teacher, by the time they graduate high school. It is estimated in many studies that adolescents and children watch a total of twenty-two to twenty-eight hours of television a week. The average American household has their television set turned on for more than seven hours a day. The average American child watches three to four of those hours that the television set is turned on. About 98% of Americans own at least one television set in their household. And about 65% of all people who own a television set have at least two or more television sets in their household. It is estimated that young children in America will have seen 8,ooo murders and 1oo,ooo acts of violence by the time they leave elementary school.

III. The Reality Cases

Mark Branch, a teenager from Massachusetts, stabbed a female college student to death and then killed himself shortly after. Found in his room, were over ninety horror movies including the Friday the 13th film series. Along with these movies, a goalie mask and a machete were found. The famous character of the Friday the 13th series, Jason, wore these items while he stalked and killed his victims.

Nathaniel White describes killing his fi...

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...ropriate for children under fourteen. The “M” rating means that that specific program is to be viewed by mature audiences and that it may be unsuitable for children under seventeen.

People who are proactivists for television violence think that it is not the responsibility of the filmmakers and networks to screen their creations or shows. Thus, if a parent complains about a movie in the theater being too violent, then why did she go see it? ALL movies in theaters are rated and if she doesn’t want to see violence, she has the right not to buy a ticket to see that movie.

VI. The Conclusion

Upon my research, I have found organizations that support both sides of television violence. As presented in this report, there is still much controversy on this issue. Should the government make the network companies of television censor their networks? Is it the parents’ responsibility to screen what their children watch? Should the television be considered a babysitter? These are all moral issues that are “in the grey area” so to speak. In conclusion, violence on television is affecting our society and we must do something about it.