Effects of Television Violence
Effects of Television ViolenceWhat has the world come to these days? It often seems like
everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. We see it in
the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these
is a major source of violence. In many peoples' living rooms there
sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the
television, and the children who view it are often pulled into its
realistic world of violence scenes with sometimes devastating results.
Much research has gone into showing why children are so
mesmerized by this big glowing box and the action that takes place
within it. Research shows that it is definitely a major source of
violent behavior in children. The research proves time and time again
that aggression and television viewing do go hand in hand.
The truth about television violence and children has been
shown. Some are trying to fight this problem. Others are ignoring it
and hoping it will go away. Still others don't even seem to care.
However, the facts are undeniable. The studies have been carried out
and all the results point to one conclusion: Television violence
causes children to be violent and the effects can be life-long.
The information can't be ignored. Violent television viewing
does affect children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases.
In New York, a 16-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police
caught him and asked him why he was wearing gloves he replied that he
had learned to do so to not leave fingerprints and that he discovered
this on television. In Alabama, a nine-year-old boy received a bad
report card from his teacher. He suggested sending the teacher
poisoned candy as revenge as he had seen on television the night
before. In California, a seven-year-old boy sprinkled ground-up glass
into the the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked
why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be
the same in real life as they were on television (Howe 72). These are
certainly startling examples of how television can affect the child.
It must be pointed out that all of these situations were directly
caused by children watching violent television.
Not only does television violence affect the child's youth,
but it can also affect his or her adulthood. Some psychologists and
psychiatrists feel that continued exposure to such violence might
unnaturally speed up the impact of the adult world on the child. This
can force the child into a kind of premature maturity. As the child
matures into an adult, he can become bewildered, have a greater
distrust towards others, a superficial approach to adult problems, and
even an unwillingness to become an adult (Carter 14)....
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