The television can be a powerful influence on developing the value systems and behavior in our children. The impact of television violence can be evident in a child's behavior. In a study done in 1956, one dozen four year olds watched a Woody Woodpecker cartoon that was full of violent images. Twelve other preschoolers watched Little Red Hen, a peaceful cartoon. The children were then observed. The preschoolers who watched Woody Woodpecker were more likely to be aggressive towards their classmates, both physically and verbally and were disruptive in the classroom (Cannon 424). This is proof of how violence on television affects children.
Leonard D. Eron reports in his essay in Current Issues and Enduring Questions that "a recent summary of over two hundred studies, published in 1990, offers convincing evidence that the observation of violence, as seen in standard everyday television entertainment, does affect the aggressive behavior of the viewers" (716).
A television program that is constantly attacked is World Wrestling Entertainment. As the Undertaker approaches the ring, he lifts his opponent by the neck and throws him to the ground leaving the opponent disoriented. Or Mark Henry runs down the ramp and grabs Shawn Michaels by the head and slams him into the pole at the .
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corner of the ring and Shawn's face is gushing with blood. The crowd roars with excitement, applauding, and screaming for more as are the fans sitting at home in front of the t.v. I have personally experienced this. WWE is on my television every Monday night. My kids love it. I catch my two-year-old imitating the moves that he sees the wrestlers make. I have repeatedly explained to my children that what they are seeing is not real, they are just pretending and the blood is fake.
Another example is an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger last season when escaped convicts assaulted a church, took a group of people hostage and threatened to rape a nun.