D., now at the university of Kansas.
While children are still in their formative years, before they leave elementary school, those among them who watch the typical amount of TV will see about 20,000 murders and about 80,000 other assaults. That's around 100,000 violent acts witnessed by these children before they reach teenage (Children and Television). Some of the violence will be seen on "realistic" programs and some others will be seen on cartoons. Social scientists have shown that among all forms of violent programming, there are three possible effects of viewing TV violence: Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, they may be more fearful of the world around them, and they may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others and have antisocial behaviors. .
Third, watching too much television may help children develop distorted views of society and get wrong, unethical, unwanted ideas and concepts about the world. They might also develop some dangerous internal views and go into risky behaviors. This is because although television has changed over the years, women, young people, and the elderly still do not appear on the screen as often as they do in real life. Furthermore, minorities are often portrayed and viewed in narrow, stereotyped roles. On the other hand, male doctors, lawyers, and police officers are still overrepresented on television. Topics such as drug abuse, alcoholism, and sex may also be brought to children's attention sooner than the normal age (Children and Television). .
Fourth, TV could decrease creativity in children. By sitting down and watching TV for many successive hours, the child is entertained, but he is not thinking. Information is spoon-fed to them, so when it comes for reading a book in school, some children will have difficulty in grasping ideas. They are used to having images flash before them to provide understanding; they have trouble moving their eyes side to side to gather the information for themselves (Effects of TV on Children).