Television Violence: Making Violent Children.
I remember sitting in school, anxiously watching the clock and waiting for the bell to ring. The teacher would be talking to the class, but all I could focus on was getting home. The bell finally rang and I rushed out of the classroom and ran all the way home. When finally getting home I blasted through the front door, up the stairs, to my bedroom, and turned on the television. This is what I had been waiting to do all day. There really was nothing more exciting then hanging out in front of the television and watching my favorite show until it was time for dinner. Many of you might have been in this same situation as a child or teen; it has become a very familiar scene in many American homes. Unfortunately, many parents fail to realize that letting their children constantly sit in front of the television can be creating many life long problems and potentially increasing their violent behavior. When children sit in front of the television for several hours a day, it provokes the loss of creativity, impatience, and a dispensation towards violence. As we will see from the research gathered from secondary sources, the more children watch television, the more likely they are to be violent as a young adult and later as an adult. The media industry has developed technology to reduce the amount of violence seen by children, however the key factor in reducing the harmful effects of violence on TV is parental control.
Even though people might not be aware of it, their lives are greatly affected by the media. Americans have replaced reading storybooks and playing dress-up for the new world of media, especially television (Clay 1). Television serves as a source of information as well as influencing our attitudes toward social issues. Television has replaced teachers and parents as educators, role models, and has become the primary source of information about the world.
