In 1960, Eron did a study of over 800 eight-year-olds and he found that children who watched many hours of violent television tended to be more aggressive in the playground and the classroom. Eron and Huesmann checked back with these students 11 and 22 years later. They found that the aggressive eight-year-olds grew up to become even more aggressive 19- and 30-year-olds, with greater troubles-including domestic violence and more traffic tickets-than their less aggressive counterparts who did not watch as much television. .
Television has more than just showed children violent images or shows. Most children today have grown up with television as a constant companion. It has entertained, shocked, frightened, and enlightened them. It has shown to children people at their worst and best. For better or worst television informs us of our past and future, from sports events, new flashes, rescues, to human despair. It shows us how to reupholster furniture, build houses and fix plumbing. Advertising on it attempts to show us what we need, what we want and what we can't live without from cars, food, and clothes to the latest $19.95 gadget. Television is all this and more. Television is more than just a simple technology; it is a means of expression and a window to the world. When things go wrong in the world people blame TV as the cause and effect. Television violence produces real-life violence, some say; television violence reflects the violence that already exists in society, say others. Children use television to visit the worlds beyond their doors and to live vicariously through the lives of police, doctors, secret agents and family life sometimes better than the one the children are living in. Violence on TV is only a small part of what children watch. Even if a child does watch a violent cartoon or show they might also watch a show on doctors or police and want to become a cop or doctor when they get older not act violently just because they saw it on a show.
