In recent years, studies have widened on whether or not violence on television directly affect the viewing audience. It is clear that the growing interest of television watching, along with youth being vulnerable to what they see may be a problematic circumstance. For example, children average 16-17 hours a week of television viewing. Also, it was found that more families in the United States own a television then a telephone (Strasburger, 1999, p.129). We can't pull our children away from the television, but what they watch and how they perceive it needs to be limited. Our American youth view over 10,000 acts of violence each year, with a majority of that coming from the media. Although watching television has positive effects, attention is usually focused on its negative ones. Some people believe that watching violence on the screen may harm children. Factors toward violent behavior include being the victims of violence and witnessing violence against others, especially at home. The emphasis is on establishing whether or not television violence and actual violence, are related as a result of the neglect of more important influences on the development of aggressive behavior and other effects of media images on the mental health of children (Black, 1995, p.273). .
Technological advances, including satellite and cable television, interactive computer games, and the Internet give children easier access to a wide range of violent images, with the lack of censorship. There needs to be consideration towards the best way to protect and educate children. So the question arises of whether the violence that children view directly affects their nature of perceiving violence? If so, there also needs to be further studies and actions to prevent this occurrence. .
It's clear that existing data has been directed at why aggression is the effect of watching violence on television, and what groups it affects more often.
