Technology is a great accessory that millions of people use regularly in everyday life. Television could be the most-used technological commodity of all. Millions of people now have at least one television in their home. Although television seems like a great thing to have, it has its drawbacks. Television can negatively effect people, particularly kids. Numerous studies and surveys have proven just how much television can be a bad influence on our youth. Many kids become violent, have severe psychological effects, and become very unhealthy. Once thought as a great invention, television has become a major problem. Violence is a major part of today's television shows and movies that are targeted towards our youth. Violence is increasing regularly in the television shows kids are watching: " Fifty-seven percent of television programs contain psychologically harmful violence" (Kaufman 1). Through heavy television watching, children can encounter many violent shows that are not suited for them. This can affect a child in many ways. Author John Leo explains that "Children who are heavy viewers of television are more aggressive" Pena 2 (Leo 29). Children, especially young, are not ready to distinguish right from wrong. When their favorite action hero is beating up a bad guy, kids think that it is all right. At a young age a kid will envy a character on television and will have a preconceived idea that whatever the character does is acceptable. Children will also take what they see on television and try to use it in their everyday life. For example, "Children under the age of seven or eight are more likely to imitate the fighting moves they see on the screen than older kids" ("Television" 1). Kids could go along life thinking it is OK with fighting to solve problems. Violence on television can be harmful in more ways than one. On the one hand, kids will imitate what they watch, but kids are also very easily brainwashed.
