Effects Of Television Violence On Children

Television is a bane or boon is a question raised by many parents. The answer is that it could be a boon if utilized in the right way.  The level of violence on the television has increased by manifolds compared to couple of decades ago. Violence can be seen in cartoons, movies, news and regular programs. This is to the ever increasing number of channels, programs, fall in cable subscription and video rentals. To compete to each other, all the channels have reduced the quality of the programmes and resorted to violence, sex and nudity as it would increase viewership. Although program locks and ratings for every show are given, it’s still not sufficient to protect the kids from being exposed to these.

Research has proved that 3-5 hours of watch television by the American kids has had negative influence on their behaviour, growth and development. During preschool years, they may be helpful tool to teach a lot to the kids but later less television watched, the better its.
Watching too much of violence makes them immune to it. They don’t think twice before resorting to violence as it gets ingrained in their minds as solution to all problems. Children try to imitate their favourite hero and unintentionally hurt themselves or the others. Those sympathising with the victims could become irritated and annoyed. When kids watch news and realise that the real people are dead or hurt then they may get frightened and depressed.

Too much of television makes the kids aggressive.  These effects would be obvious when the kids enter the teens where in their personality begins to shape up.

The best way to handle the situation is to avoid letting the children watch too much of television. It’s better to get in to other activities like reading books, playing with friends in the open air, practice their hobby or involve in community service.

When the child watches television, its better to sit with them and watch the show. In case they have any questions, they should be answered clearly and to their satisfaction. If they are affected by any scenes, they should be explained that it’s only happened to the actor on the show which just acting and in reality they would be fine. This would help to resolve their fears.

It’s not possible to control all the factors that influence in the growth and development of a child. But watching television especially violence and other adult stuffs can be controlled. When the parents take up the initiative and do this, they would be performing one of the important duties of the parent.

This article is not against television but suggests that the parents watch the programmes with the children and make use of television as constructive tool rather then letting it destroy the child’s future.