OPPapers.com

The Effects Of Television Violence On Children

What has the world come to these days? It often seems like
everywhere one looks, violence rears its ugly head. We see it in the
streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these is a
major source of violence. In many peoplesÕ living rooms there sits an
outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television,
and the children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world
of violence scenes with sometimes devastating results.
Much research has gone into showing why children are so
mesmerized by this big glowing box and the action that takes place
within it. Research shows that it is definitely a major source of
violent behavior in children. The research proves time and time again
that aggression and television viewing do go hand in hand.
The truth about television violence and children has been shown.
Some are trying to fight this problem. Others are ignoring it and
hoping it will go away. Still others donÕt even seem to care. However,
the facts are undeniable. The studies have been carried out and all the
results point to one conclusion: Television violence causes children to
be violent and the effects can be life-long.
The information canÕt be ignored. Violent television viewing
does affect children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases.
In New York, a 16-year-old boy broke into a cellar. When the police
caught him and asked him why he was wearing gloves he replied that he
had learned to do so to not leave fingerprints and that he discovered
this on television. In Alabama, a nine-year-old boy received a bad
report card from his teacher. He suggested sending the teacher poisoned
candy as revenge as he had seen on television the night before. In
California, a seven-year-old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the the
lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he
replied that he wanted to see if the...