THE ROLE MEDIA PLAY'S IN TODAYS SOCIETY
             Let's stop the violence by "Turning off the Media Violence" in our own homes. Stop a moment and think about how television, movies, and video games affect children's behaviors. In the aftermath of the World Trade Center tragedy, I've reflected about stories I've heard: how a four years old cheered when he watched the repeated footage of the plane flying into the building; how a seven year old told his schoolmates, "It's okay, it's only TV." I believe it's time to step up our actions and become more vigilant in tuning out violent and biased programming... programming that our kids watch and emulate. The wrong use of media affects children's cognitive, emotional and social development? No electronic medium's effects are all good or all bad; it's the content that makes all the difference. Many of us overlook how profoundly television impacts children.
             American children spend more time watching television during their school-aged years than they spend in school. More than 15,000 hours of television compared to 11,000 hours in the classroom. During this time, children watch more than 200,000 acts of violence, including 15,000 murders!!! The recent violence in schools has made safety the number one concern of parents and everyone is concerned about the causes of violence. Most exposure to television by infants and toddlers is actually exposure to programs being watched by someone else; noting that in many homes the television is on so much it becomes part of the home environment. Television is implicated repeatedly for its role in presenting negative role models. The questions are; where do we begin? How can we make a difference? What can we do? We can begin by changing things in our own homes and in our own communities. We can also influence the use of media education in the society. The same goes for what we listen too; especially the music of today. Of course...