Television Violence

             With the recent outbreak of school shootings, there has been renewed public
             concern over how violence is depicted in the media, particularly on television.
             Studies have shown that a child has witnessed 8,000 murders on television before
             finishing elementary school. With this statistic in mind, I am going to define
             television violence, state some facts on how violence causes aggressive behavior in
             children and give some suggestions on how parents can decrease the amount of
             media violence in their home.
             "Television violence" usually refers to all the violence appearing on TV
             screens. It includes material broadcast over the air, distributed by cable and satellite
             systems, and available on videocassettes and disks. A common understanding or
             definition of what constitutes "television violence" could be useful in helping to
             examine and regulate the problem (Alter, pars. 4-5).
             Extensive viewing of television violence's by children causes greater
             aggressiveness. Sometimes, watching a single violent program can increase
             aggressiveness. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic,
             frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see. The
             impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the child's behavior or may
             surface years later , and young people can even be affected when the family
             atmosphere shows no tendency toward violence. This does not mean that violence
             on television is the only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but it is a
             significant contributor (Smith, par. 4).
             The overall pattern of research findings indicates a positive association
             between television violence and aggressive behavior. A Washington Post article ,
             states that "the evidence from more than 3,000 research studies over two decades
             shows that the violence portrayed on television influences the attitudes and
             behavior...

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Television Violence. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 20:16, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/40755.html