on, many children do not learn how to read and may develop violence.
             Children today spend more time watching television than any other daily activity. They spend at least twenty-five to thirty hours a week watching television. This will cause a major influence on children's behaviors and on their ideas.
             When television came out in the 1950s, only a few households could afford them. Since then, there has been an increase in violence of American youth. In 1951, with a population of 150 million, federal crime reports showed national total of 6,820 homicides, 16,800 rapes, and 52,090 robberies (Barry, 1993). In 1980, the numbers increased to 23,000 murders, 78,920 rapes, and 54,8220 robberies. This rate has increased since televisions have come into the market!
             Children learn by imitating actions of others. A study done by Andrew Metiyoff, placed a fourteen-month-old in front of a television. He placed an unfamiliar toy on the television to disassemble and reassemble the toy. Twenty-four hours later, the infant was able to do the same action (Hattemer, 1994). One example of children imitating television is from the movie "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". Children saw that the turtles were heroes who went after the bad guys. Going through malls or other popular places, one would see children fighting like they were the ninja turtles.
             Children may not know what is reality and what is fake on television. When they watch a program, they might think it is normal behavior and copy it. They may not even think of the consequences of what it might bring to them. If children watch cartoons, they see the villain escape being unpunished. The child might think that if the character can get away with it, then the child feels they can to. The average violent acts in a cartoon are 32 (Lattimer, 1994).
             The average American child will witness 200,000 acts of television violence by the time the child graduates f...