I. Overview

Television has been hailed by many as the greatest invention ever created and as such, it has wrought a great influence towards each and every person. Through the television, we were able to view several important events throughout our history such as the very first trip to the moon, the tragedy of the September 11 attack at the World Trade Center and other such disasters and major events. On average, American children watch about three to four hours of television everyday with half almost half having the television set in their own bedroom. Consequently, it has become an influential factor towards the development of a child’s values and behavior.

Nowadays, there is an assortment of shows from movies to cable television and even commercial ads that features a lot of violence. Coupled with a lesser degree of supervision from parents, children are constantly exposed to themes of violence. Due to this, the children’s television act was enacted wherein research into the topic was required. Several studies have found out that a lengthy exposure to television violence causes aggressiveness levels to rise. Furthermore, it has been found out that being exposed to TV violence can lead to children becoming immune to the idea of violence, accepting violence as something that can solve their problems, imitate what they see in television as well as identify with the characters on television that display violent behavior. It was in the year 1964 that television was found out to be a strong influence to the behavior of a child.

Parents themselves can limit the effects of television violence by modeling appropriate behaviors and limiting the amount and nature of the show that children watch especially amongst younger children in from the toddler and preschool age.

II. Controversy

• “What one learns about life from the television screen seems to be transmitted to the next generation,” Leonard Eron, from The University of Michigan who chairs the APA Commission on Violence and Youth

• “I don’t know anyone in peace studies who doesn’t think ads, TV and movies in a very significant way affect violence against women and violence by gangs. The burden of proof needs to fall not on those trying to show a positive correlation, but on those who continue to promote violence and use it as entertainment.” Robin Crews, a professor at the University of Colorado who heads a group of activist academics called the Peace Studies Association

Scenario / Situation

• With American children glued to the TV for an average of 27 hours each week (in the inner city it’s often 11 hours per day), the American Psychological Association (APA) now estimates that a typical child will watch 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence before finishing elementary school.

• In the mid-1980s, 13-year-old Juan Valdez of Manteca, Calif., confessed to murdering a friend’s father. Having kicked, stabbed, beaten and choked the man with a dog