Beyond Aggression: How TV Violence Can Affect Your Child
The consequences of exposure to violence on TV go way beyond modeling bad behavior.
Articles within this series
- Overview
- Is America Addicted to Television?
- What Happens When TV Ratings Are Wrong?
- Directing TV's Role in Your Home
- Tykes and TV
- TV and Your Child's Ability to Think and Learn
- Beyond Aggression: How TV Violence Can Affect Your Child
- How TV Affects Your Child's Diet and Weight
- Is Televised Poker Helping Raise a Generation of Gamblers?
- Next Steps / Related Information
During the late 80s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (affectionately called “Heroes in a Half Shell”) hit the television scene, beating up bad guys with karate chops while shouting, “Cowabunga!”
I like turtles, but not violent ones, and the affect they had on the children I supervised at my preschool disturbed me. Many in my kindergarten class started behaving like Bruce Lee and shouting “Cowabunga!” too. Even though I’d stopped watching cartoons years before, I’d heard of the green troupe and I didn’t like what they were teaching my students.
Teachers are taught and parents learn — sometimes the hard way — that children learn by example, through modeling. Why aren’t we convinced that the same principle applies to television?
There is plenty of statistical information that gives parents reason to pay attention to the violence their kids watch on TV. After all, they might end up imitating more than a karate chop.
There is plenty of statistical information that gives parents reason to pay attention to the violence their kids watch on TV. After all, they might end up imitating more than a karate chop.
Am I overreacting? I don’t think so. Think about it. Advertisers pay millions of dollars — or what we call “big bucks” — for 30-second Super Bowl commercials because they know human behavior is affected by example. We see a young man with a Pepsi, we buy one; a woman has nicer skin than we do because of the product she uses, we purchase it; someone has a hot car, we have to have one. And if a green turtle can subdue bad guys with a 1-2-3 “Cowabunga!” why can’t we?
When your child watches too much TV, with too much violence, you might get more than you bargained for.
Your Child May Lack Compassion
Hmmm … it looks like my playground experience with the Turtle Troupe supports this one. What happened to children? Today it seems that many don’t know it’s not OK to hit someone, call them names, run them over with a bicycle — or even kill them.
According to researchers of a 17-year longitudinal study published in the journal Science, television may “desensitize viewers,” especially if the violence is shown without consequence.1 It makes sense that kids would assume it’s OK to do unto others what you would not want done unto you. Even movies applaud violent villains who are rewarded for bad behavior.
A lack of compassion isn’t only perpetuated by TV, however. Remember that iPod your kid is carrying? You might want to know what he’s playing on it. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, reports that violent song lyrics can cause a [negative] change in behavior and that sexually explicit music can desensitize children to violence and promote sexual stereotyping.2
Your Child Could Become Fearful of Becoming a Victim of Violence
Perhaps a parent may think, “It’s OK if my son or daughter is afraid when they watch TV. It’s not a big deal. They’ll get over it.”
Tell that to a five-year-old Susie who is unable to tell fact from fiction even though she’s coached otherwise, or to millions of other frightened kids.
According to the TV Turn-off Network, 91 percent of children polled say that they felt “upset” or “scared” by the violence they see on TV. Do these kids have a reason to be frightened? According to statistics, they do. Susie and her friends will witness 200,000 acts of violence on television by the time they turn 18.3
Too Much TV Can Make Your Child Violent
According to research, television violence begets violence. Even 80 percent of Hollywood executives believe there is a link between TV violence and real violence.4
Jeffrey Johnson, author of a 17-year study at Columbia University, which was published in the journal Science, concurs. The study revealed there is a direct link between the amount of television a child watches and their level of aggression. According to Johnson, children who watched more than one hour of TV a day were, “four times more likely than children who watch less television to commit aggressive acts.”5
The American Academy of Child and Adult Psychology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Psychological Association all agree that violence in the media is related to real-life aggression.
Perhaps you’re thinking, Wait a minute, kids are going to learn more from their parents than the TV. I wouldn’t count on it. If your child spends more time in front of TV than talking with you, there’s a good chance the TV is teaching him more than you think.
What Can You Do?
If you must watch TV, watch it with your kids. With a little creativity, you can turn your TV into an advocate for building Christian values into your child. When you see turtles doing karate chops, you can use it as a discussion starter about the right thing to do. With talk on a regular basis, your children can learn to be discriminating and not believe, or do everything they see.
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