MEDIA VIOLENCE

“Distorted Images indicate a Bad Television ”

A television is a permanent fixture in almost every household. It is the most popular medium used
to bring fantasy and relaxation to anyone, young or old alike. In fact, it is not uncommon to see a household
which has more than one. In 2007, 99% of the households across the country have at least one television
(Herr). The US Bureau Center reported that in 2009, around 45% of all family households have children
under 18 years old living therein (“Population”). Putting these in mind and the fact that about 90% of
children aged 2 watch television (Author), parents must be extremely conscious of how this activity can
easily affect their child’s behavioral and emotional development.
Broadcast television is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Abiding by
the mandate of Title 18 of the United States Code, Section 1464, which prohibits the utterance of “any
obscene, indecent or profane language by means of radio communication,” the Commission proscribes the
broadcast of any material containing such language or display anywhere from 6am to 9pm.
(“Obscenity”) With the same view of protecting children from being exposed to any improper material, the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued a Policy Statement as early as 1999 to discourage parents
from allowing their 2-year olds to watch television as it might impair, rather than enhance, their brain growth
and their emotional and social development (“Media Education”).

The desire to minimize the time that a child watches television springs from a number of research
studies showing a causal relationship between TV violence and a child’s aggressive behavior. The National
Television Violence Study (NTVS) defines media violence as any overt depiction of a credible threat of
physical force or the actual use of such force intended to physically harm an animate being or group of
beings (qtd. in Gentile 3). It does not take one to be a genius to state that violence is indeed commonplace
on television. It is a prime commodity. It sells like hot cakes. Gerbner notes that this can be attributed to the
fact that violent scenes are, in essence, universally defined, whereas humorous scenes, although also very
popular, are often subjective and culturally specific (8). The proliferation of TV violence causes great alarm
to adult viewers who have children to care for. Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory views aggression
as a learned response, thus it can be learned through observation or imitation. The more often it is
reinforced, then the more likely it is to occur. This proved to be true based on a 15-year longitudinal study
of 329 children who were then exposed to TV violence. The psychologists who conducted the study

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concluded that the participants, now all grown up, have shown to be significantly more aggressive and
violent than those who were not exposed to any violence-viewing at all (Huessman).

Having established that TV violence indeed affects a child’s development, the questions to be
posed now are (1) at what stage should a child start watching television and (2) what restrictions should be
imposed on such activity? My answer to the first is based mainly on the Policy Statement issued by AAP,
strictly no television for a child below 2 years of age, which in turn I believe, is based on Piaget’s theory on
the stages of the child’s intellectual development. Piaget suggests that a child’s cognition develops through
4 series of stages as he matures. These stages are the following: sensorimotor (from birth-2 years),
preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-12 years), and formal operational (12 years and up).
Central to the issue on hand is the preoperational stage. This stage is called as such because a 2 – 7 year
old child has yet to comprehend certain rules or operations. A rule or an operation is a mental routine for
transposing information, and is reversible; every operation has its logical opposite (Hilgard 72). A child in
the preoperational stage therefore does not possess enough mental capability to fully comprehend what
are rules or the meaning of violations of those rules.

Children still have yet to know the difference between reality and fantasy, the latter being the one
mostly portrayed in a lot of programs supposedly appropriate for their ages. As they develop, they identify
with those who are closest to them. They acquire many behavior patterns from those who serve as sources
of imitation or identification, i.e. parents, peers, teachers and TV heroes. This is where it becomes
problematic. Problems will arise once the parents neglect to draw the line as to who and what to imitate, as
to what is real and what is not, and as to what might hurt others from those that will not. The fact that
children almost always reenact what they see regardless of the consequences, says a lot on how much
impact violence-viewing can have on their growth and development. TV shows even seem to tolerate
violence, with 40% of violent acts displayed by heroes (Sadock 152).

With regard to restrictions to be imposed on the activity of watching television, I believe that less is
more. Less television watching will mean more time for a chance to interact with others. Direct interaction
helps in developing the language and social skills of a child. I will set a time-limit such as no more than 30
to 60 minutes a day, and stick to it. Increased television use is documented to be a significant factor leading
to obesity and may lead to decreased school achievement as well (“Media Education”). Thus, no television

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during meal times. I will be extremely cautious of the programs that my child will want to watch. I will try not
to impose and let him have some sort of freedom in his selections, but if conflicts should arise, a little
imposition from my part will hurt no one. It will be beneficial to his well-being in the long run. The program
selection will definitely include learning the basic academic skills, from knowing how to sing the ABCs, to
counting skills, nature and science, basic language skills, good ethical manners, and even early reading
skills. I will see to it that my child will not watch television without me by his side and only after he has
finished his homework for the day. An unsupervised viewing could lead to impair his growth as a good-
natured person, for which I will forever blame myself for failing as a parent.

Media violence may never leave the scenes of our televisions, years may pass and still it will
continue to sing and dance in front of our living rooms, bed rooms, kitchen tops, and bath rooms, but that
fact alone does not mean that we cannot stop its impact upon our society, let alone upon the delicate mind
of a child. It must be noted that a child can witness violence in many places besides television. A child can
witness an argument between two people in a public place, and then re-enact the same without minding the
consequences of his actions. The child’s continuous growth and thirst for knowledge with his never-ending
curiosity, concomitantly requires constant vigilance, caring, and supervision from any parent. Violence is
everywhere. Businessmen live on it, while television networks feed it specifically to the innocent eyes and
the unsuspicious mind of a child. Being naturally imaginative, a child easily drools at the first sight of a
colorful fantasy sandwiched among the bittersweet scenes of a violent television program. Magical places
and heroes with superpowers devour him in an instant. Mythical creatures tickle him even in his sleep.
Although pretend play may very well improve a child’s imagination and creativity, extreme supervision must
be exercised so as not to confuse it with violent acts reenacted innocently.

A child must be taught proper discipline when watching television. Unregulated and unsupervised
watching technically means an impaired mental, emotional or even moral growth of a child. Too much
exposure with violence may immune him from it. As he grows he will be accustomed to its everyday
existence and regard it as a normal occurrence, with a view that nothing is wrong with such scenario. Living
with violence is the norm and peaceful living is taboo. This is clearly a great distortion of reality. In a perfect
world, a child lives free from any form of violence, threat, torture or aggression. In reality, peaceful and
healthy living is what each and every parent wishes for his child to have. That is a vivid image of reality,
idealistic, yes, but still plausible enough to be real. A bad television displays distorted images with an array

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of random shapes, pixels, lines, colors and usually accompanied with white noise in the background
enough for anyone to just turn it off. The same thing goes with media violence: it just distorts everything.
That is just bad television and to prevent any further annoyance or damage, one has just to immediately
turn it off.

Cited works:

Gentile, Douglas A., ed. Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and

Professionals. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2003. Google Books. Web. February 6,

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2011. <http://books.google.com/books?id=4BJ0U2TIwcC&lpg=PP1&dq=Douglas

%20Gentile&pg=PP 1#v=onepage&q&f=false >

Herr, Norman. “Television & Health.” Sourcebook for Teaching Science, 20 May 2007. Web.

February 6, 2011. <http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html>

Huessman, L. Rowell, et al. “Longitudinal Relations Between Children’s Exposure to TV

Violence and Their Aggressive and Violent Behavior in Young Adulthood: 1977–1992”.

Developmental Psychology: 39.2 (2003): 201-221. Web. February 7, 2011.

<http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/dev-392201.pdf>

Hilgard, Ernest R. Introduction to Psychology. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979. Print.

“Media Education.” AAP Policy. American Academy of Pediatrics, November 1, 2010. Web.

February 7, 2011.

<http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;104/2/341>

“Obscenity, Indecency & Profanity - Frequently Asked Questions.” Federal

Communications Commission, January 14, 2010. Web. February 7, 2011.

<http://www.fcc.gov/eb/oip/FAQ.html >

“Population: Households, Familes, Group Qaurters.” The 2011 Statistical Abstract: The

National Data Book. US Census Bureau, January 20 2011. Web. February 7, 2011.

<http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/population/households_families_group_qu

arters.html

Sadock, Benjamin J., and, Virginia A. Sadock. Kaplan and Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry:

Behavioral Sciences/Clinical Psychiatry. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams

& Wilkins, 2007. Google Books. Web. February 7, 2011.

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< http://books.google.com/books?id=u- ohbTtxCeYC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Kaplan+

%26+Sadock's+synopsis+of+psychiatry:&hl=en
&ei=ag9STcGTDMbJcfziqMcH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCYQ6AEw
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