Marketing Research Mid term

Open Book 1 ½ hours

TV: The Idiot Box

Saturday July 30, 2.30pm.

I could hear the familiar sound of my son running up the stairs.

“Thud”, the door opened. Next few events occurred almost simultaneously. He drops his
school bag, jumps onto the sofa, snatches the TV remote from his mother’s hand and
switches on his favourite channel, which was airing an episode he had already seen; I
don’t know how many times.

Our repeated shouting has not been able to change anything. I have been trying to divert
him from TV to outdoor games. I also showed him articles on the "Negative Affects of
Television” (refer box).

The Negative Affects of Television Violence on Children

This paper explores television violence and its effects on children. It addresses how TV
manipulates the minds of children, causing them to act in more aggressive and violent
manners. The author argues that TV violence distorts children’s minds into believing
that violence is a healthy and acceptable way of dealing with problems.
From the paper: "How many parents give a sigh of relief when their child’s favorite program
comes onto television (TV)? Probably, a vast majority of today’s parents do because TV allows them
to obtain some moments of personal freedom. Marie Winn, author of The Plug-In Drug, proclaims
“Television keeps children quiet and passive, cuts down on loud and boisterous play, prevents
outbursts between brothers and sisters, and eliminates a number of potentially destructive household
‘experiments’ that children might be indulging in…”. So how could something that is so addictive,
to the degree that it settles down even the most robust five-year-old, is dangerous to society? To
answer this question there are many statistics and theories."

Over the past two decades, hundreds of such studies have examined how violent
programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and
effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may
be vulnerable to violent images and messages.
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/television/tv_impact_kids.cfm

Research Brief
I along with few other parents have started an NGO to formulate a campaign to divert
children from television viewing and make them participate in outdoor activities. We
wish you to conduct a research and tell us how we should go ahead. Since we do not
wish to delay this, we wish that you give us your proposal by 4pm today.