The Effects of Television Violence on Children

Presentation by:

Jolene Goh, Rinda Yamashiro & Jamie Dos Santos

How many people own a TV set?

• 99% of American households have at least 1 TV set.

–54% of children have a TV set in their rooms

How much TV kids watch?

• The average American child watches 3-5 hours a day.

–Which means 28 hours a week.

Violent content

• 57% of TV program contain violence

• Children programming contains 5 times more violence than prime time television.

• 25% of violent acts involve handguns

• Children’s TV shows contain about 20 violent acts each hour

Time of day children are most likely to watch TV

• Saturday morning cartoon.

• Before they go to school.

• After school.

Children...

• can’t tell what is real from fiction• - lack of real-life experience• - believe what they see

• are visual learners• - they imitate what they see

How does TV violence mislead children?

• Violence is often rewarded and seldom has negative consequences.

• - 73% of perpetrators on TV are unpunished (National Television Violence Study, 1992)

• - Heroes are rarely unpunished • - no bleeding, no one gets hurt• - people killed just disappear

• Violence is everywhere. • “mean world syndrome” (Gurbner), • violence or abuse is everywhere• there is no good in this world

• Violence is justified. • violence by “good guys” is justified and heroic• a particular character gets beaten up because

he is a “bad guy”

• Violence is funny.• much cartoon violence used as comic effect • it’s ok and no big deal for somebody to be

smacked in the head with a hammer

Four effects of media violence (by Ronald Slaby)

• an aggressor effect• encourages violent behavior• accepting violence as a way to solve problem

• a victim effect• increasing fearfulness• perceives “culture of meanness”

• a bystander effect• leads to callousness• accepting violence as normal• dulls the emotion response to violence and its

victim

• an appetite effect• builds a desire to watch more violence

Other effects

• long-range effects (Leonard Eron) • many hours of television view in elementary

school• lead higher level of aggressiveness behavior in

teenage years• children who watched a lot of TV when they

were eight years old• were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted

for criminal acts • when they become adults (observed the

children until they were 30)

CONCLUSION

• How to rectify the situation– Movie/Show rating on TV

• TVY

• TVY7

• TVG

• TVPG

• TV14

• TVMA

V-chip

• In 1996 Congress requires television manufacture to install “V-chips” into new sets.

• Helps parents monitor children viewing

What parents can do...

• Talk to your children

• explain to them what they are seeing/experiencing

• watch at least one episode of the programs that your children watch

• outright ban any programs that are too offensive

• limit viewing hours

• encourage child to spend time on sports hobbies or with their friends

• draw up enjoyable activities

Any Questions?