Television Violence is a Social Problem

             Television violence is definitely a social problem.  The validity of this statement has already been proven by numerous studies conducted on the effects of television violence on children.  The findings of the studies have been unanimous:  majority of adults who are inclined to resolve their problems through violent means have watched too much violence on television as children.

            One interesting project done on the subject was the longitudinal study undertaken by psychologists from the University of Michigan from 1977-1992 which involved a sample size of 329 young adults.  This was actually a follow-up of a 1977 study of 557, 6-10 year old children from Chicago who were made to name their favorite violent television programs, then asked ‘whether they identified with the aggressive characters and whether they thought the violent situations were realistic.”   The subject 329 young adults of this longitudinal study were part of that 1977 study.  The findings showed that adults (both men and women) who watched too much violence on television when they were children, are more likely to resort to violent solutions to problems, get involved in domestic violence, and even commit criminal activities. (American Psychological Association. 2003)

            According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the situation is not yet hopeless.  Parents are in a unique position to help lessen the number of violent-prone adults in society.  To this end, AACAP offered a six-point proposal on how parents can safeguard their children from being excessively influenced by television violence.  Their proposals are:  parents must keep an eye on what their children watch and if possible watch TV with them; limit amount of TV time; explain to their children that real life violence is far different from TV violence; do not allow their children to watch violent programs; emphasize to their children that violence is not a healthy way of resolving problems; and talk to other parents to follow these guidelines.

References

American Psychological Association. (2003). Childhood Exposure to Media Violence

            Predicts Young Adult Aggression. (Retrieved March 9, 2007 from:

            http://mentalhealth.about.com/cs/familyresources/a/media303.htm)

 American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. (2002). Children And TV Violence.

            (Retrieved March 9, 2007 from:

http://aacap.org/page.ww?name=children+and+TV+Violence+section=Facts+for+Families)