Television

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Television is the leading cause of violence in today's society.

Television. This word associates for us with "violence", "crime", "pornography". And this becomes usual in today's society. And possibly, it is a reason why many people don`t find the cause of violence in TV, because it is usual situation for them, when they see bad scenes on the screen, they just don't pay attention on it. And this is the source,all we became "cold". For us it is trifling when happens bad events around us. And we don't notice that slowly turn to monsters. But there is the great impact of television's violence on youth, especially.

1. Children copy everything what is happening on the screen, not caring whether it is good or bad. For example, there was experiment with the children. Television researchers split children in two groups. For the first group the clip, where little girl hit a doll, was shown. For the second group the clip, where that girl had a tea party with doll, was shown. After that researchers gave dolls to every group, and every group did the things, which they saw in the video. (http://library.thinkquest.org...)

2. Violence on television causes aggression in people, especially again in children. But the effect, they have from the television, can be opened after a lot of years, even if they are 30 years old. "In 1973, a small Canadian town (called "Noel" by the investigators) acquired television for the first time. The acquisition of television at such a late date was due to problems with signal reception rather than any hostility toward television. Joy et al20 investigated the impact of television on this virgin community, using as control groups two similar communities that already had television. In a double-blind research design, a cohort of 45 first- and second-grade students were observed prospectively over a period of 2 years for rates of objectively measured noxious physical aggression (egg., hitting, shoving, and biting). Rates of physical aggression did not change significantly among children in the two control communities. Two years after the introduction of television, rates of physical aggression among children in Noel had increased by 160%" (http://cursor.org...)

3. Again children saw violence on TV, repeat it, thinking that their action will not be punished. That means they are persuaded that crimes, violence... have punishment, despite their terrible consequences.

47% of violent television programs show the victim going unharmed, especially in cartoons.
The person in the cartoon or television show gets bowled over by another character and they get back up without being harmed. Children begin to believe that violence doesn't really hurt others.

73% of individuals who commit crimes in cartoons and children's shows go unpunished in violent scenes
Television shows that allow the character who commits the crime to receive no punishment, teaches children that it is alright to commit a crime because nothing will be done. Criminals and violent acts do not get punished.(http://library.thinkquest.org...)

4. And there are certain facts that television promotes homicide. Following the introduction of television into the United States, the annual white homicide rate increased by 93%, from 3.0 homicides per 100 000 white population in 1945 to 5.8 per 100 000 in 1974; in South Africa, where television was banned, the white homicide rate decreased by 7%, from 2.7 homicides per 100 000 white population in 1943 through 1948 to 2.5 per 100 000 in 1974. As with US whites, following the introduction of television into Canada the Canadian homicide rate increased by 92%, from 1.3 homicides per 100 000 population in 1945 to 2.5 per 100 000 in 1974. ...white South African homicide rates would double within 10 to 15 years after the introduction of television in 1975, the rate having already increased 56% by 1983 (http://cursor.org...). If you want to see more just go to this web site.

Well, it can be said that nowadays television is full of acts of murders, robberies, violence. And all of theme, all-in-all, have a huge influence on our consciousness. So, this is beyond controversy.

I can't agree with my opponent that Television is the leading cause of violence in today's society.

Since my opponent didn't give any arguments, I'll first my arguments: 1. Violence was always there. It's not a new invention. Since the beginning of time, there has been violence. The first murder is mentioned in the bible. Much before there was even electricity. 2. If the violence you see on television causes you to act violently, each and every one of us (since most of us watch TV) would have been violent 3. Those who act violently are people which are naturally violent. The proof of that is that animals act violently too. animals do not watch TV. They act violently since they are naturally violent creatures. I think that I can introduce to my opponent the facts why television is the leading cause of violence. Television hasn't significant influence on adults' mind, but has a great impact on children, on their brain's development. And if they catch the idea of violence in childhood from TV, then their opinion about crimes, murders cannot be changed. Only in adulthood they make their ideas real, and we don't know what kind of idea it can be. Thus, television influences the consciousness of children, who at their time will be ready to accomplish terrible action. But also there was a fact TV has influence on adults too, but it is seldom event.

All-in-all, there are a lot of exploration, researches, which prove the statement of our debate's topic. I am sure that I could demonstrate the facts, that`s why people vote for me!

This them was risen so many times. The answer is yes, but on half. Because being violent depends not only on Television, but also on person` environment ( family, friends, consiquences...) Television is only a part of this. Ufrotunately, television`s influence on people is huge. You see the propagands in films that being bed is cool, and actually you want to be like them, TV showas areshowing and talk that being thin is good, and you do not eating and make harm to yourself.....

Television and other media have always been blamed about showcasing violence to a large extent. Many television shows are infamous for their violent content. Television violence is about murders, bloodshed, explosions, disaster and death. TV shows often demonstrate hitting, stabbing, screaming, thus expressing negativity. This destruction shown on television has a deep impact on the viewers, especially children. Considering the impressionable years they are in, children are most vulnerable to violence on TV.

It is a point of debate whether television reflects society or behavior of society reflects what is shown on television. But at some point it becomes a vicious circle. People follow what they see on TV and television shows are based on what is prevalent is society. Television is bound to have a deep impact on the viewers, especially children and teenagers. Children tend to follow whatever they see blindly. Television violence influences children to a great extent because they relate to characters on television.

Television violence affects children of different ages in different ways. The effect depends on their level of understanding, the way they interpret and process information and their own experiences and upbringing. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), kids under 2 years of age should not watch television and those older than 2 should not be allowed to watch more than 1 to 2 hours a day of good TV shows. Television, or any media for that matter can shape child behavior. Audio-visual media have the potential to influence a child's mind and make the child follow what he/she sees, without much thought. It's high time the elders realize this and restrict TV exposure of children.

How Television Violence Affects Children
Infants are attracted to watching TV. For them, it's just a play of light and sound, something visual and moving they enjoy watching. They often miss the program content. They can make sense only out of characters and faces familiar to them. It is said that if behavior on television is presented to them in simpler ways, they are likely to imitate it.
When children reach an age of two and half years, they begin to pay more attention to what is shown on TV and tend to imitate it. At that age children prefer to watch fast-moving characters and are likely to get exposed to television violence. During the pre-school age, children begin to derive meaning from what they see on television. Intense scenes and sounds attract them. Cartoon violence draws in the children of that age. It is seen that preschoolers behave aggressively after watching action and violence on TV.
During their initial years of schooling, children begin to understand what's shown on the television. They are able to follow the actions of characters and the consequences of the characters' actions. But they tend to think less on what they see, which results in reactions of a superficial nature. If children identify with a villain, they may start enacting his behavior. They think of emulating that violent hero. Due to overexposure to TV violence they may become tolerant to real world violence. Studies say that watching horror movies is sometimes an attempt by children to get over their own phobias.
When adolescent, they start watching television independently. At that age, they can reason everything they see but they are not mentally involved. They start idealizing someone and are tempted to act like him. They start believing that whatever is shown on TV is real. If they are exposed to suicides and crime they may try to imitate those kinds of behavior.
Children's minds are not mature enough to understand the context of the violence they watch on television. Take an example of a psychic villain or a murderer who constantly bears a feeling of guilt about his acts. In the first scenario, a child does not perceive the psychological disorder that has made him a villain. In the second case, a child fails to understand how empty a murderer's life is. Thus they are unable to comprehend the causes and effects of evil behavior. They do not understand the nuances of the scenes on television. They wrongly interpret the wrongdoer and go the wrong way.

Primarily, children become insensitive to others' pain. They may become numb on watching something terribly violent. Secondly, children feel that people around them are all of a violent nature. They think the world around them is similar to what is portrayed on TV. Due to this, they fear people. They speculate something ill happening to them. They feel the possibility of frightening incidents taking place in their lives. Influenced by the violence shown on TV, they may tend to harm others. They might become over-aggressive and rebellious. They can disobey rules. They may become impatient and refuse to wait for things, they then leave work unfinished thus do not perform well in school. Television violence can impact children in two distinct ways. Either they develop immunity towards cruelty or an extreme fear of living in a dangerous society grips them.

Television shows portraying the 'positive' are almost history. Scenes of TV stories are no more depictions of only the good. Today's wrestling shows, violent movies and intense emotions expressed on TV, are bound to leave a long-lasting impact on television viewers. Children have to face the after effects of television violence. Today's children are the future of our society and it's important that they stay away from violence. Violence might make children timid and pessimistic. It may instill evil feelings in their minds. Television violence creates a wrong picture of society in the young minds. They make suicidal attempts or may even take to murders. Youth takes to committing crime leading to youth violence. These harmful effects of television violence need to be curbed.

Parents have an important role to play in preventing their kids from watching the violence that is showcased on television. Kids should be encouraged to watch children's programs. Parent must use their discretionary powers to decide which programs their children should watch and which ones they should not. Early exposure to violence on TV leads to abnormalities in children's behavior. Parents are advised to pay attention to the programs their kids watch and restrict the time for which their kids can watch TV. They are advised to contact other parents and collectively implement rules for television watching. Parents need to reject violence in front of their children. They should explain their kids the reality behind the scenes. It's necessary to call the 'wrong' wrong when television violence is perpetually projecting it as 'right'.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/television-violence-and-children.html