Gonzalez - 2
Joseph Gonzalez
English - 101
Professor Seccombe
September 30, 2018
Television and the Negative Effects It Has on Children
How much is too much? Ever really wondered how television can affect your child’s brain? On average children ages 2-5 years old spend roughly about 32 hours per week in front of the television. Children ages 6-11 years old spend roughly 28 hours per week in front of the television. 71% of children ages 8-18 years old have a television in their bedrooms. As of today, people have become victims of the television. Some people watch the television because they want to know what is going on in the world, they want to be kept updated. Now, not only young adults but children as well get hooked on the television. Because of how busy things are nowadays parents do not have time to look after their children all day long therefore children have the freedom to do and watch whatever they please – sex, crime and violent shows. Television is damaging for children’s health and not only does it make children violent, but it makes them antisocial therefore, children should not be allowed to watch television.
The first and foremost reason, watching too much television is deleterious to a child’s health. “In fact, childhood development experts say infants as young as 14 months old imitate behavior they see on TV and children up to the age of 5 lack the cognitive ability to distinguish fact from fantasy.” (Children and Television Violence) Studies have shown that there is a correlation between watching television and obesity in not only children but adults also. Excessively watching television can contribute to many health issues such as difficulty sleeping, behavioral problems, and a lack of focus. There is also very good evidence that supports cutting back on the hours of television you watch can help with weight control.
Secondly, watching television causes trauma in children, it desensitizes crime and violence. “Cartoons are even showing numerous acts of violence and most of this violence is done by the good guys.” (Television and the Impact on Children) As an example, during an episode of PJ Masks they get rid of the bad guys by fighting them. During most of the episode you can see the PJ Masks members using violence to defeat the bad guys. Even shows like Power Rangers, Madagascar, Johnny Test, and X-Men show violence towards others. No wonder little children think that it is alright to act that way even the good guys who are supposed to be teaching them not to hurt others are hurting others. They see the supposed good guys the “heroes” doing those bad things and they think that it is alright to do them too.
In addition, children watching television have a higher risk of becoming antisocial and reclusive. “The researchers discovered that watching more than three hours of TV per day was associated with a small but statistically significant increase in risk for antisocial behavior and conduct problems.” (Over 3 Hours...
