Free Essay

Television Violence

In:

Submitted By fcpsoultions
Words 1609
Pages 7
Who should be responsible for Television Violence?
Composition II

Who should be responsible for Television Violence? Can we afford to continue ignoring the connection between television violence and the increase in mass murders? The answer is no. We have to take a stance now and fight for stricter regulations by the government and the Federal Communications Committee (FCC). Television has been associated with influencing controversial acts since the beginning of its creation. One of the most recent acts that television is being blamed for is the violence associated Columbine High School murders in 1999 [ (Updated: TV and Film Violence Reaches a New High, 2011) ]. Many adults enjoy the entertainment of bad cop versus good cop, as well as the violent acts that are performed by both parties to get to the bottom of the case. However, are shows like CSI, Blue Bloods and Law and Order responsible for the violent acts done in society? Is there a connection between these shows and children who commit horrendous acts of violence? According to Leonard Eron, Senior Research Scientist at University of Michigan, “Television alone is responsible for 10% of youth violence” [ (Media Violence: Facts & Statistics) ]. There needs to be stricter laws to help eliminate many hours of television violence on air. This is a community effort in which action must be taken now. The government should have stricter policies in place for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate. The FCC should be regulating television violence like they regulate sex, nudity and foul language. Television is an enjoyable time for most families. It has been used in many ways to assist parents in their everyday routines. The option of television allows many parents to sit their kids in front of a box and complete tasks like work from home or preparing dinner. Children watch on average four hours a day of television (“Children”, 2011). During these times they are influence by many shows including cartoons with violent content. According to the Media Education Foundation, “The level of violence during Saturday morning cartoons is higher than the level of violence during primetime. There are 3-5 violent acts per hour in prime time, versus 20-25 acts per hour on Saturday morning” [ (Media Violence: Facts & Statistics) ]. Research on television and children has proven that children who are exposed to violence become immune to the horror of violence (“Children”, 2011). They develop a false sense that violence solves problems and they begin imitating these acts in real life. Many children depending on their home lives can identify with the good violence acts performed by super heroes as well as the bad violence acts performed by the villains in most shows like Power Rangers and the Avengers.
In today’s age and time it really does take a village to raise a child. Parents are the first half to the village theory. They have the everyday responsibility to manage the content in which their children are viewing. Parents have the ability to curve the violence right at home by following a few tips generated on Facts for Families in the article “Children and TV violence”. This article has several easy ways parents can become more involve and do their part in eliminating the violent acts done by children. The first is setting limits on the amount of time their children are spending watching television. In order to regulate this better the TV should be removed from their children’s rooms. The second is a moral training Parents can do anytime a child does see violence on television by exploiting the violence and explaining that violence never has solved any problem. The last thing parents can do to assist in the move eliminating violent television viewing is to reach out to other parents and encourage them to follow some of these same procedures. This works because it helps eliminate the peer pressure amongst children who can and cannot watch certain shows. The second half to the village theory is the way government handles certain regulations. Currently the government assigns the FCC to regulate all media matters. The FCC enforces laws prohibiting the airing of obscene programming at any time and the airing of indecent programming or profane language during certain hours [ (Indecency and Obcentity) ]. The FCC also has the ability to revoke a station license, impose a monetary forfeiture or issue a warning if any station violates the law. However this is limited to nudity and foul language [ (Indecency and Obcentity) ]. Congress has not given the FCC power to regulate violence. So, the message is it’s more important to bleep foul language or run to commercial if there is a wardrobe malfunction but the research that shows violence is link to aggression in children sends no red flag. Congress has the most influence so it is time for them to become more aggressive in regulating the time and amount of violence that currently airs. This was stated very clearly by the West Virginia, Senator Jay Rockefeller, “Congress, has not done enough to protect children and families from the kind of violence that occurred on Dec. 14 at Sandy Hook elementary in Connecticut.”(Plummer, 2012, Para. 11) The senator stresses many points in an interview on December 20, 2012 on the importance and responsibility that Congress has to make a difference. The senator is not alone on Capitol Hill, Vice- President Joe Biden has been meeting with the entertainment executives to develop a responsible way to air adult content shows.
The government needs to reconsider the proposal submitted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 2007. The proposal included a stricter ratings system on television shows as well as video games (“Update” 2007). The FCC wanted to change the hours that were in place for adult television shows to being aired (“Update” 2007). The main reasoning behind changing the times has come from actions regulated in other countries. For instance, in India they have watershed hours in which restricted shows can air from 11pm-5 am (Sinha, 2013). Since violent shows are not the only cause of violent acts it is hard to say how much the new regulation has changed violent acts. However, it has limited the amount of complaints by viewers of the nudity, sex and violence that was previously aired prior to those hours in place now.
The First Amendment allows for freedom of speech and press. However, can we ignore the obvious signs that are ripping are nation apart with actions like the killings in the movie theater in Colorado. We as a nation have to pull together and develop a solid plan to protect the lives of our children from performing unspeakable acts as well as failing victim to violent acts. “More than 3,500 research studies have examined the association between media violence and violent behavior; all but 18 have shown a positive relationship,” states “Media Violence” (Adams, 2012). The issue is not to eliminate television shows like CSI, Bones or Looney Tunes. However, there is a time and place for everything especially adult content television shows. Most adults have developed social skills, moral and reasoning to separate fiction from reality when watching these shows. Therefore this is why there should be no opposition as to when these shows should airs, when only adults are able to view them.
In conclusion, there are many reasons violence has increased in recent years. The recent mass killings in Colorado and Connecticut have brought to surface that no nook or cranny can be ignored. We have to change many things in our nation to curve these actions of violence. We can start by regulating certain television shows during hours children are watching. Research has shown that “By the time the average U.S. child starts elementary school he or she will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 act of violence on TV”-New Scientist, (TV, 2011, para.1). The governments as well as parents have a responsibility to do whatever it takes to protect lives and to raise a better tomorrow.

Bibliography
Adams, N. (2012, July 20). How TV Violence Affects Kids. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Livestrong.com: http://www.livestrong.com/article/221006-how-tv-violence-affects-kids/
Albinak, P. E. (2012, December 24). The Brutal Truth about TV violence. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Broadcasting & Cable: http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/491012-The_Brutal_Truth_About_TV_Violence.php
Children and TV Violence. (2011, March). Retrieved February 3, 2013, from Facts for Family: http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_tv_violence
Indecency and Obcentity. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Federal Communications Commission: www.facc.gov/topic/indecency-and-obscenity
Media Violence: Facts & Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Media Education Foundation: www.jacksonkatz.com/pdf/childrenmedia.pdf
Plummer, S. (2012, December 20). Rockfeller Introducing Bill Focused on Video Game Violence. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Register-Herald: http://www.register-herald.com/todaysfrontpage/x98954366/Rockefeller-introducing-bill-focused-on-video-game-violence/print
Sinha, A. (2013, February 1). TV Body Bats for Entertainment of Watershed hours for Adult Contents. Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Indian Express: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/tv-body-bats-for-enforcement-of-watershed-hours-for-adult-content/1067385/
Update: Television Violence. (2007, October 5). Retrieved February 9, 2013, from Issues & Controversies On File: http://elibrary.bigchalk.com.bakerezproxy.palnet.info/elibweb/elib/do/document?set=search&groupid=1&requestid=lib_standard&resultid=8&urn=urn:bigchalk:US;BCLib;document;191284197&style=printable&edition=&start=1&language=
Updated: TV and Film Violence Reaches a New High. (2011, December 17). Retrieved February 9, 2013, from www.cybercollege.com

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Violence and Television

...Does violence on television cause aggressive behavior in teenagers? Eboni Bias Professor: Brynne Barnes Class: Com/172 Date: 12/21/2014 Since we love in a world of violence that is viewed as best sellers when it comes to television. Teenagers view the portrayal of the characters ass cool and this person becomes a role model. The amount of television an adolescent watches can have an effect on their minds. There is a certain amount of violence that is consumed to the mind in a short amount of time. The effects of violence on television has a huge impact on teenagers that are easily influenced. The writer will uncover the short term as well as long term effects of violence on television to the developing minds of adolescents. Parents and role models do play a huge part in what their kids watch and can prevent the corruption of the child’s mind. Does violence on television cause aggressive behavior in teenagers? According to the author of A Tropical Approach to Life-Span Development there is a huge significant amount of scientific evidence that says violence on television can lead to aggression as well as antisocial behavior. Studies show that when teenagers watch television they begin to reach an altered state of consciousness. When this occurs the initial thoughts are suspended and the mood for arousal comes in to play. Teenagers lean this behavior without passing appropriate judgment. For instance, when the...

Words: 383 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Television Violence

...Violence and Television In today’s society, television violence is shaping the way our children behave, making them prone to violence and abuse as they get older. Living in a world where the majority of our entertainment is television, it is very likely that we would become more immune to the physical and damaging acts of damaging force committed. Violence is all over our media but mostly on the TV. Parents should monitor what their children are watching closely, so that their behavior does not become more destructive at; even at the age of 5. History shows that some of the first violent acts were noticed in the 1950’s. They say that even back then a lot of television was filled with destructive acts. From talking to my grandparents television was not as much of a necessity as we believe it to be today. Being the society that has to be entertained around the clock, we just do not think about what is going into our children’s heads. It seems to affect children more, because their behavior patterns are still developing, and are very vulnerable, and we don’t want them to develop into what they see on TV. Children who watch television a lot of the time become less aware to the pain and suffering of other people around them. If they are always in front of the tube, and just sit there, and soak in all of that bad stuff they are seeing, they become not as aware as they should be. When terrible acts of violence happen in the children’s life that do watch a lot of TV, they are not...

Words: 740 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

The Effects of Violence on Television

...What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present; in the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. Even if one might be a pacifist, violence will seep its way into our homes through the television. Some children that see violence on television are pulled into its harmful deceptions of problem solving. Scientists have tried to explain why children are so amused by a big glowing box and the action that takes place within it. Research shows that television is a major source of violence for children. This research shows us that violence appeals to every audience, including children. The effects have been seen in a number of cases. One example, from Alabama, was when a nine-year-old boy received a bad report card from his teacher. He suggested to one of his friends that he send the teacher poisoned candy as revenge. He had seen the same scenario on television the night before. In California, a 7 year old boy sprinkled ground-up glass into the lamb stew the family was to eat for dinner. When asked why he did it he replied that he wanted to see if the results would be the same in real life as they were on television (Howe 72). Some people might not accept a child’s diversion of blame, but it must be pointed out that all of children claimed to have seen a similar act on television. We should not hold television directly responsible for these acts, but understand that it is television that plants a violent seed in the minds of these children....

Words: 913 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Children Violence Television

... Society, Television, & Violence On average, American’s watch at least four hours of television a day. Over the year’s television undoubtedly has become more violent. Even though television is a reflection of life, television can manipulate certain situations to make them more violent than what they are, and convey a negative message toward society, particularly the youth. This is evident through, the increased violence seen in today’s children/teens. Unfortunately, numerous television shows are highly violent. Being that children’s minds have not yet fully developed, they become immune in a way to the true and actual horror of violence. The biggest problem is that shows that are violent seem very realistic. Children imitate the violence seen on T.V.; they gradually accept violence as a way to solve their problems. Television can be a major influence in the behavioral growth of a child, as well as forming values. When the youth watches violent programs they, can potentially become more aggressive and violent. Viewing repetitive violence without a consequence allows the youth to believe that they too can, participate in violent acts, and get away with them. A shocking statistic, that less than five percent of television shows show a consequence from using violence. A 9-year-old boy surrendered after the robbery of a midtown Manhattan bank. His lawyer claimed his crime was influenced by crime programs on television and that he was only playing...

Words: 641 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Sex and Violence on Television

...Sex and Violence on Television: Are the affects on Children all bad? The Issue How does the saying go? “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” There is no question that the controversy of violence among today’s youth is colossal. There are many studies that point to sex and violence in the media as the cause of this problem. Yet there are also several studies that suggest that the affects of TV violence on children and teens are minimal or may be beneficial in some ways. This paper will review literature from both sides of the controversy not for the sake of defending one side over the other but for the purpose of unveiling what makes the issue so controversial by exploring some of the questions regarding who are the people that have a stance on the issue, why might someone take a strong stance, and discuss what previous researches conclude about the influence of media sex and violence on children’s behavior. Summary of Internet Information For about half a century, Congress has wrestled with the perceived negative influences of television on society, particularly its youth. The responses to this divergence in the past have ranged from banning indecent content and restricting offensive speech to condensing the rights of the broadcast industry. Television violence, the most recent and pressing issue to date for the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) is the conflict between protecting children from the potentially harmful influence of exposure to sex and...

Words: 2512 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Should Sex and Violence on Television Be Restricted?

... Should sex and violence on television be restricted? The debate over sex and violence on television has been going on for several years. Many researchers have supported, while a few are against restrictions. There are various negative factors of sex and violence on television, such as creating fear, aggressive, crimes and many more. This essay is going to discuss the reasons why sex and violence on television should be restricted. Some television programs, like guns, murders, shooting, explosions, punching, screaming stabbing, car chases, disasters, death and smashes create a great fear to the viewers. Sex and violence on television is able to persuade people to commit offenses and become aggressive. This can be caused by watching a single violent program more frequently. Those children watch programs in which violence is more realistic and frequently repeated are more likely to imitate whatever they have seen. On the other hand, pornography is now mostly available on television to children all over the world. Watching of pornography adds no value especially to the children, because this can be lead to rapes, adultery, sexual molestation and other illicit acts. Children from the United States of America spend most of their time watching television. The act against violence project, state that an average children use two to four hours per day viewing television. According to the Kaiser foundation...

Words: 658 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Television Violence

...Name: Tutor: Tutor: Date: Why India Matters India is quickly becoming one of the most powerful nations in the world in the 21 century. In fact, India already has the third largest economy in the world, and it is forecasted to become the second largest by 2050. These predictions show that India has a large working population that is estimated to be larger than that of China and the US combined at the same time. Its economy is also estimated to grow to about thirty times larger than it is today. This transformation in India’s economy is also set to bring similar transformations in the military, political and cultural powers making India on of the biggest influence in the world. As a result, large nations including the US and the UK have recognized this super potential power and have rushed to try and establish and strengthen their relations. Recently, Obama endorsed India’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN security council. This endorsement by the president of the most powerful nation in the world symbolically signified that truly India matters. Besides, it also showed that Obama is fully committed to strengthening the relationship between the two nations. Furthermore, it sent a clear signal to India’s neighbors that the United States view India as of significance in creating a stable Asian order. In fact, the language used by the president in making this endorsement went beyond that used in making a similar endorsement of Japan’s candidacy. As such, the United States sent a...

Words: 1032 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

What Are the Consequences of Depicting Violence on Television, with References to Effects Theory?

...What are the consequences of depicting violence on television, with references to effects theory? I will explore the influence of graphic violence through television on particular investigated objects- children. Roughly, there are two parts. It is not hard to figure out that there is a correlation between televisual violence and youth aggression. Such as learning aggressive attitudes and behavior, Desensitization to violence.( http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140197103000939 Some data will be used to demonstrate this point. Bandura’s social learning theory will help me to analyze the internal causal relationship concretely. Berger’s experiment. (lec 5) The second part, there are some counter arguments about the topic; In actuality, aggression is a multifaceted phenomenon that has many determinants and serves diverse purposes. (Albert Banudra, This article was extracted from a longer paper presented at the Werner-Reimers-Stiftung Conference on Human Ethology: Clafms and Lfmfts of a New Discfpltne, Bad Homburg, WestGermany, October 197) 1 media plays very little part in the process of attitude and opinion formation. Main influence = other people (the personal influence theory) (Key theorists: Lazarsfeld) 2 the pathway to aggression is largely biological/genetic 3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1899408.stm Although some social scientists support this link,[1] methodological and theoretical problems with the existing literature limit interpretation...

Words: 670 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Opinion

...Kevin Thomas GE217 Hudson 12/16/12 Opinion on John Ellis John Ellis’s opinion on violence on television was very one sided. He primarily focused on the increase in violence on television correlating directly to the increase in violence in school. While this is a factor to consider in the increase of violence, he never once looked at his examples of students that committed these horrific crimes home life. The way the perpetrators grew up surely needs to be considered. Home life plays a big part on how the person will develop and moral standing on how they will react to actually doing a horrendous crime like shooting children in a school. John Ellis’s percentages on the increase in violence on television were astounding. If a person watches television a lot of the time of course that will affect the way they view life in death if they are seeing it so blatantly disregarded on television every day. Taking all of what John has written, I do not feel that violence in television is the only reason for the increase in school shootings. Violence is a part of the world, that is just the case and it always has been. What he did not look at is the whole picture. While I agree that violence in television has increased significantly, that cannot be the only factor in why someone would commit these crimes. What pushed these people over the edge? Why were these people watching television episodes with so much violent in them so often? Why did the parents of this person not supervising the...

Words: 515 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

How Do Media Influence Our Understanding of Masculinity?

...most insightful understanding of how the contemporary masculinity is shaped and constructed by the media. In the movie, Dr. Jackson Katz bridges the connections between violence on the screen and violence in the real life by using lots of stunning examples from television, films, video games, and sports. Then, what is the media? The media is the means of communication, as television, film and video games, newspapers, radio and magazines, which plays the silent but influential roles in the lives of individual. In particular, Television, film, and video convey information as well as impact comprehension of gender identities as a result of portray by the media (Kivel & Johnson, 2009; Johnson, Richmond, & Kivel, 2008). For example, in our society, TV set is so important in many families and households. It functions as one of the most popular ways of entertainment for most of people and also as the important source of information. Van Evra (1990:112) comments on the impact of television on the lives of many people by saying that it plays a significant role in a child’s growing beliefs and attitudes about what it means to be male or female in the world. The National Television Violence Study examined nearly 10,000 hours of television programming from 1995-1997 and found that 60% contained violence, with children’s programming being the most violent (Federman, 1996). This study is summarized in the diagram below (Mediascope, 1996) The movie industry is a business...

Words: 371 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Influence of Visual Media

...Influence of Visual Media American culture and values have been influenced in many ways by visual entertainment media. Televisions, smart phones, computers, and gaming systems, are a part of almost everyone’s daily life. Although many people will deny it, many of people’s actions and beliefs are linked to what they are exposed to in their daily life. From fashion sense, to political views, to the cars we drive, our minds have been led that way with the help of entertainment media. Each time any form of entertainment media is accessed, American values are influenced. Through television, the younger generations of the world are being taught that it is acceptable to lie, cheat, steal, use vulgar language and behave inappropriately in public. Many people look up to the President of the United States, but how is one to explain their wrongdoings? President Clinton had an affair, but the media portrayed it as if it were no big deal. President Obama refused to produce his original birth certificate for Americans to see and again this was acceptable. Both of these leaders, that many Americans look up to, have shown that it is okay to lie, cheat and withhold information. As Americans, we see it as “if they can do it, so can we”. Another poor form of entertainment media is video games. Most of these games are full of violence, drugs and vulgar language. For example, in the game Grand Theft Auto, you are on a mission to steal cars, fight with others, and run from...

Words: 483 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Business Government

...and Society MGT 430 Term Research Paper Television Media Yolanda Scott Sunday, December 13th, 2009 Table of Contents History of the Television…………………………………………………………Pages 3-6 Stakeholders of the Industry……………………………………………………...Pages 6-8 Role of the Industry………………………………………………………………Pages 8-13 Ethics of the Industry……………………………………………………………..Page 14 Rating of the Industry…………………………………………………………….Page 14-15 Accomplishments………………………………………………………………...Page 15-16 Comparison to Saint Leo Values…………………………………………………Page 16-17 When I think of the T.V. Media industry several things come to mind involving the history of how it came along being that I will only be thirty years old next week and much older it is than I. Television is an invention that came about years before my time and it is one of those things in life that I have become a custom to always having and not knowing anything different. There was a time when televisions did not exist and the radio was all that was around. Then the television came around but not in the color version that we are all used to but in black and white and remote controls were not a part of the standard television package like now. Remote controls came years later once televisions were upgraded to color. We have come a long way in the innovative upgrades of televisions because now we have plasma and HDTV flat panel televisions with advanced remote controls in comparison to the...

Words: 4130 - Pages: 17

Free Essay

Influence of Visual Media Paper

...The three significant forms of visual entertainment media that have shaped our culture are movies, television and video games. These three have been a staple or lifestyle in almost every American household. Movies have been around since the early twentieth century. At that time it was the most popular form of entertainment. This continued until the fifties when television was starting to make its place in American homes. As television sets became more popular and more affordable, movie theaters started to feel the impact, with the loss of patrons. In order to compete against television, movie producers had to become more creative. As technology started to advance, many producers started using this as a method to attract more people and stem the tide of lost revenue. As production costs continued to rise, a majority of film companies stopped making so many low budget films. It seems that each producer wanted to create an epoch production, which in general was quite expensive. This allowed their latest efforts to spend more time in development. Television was founded around 1920. It wasn’t until after world war two that it gained acceptance. Television grew dramatically in the fifties as both availability and affordability became commonplace. Color television became the boon of the sixties, although in the fifties certain programs and movies were developed in color. The seventies and eighties saw the development of both cable and satellite transmission...

Words: 713 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Children and Television

...CHILDREN AND TELEVISION INTRODUCTION Educators hoped that TV would serve as a window of knowledge for children. They hoped that it would broaden their knowledge by exposing them to various learning experiences, and help them learn about different cultures. Educators’ thought that TV would play a vital role in preparing preschoolers physically and psychologically for school. In contrast, today the effect of television on children has become a growing concern to many educators’ due to its effect on children’s behavior, health, and cognitive development and learning. We do not deny the TV holds many benefits to children if used properly and under adequate supervision of adults. Yet, we cannot deny its negative effects of TV. In this article we will talk about the negative effect of TV, and how it affects children, while on the same time mentioning its positive effects. We will first discusses the amount of time children spend in front of their TV sets, We will then move talk about how TV affects children’s behavior, health, cognitive development, and learning. We will also try to highlight the reasons behind children spending extended hours in front of their TV sets. Finally, we will try to suggest some solutions to this issue and how can we mitigate the negative effect of TV on children. The Amount of Time Children Spend In Front Of Their TV Sets Children in their early developmental stages are very fragile and vulnerable physically and emotionally .they fail to distinguish between...

Words: 2739 - Pages: 11

Free Essay

Television as a Babysitter

...The Impact of Caregivers Using Television as a Babysitter Composition and Communication II Comm/156 August 19, 2012 The Impact of Caregivers Using Television as a Babysitter Caregivers using television as a babysitter adversely impacts the growth and development, physical fitness, and social life of children. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) stated, on average a child in America watches three to four hours of television a day (AACAP, 2011). This happens in most households because caregivers tend to have children watch television to be occupied. The problem with this is children are not getting the interaction with others that is needed to advance their social skills. Watching television and not going outside to play takes away the ability to get in the required exercise that is needed, therefore, leading to childhood obesity. Working, busy, or unconsciously aware caregivers are letting children sit in front of the television hours upon hours to entertain themselves. Whether caregivers are using television as a babysitter so they can do other things, to take a break from entertaining children themselves, or as a learning tool; television should be watched in moderation because it impacts the growth and development in children. The first two years of brain development are the most important. This time period is when children are learning to talk and play. The American Academy...

Words: 1511 - Pages: 7