Tv and Violance

America has the highest crime rate in the world. Along with that crime

rate is also the substantially high violence rate. Why is violence

becoming and everyday event in our society? When you flip on the

"tele" and tune into the news, the highlight of every show is somehow directly

related or connected to violence. We see it every evening and perhaps say "Oh

my gosh, how terrible." and then forget all about it two minutes later. Or

perhaps we don't even make any comments at all, just a simple grunt or

"..huh..". This numbness to violence is very scary and very real. Why is it

then that America has the most crime and violence. Why not Switzerland or

Australia. Are we not as civilized and advanced as they? I believe it is this

numbness to violence that has made America so violent.

When I think back to my childhood and remember television I remember

watching such programs as "Sesame Street", "Mr. Rogers", and "Scooby - Doo". I

have nothing but pleasant memories filled with happiness, peace, understanding,

and learning. When you watch children's programs today you see senseless

violence often as the first means of solving a problem. The classic view of

"good" versus "evil" is the basis of these shows with violence as the answer.

When children watch these programs they copy the actions and "morals" of these

shows depicting "good" and "evil". Children do not know what "good" is or what

"evil" is, how can they? This world is not broken into "good" and "evil".

"Evil" to children is what opposes them, what does not agree with them, or any

other person or thing that poses a possible difficulty. Children must be taught

that there are differences in this world. This world is filled with many people

holding different beliefs, ideas, and morals. That is what makes this world

so unique and colorful. Children need to learn to respect these differences from

a very young age. They need to learn to talk out and solve any disagreements or

problems through other means than violence. They must not "know" violence as an

answer, as if violence was never even an option to consider in solving a

problem.

I recently became aware of the problem of violence in children when I

started observing small children at play at my apartment complex. I had known

one small child in particular when he was just learning to speak. I had watched

him and talked with him for several years and noticed nothing "violent" nor

aggressive about him. Back then he played more outdoors rarely ever going

inside (except when his mother called for dinner), but as he got older and more

interested in television I noticed that he was becoming much more aggressive

especially as he played outside with his friends and sisters. He would punch

and copy the moves of the cartoon shows he watched even to the point of copying

their war cries and sayings. The media claims that they have no influence on

children, that could not be further from the truth. Children are the easiest

to manipulate and take advantage of because they are innocent and because they

are innocent they are also ignorant. Some people say that the boy was merely

maturing, becoming more like a man. But how many five year old boys do you

know that have testosterone flowing through their body? The main problem was

the television shows that he was watching. That is very obvious.

The problem with the above mentioned case was not just television itself

but the combination of television and child. Children are very susceptible and

easily persuaded as we all know. In the early 1960's, Albert Bandura of

Stanford was the first to present the theory that children not only learned from

their parents through imitation but also through imitating television. So when

children imitate what they see on television, especially when it is something

that is rewarded, and knowing how violent television is these days, television

can and does influence children in violent and aggressive means. When children

are raised with violent television "...they become desensitized to real people's

suffering..." (Leland 47).