The average American child watches three to four hours of television every day, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. As noted at Kids Health, American children witness an average of 200,000 violent acts on television by the time they reach the age of 18. On television, the perpetrators of violence often suffer no consequences for their acts. Many programs rationalize and glorify violence, portraying violence as justice. These programs offer aggressive heroes as role models to be emulated. The concern, of course, is that viewing so much violence encourages children to be aggressive or violent.
Potential Negative Effects
The negative effects of violence on television have been documented by hundreds of studies, as noted by the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and described at the Kaiser Family Foundation website. Experimental, cross-sectional and longitudinal studies indicate that viewing televised violence enhances the likelihood of aggressive behavior. Studies also suggest that exposure to violence on television can lead to emotional numbing, a lack of empathy for victims, acceptance of violence as a way to solve problems, and identification with victims or perpetrators of violence. Finally, some children, and especially younger children, can be sensitive to violence on television and can experience emotional distress or nightmares.
Program Characteristics
The impact of televised violence varies with how realistic the portrayal of the violence is, and the nature and consequences of the portrayed violence. When action portrayed on television is more realistic, it is more likely to be imitated. For example, violence portrayed in cartoons is less likely to be imitated than live-action violence portrayed by actors. If the violent action portrayed on television isn't punished, is rewarded or is portrayed as admirable and justified, children are more likely to be physically aggressive or to imitate the violent behavior.
Children's Vulnerability
The developmental age and the emotional vulnerability of the child moderate the effects of televised violence. A report prepared for the Department of Canadian Heritage and posted at Media Awareness describes children's vulnerability to televised violence from a developmental perspective. School-age children are still developing their sense of what is real and what isn't, and so are more influenced by televised violence. Adolescents have a more developed sense of identity, have more independence in their judgment and are more critical and able to discriminate between television and reality. Still, teens who have fantasies of violence, identify with violent characters or have emotional or behavioral problems can retain their vulnerability to imitate television violence.
Socialization Factors
Actors on television serve as potent role models, but there are other forces that influence children's behavior as well. Socialization practices that pervade the child's environment will serve as primary influences on how a child acts. If parents, siblings, or peers, engage in violent and aggressive behavior, this will trump television. Children around the world grow up to be violent without the influence of television, and many who have viewed hundreds of thousands of televised violent acts are peaceful and nonviolent. Families' own actions and attitudes toward each other and toward others outside the family will play a critical role in moderating the impact of televised violence.
Interventions
Parents should limit the amount of time children spend watching television, and should exert control over content viewed throughout their children's development. Young children should be guided into viewing educational, nonviolent programs. Adults should refrain from watching violent shows in front of the children. As children move into adolescence they may become more capable of watching violence without being at risk of either getting numbed by it, upset by it, or imitating it. If your child has problems with aggressive behavior, that is all the more reason to enforce restrictions. When violence does occur on television, parents should discuss the violence with the child to establish a more realistic and mature perspective toward the actions of the characters.
