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What harmful effects can watching televiso­n have on children­?

902 Words / ~2½ pages sternsternsternsternstern_0.5 Author Cornelia H. in Nov. 2011
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Communication / Media

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Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg

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2008

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Cornelia H. ©
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Essay No. 1: What harmful effects can watching televison have on children?

 

Television is not harmful, it's just entertainment. This statement reflects the opinion of many parents concerning their children’s television consumption as well as it serves as a justification for keeping youngsters occupied in front of the screen. Today studies show that in the UK the average child spends four to six hours a day in front of television screens. Moreover, this development is further fostered by the fact that almost two-thirds of the 8-to-16-year old children have a television set in their bedroom. However, especially considering the new media of the 21st century such as the internet and games consoles, the number of debates about the influence of media consumption on children has increased recently. Hence, a closer consideration of the detrimental effects of television is necessary.

 

Recent studies prove that youngster’s television habits are related to their school performance. According to these surveys, watching television for too long can lead to poor grades. Firstly, it is a fact that sitting in front of the screen excessively can be judged as a time-consuming way of occupation. During this time pupils could otherwise do their homework or prepare for exams. In addition, most of the shows they watch on television are non-educational. Consequently, the content of these shows, which is often nonsense, certainly does not contribute to the children’s education. Another alarming sign is the sleepiness of some children during school-time. The lack of sleep and concentration may be caused by watching television far into the night. Hence, this deficiency can among others be blamed for the unsatisfactory grades children might receive.

 

A further domain of negative influence is the mental health of young people. The serious impact of television shows is clearly visible using the example of Britain’s Next Top Model and similar television formats. These programs promote an image that is questionable to a high extent. Since they create unrealistic body images and problematic beauty standards, they can be regarded as a factor contributing to psychological problems such as lacking self-esteem, inferiority complexes and eating disorders. Another sphere of influence concerning these values is commercials. The psychological health may also be affected in regard to the perception of their environment; in particular children might suffer from the inability to distinguish between reality and life shown on screen. Thus, one can state that television does not only impinge on children’s minds but furthermore may also encroach on their social behavior.

 

Additionally, there is a tendency for the medium of television to gradually become a substitute for family life and friends. Such a development can be detected in children’s homes. On the one hand, the offspring often tends to compensate the parental absence with watching television exceedingly. On the other hand, some parents consider television shows as a welcome possibility to keep their children occupied for several hours. Moreover, children who sit in front of the screen all day long miss important social aspects of their life like having conversations or meeting friends. As a result, this does not only lead to isolation and loneliness but also entails an impoverishment of the children’s social skills and a stagnation of the their personality on a social level.

 

After the discussion of the negative impact of television on children’s mental health, it is now time to deal with their physical condition. The results of a recent study are alarming: the more hours children watch television, the more they are likely to suffer from obesity. Furthermore, children often eat unhealthy food in front of the screen. In this context, one should also emphasize the force of commercials advertising junk food. It is worrying that according to a research 70% of three year old children are able to identify the Mc Donald’s symbol whereas only half of them know their family name. In combination with little physical activity, television consumption can lead to obesity and other related cardiovascular diseases.

 

Moreover, there are many television shows that are inappropriate for children. They often comprise certain groups of themes like violence, sexuality, drug and alcohol abuse. As for the aspect of violence, one can note that it is often glorified and shown in an extremely unrealistic way on television. An example may be cartoons. In this kind of television show one character often beats another character severely and nonetheless the beaten one shows no signs of physical violence. Accordingly, there is the risk that especially young children implement these wrong representations in their life and tend to imitate the aggressive, violent and antisocial behavior they see on the screen. As a consequence, they regard violence not only as completely acceptable but also as amusing. There is always the possibility that children tend to misjudge what they see on screen; they can be easily impressed as well as they regard the presented world as exemplary and safe. However, many children are unable to cope with the multitude of new impressions; this is eminently severe in cases children do not have a person to whom they can relate and talk to.

 

All things considered, one can say that there are various reasons why watching television can have a negative impact on children. Therefore, it should not be uncontrollably available. Consequently, parents have to be aware of possible harmful effects of television consumption. Thus, it is a parental duty to, on the one hand, control their children’s television viewing behavior and, on the other hand, present sensible alternatives concerning their children’s leisure time activities.

 

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Sources:

(20.04.2009, 13:15).

(20.04.2009, 13:40).                                                                    

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