Television Effects on Children - Research Paper Example

ar I may have rode a horse to school and spent their days primarily taking care of the family farm or working in what would now be considered ‘sleepy hamlets’ with malt shops, drug stores and barbers sweeping their front step. Their children listened to the radio, rode in cars, could call anyplace in the world and enjoyed the comforts of electricity and indoor plumbing. While this lifestyle was already accelerated to at least twice the speed of their forebears, it was the next generation that was changed most by technology.

In the 1950’s, television entered the home becoming part of almost every family. It was not simply a tool; it entertained, educated and babysat the generations to follow. Society took its biggest leap either forward or backward, depending on your viewpoint, after the public adopted what was to become the family friend. Commentators have noted how each generation since the introduction of the television have become progressively more violent, less active and suffer from an increasingly diminished attention span.

It seems reasonable, therefore, to look to the television as the possible source of this violence as it negatively affects the development of our children. Studies vary on the exact amount of television children watch per day but it is commonly accepted that it is a large percentage of their lives outside school and sleep. While mesmerized in front of the T.V., children are exposed to many hours of violence, drug use and sex as well as to influential, sophisticated and enticing commercials.

Research regarding the behavioral outcomes of television advertising found that it is a significant factor in determining the specific items children request and contribute to children’s sense of social status based upon whether they can ‘have that’ or not. From the time of television’s inception, no one has doubted that this medium would generate its operating revenues from advertising. However, advertising directed