'Children are aggressive because they watch an increasing amount of aggression on television' - Essay Example

1). So what effect does this actually have on them? One first and major effect is that children who watch violence on TV may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others ("Children and Television", par. 1). This is because those who watch a lot of violence on TV are less aroused by the violent scenes, so theyre less bothered by violence in general. This desensitization of the pain and suffering of others in a sort of "emotional numbness", as they tend to eventually care less and intervene slower when they are confronted with violence.

Children who dont watch a lot of violence on television will more likely intervene faster when violence ensues, due to the fact that they can sense that the other is suffering and in pain. However, when TV violence is more common, this realization tends to be weaker and less important for the children who watched the violence. In a way, we can exaggerate and say that children who watch a lot of TV become like mini-sociopaths, that dont care about other peoples feelings (this is of course a wild exaggeration, but these children are slowly coming closer to the sociopath end of the spectrum than "normal" kids).

Another main effect that can be seen in these types of children is that they become quite fearful of the world around them ("Children and Television", par. 1). When they watch so much violence on TV, it starts to seep through their minds that this much violence must also exist in real life, since TV imitates life and is based on it. This causes them to fear the outside world, strangers and anything else theyve seen as threatening on TV. The dont have the emotional and developmental capacity and maturity to differentiate between TV and real life, to know that television is merely a depiction of certain things in life and that life doesnt necessarily correspond with whats shown on TV.

If children watch shows on TV which are inappropriate for their age, it