Excessive Viewing of Television in Children - Case Study Example

Impact of television on childhood development in USA According to Napier (18), research in childhood development shows that the development of a child’s brain continues after birth under the influence of relationships and experiences. Most of the brain development takes place within the first two years of life and the early experiences form the basis for relationships, self-control, and future responses (Napier 18). Therefore, social interactions are necessary in establishing secure attachments because they are essential in development of positive emotion; hence, anything that disturbs this like the use of television has the potential of causing problems. Moreover, studies show a connection between early brain development and external environment making it possible for television to cause harm in infants since television can cause overstimulation. Television affects childhood development since children spend a lot of time alone making it difficult to guarantee interpersonal relations essential in optimum brain development (Napier 20). Television viewing influences children cognitive development and social development since television plays an essential role in many contemporary families in USA because TV often acts as a reference point for relating to others. Initially, the acceptance of television began slowly but later on exploded because in 1950s 7% of US households had televisions however, within a period of ten years almost 90% of American households had a television set (Wartella, Rebekah, and Michael 117). Currently, about 2% of the American households do not have a television set and majority of the households that have televisions have more than one (Martin and Richard 332). An American child on average spends almost a week of working hours using media outside the classroom since American children above the age of 8 years spend around 7 hours in a day using media mostly television. Moreover, children between 2 and 7 years spend around 3.5 hours a day using media like television with less than 10% of them using it for less than an hour (Van xxiv). Although there have been efforts in regulating violence, children entertainment in television still has a considerable amount of violent content. By the time, children reach adolescence they witness many violent acts that are televised and in many cases, TV programs for children tend to depict the violence in a way that approves violence. This is in return affects children perception of violence which makes them to have different opinions regarding violence since some of them view it as attractive while others do not see violence unless there is shedding of blooding. In addition, scientific evidence shows a correlation between children experience of violence in television and the development of hostile and risky behavior in children. Violence in television has been shown to affect children aggressive tendencies if violence is portrayed realistically without critical commentary and when the violence possesses aspects that justify the actions. Moreover, when children are exposed to violent television programs, they are aroused to behave impulsively because implied violence elicits same arousal as real violence (Martin and Richard 333). Excessive viewing of television in children is linked to various negative influences in early brain development because it takes the place of interactive experiences like play that enhance healthy brain development. Engaging in a lot of TV viewing in early years of development in children tends to cause poor performance in schools in developing language as well as reading skills (Van 68). Moreover, too much exposure to television decrease the capability of children to use their imagination because TV can lead to overload of the visual part in the brain while at the same time withdrawing other parts of the brain. Since watching television does not require creative thought and imagination, this ensures that children under use these areas of the brain during their development. Studies show children who watch television for a long period tend to have problems focusing because the fast-paced images displayed on television keep the brain from learning to pay attention. According to Comstock and Erica (130), there are indications that television exposure at a tender age can result in attention difficulties capable of impairing progress in school. Moreover, watching television for a long period makes children have poor planning and judgment skills because the areas of the brain responsible for the development of these skills are underutilized. Studies show that too much TV viewing in children is also associated with negative impacts on their lifelong physical health because the decrease in activity when watching TV encourages sedentary behavior linked to increased risks for obesity and other chronic diseases (Halford et al 221). Embracing television in early childhood promotes poor dietary habits because of the exposure to advertisements for high fat and sugar foods that propel poor food choices (Halford et al 222). In the US, childhood obesity tripled in the last two decades with children who are over at the age of two year having a 10% chance of being overweight in their adulthood. Decreased use of energy through activity in children because of their increased engagement in television acts as an underlying factor for increasing the chances of obesity in American children. Watching television occupies a huge part of American children free time, which in return affects their activity level. TV viewing is linked to overconsumption of snacks because children who take meals while watching TV tend to consume dietary fat. Moreover, studies show that the amount of hours teenagers spend in viewing TV is significantly related to the amount of unhealthy foods they consume. An estimated 25% of waking hours among American children is spend on watching television and statistics indicate that children who spend a lot of time on television have a high risk of being obese. This tendency is evident because there is little energy expended when viewing television and the concurrent consumption of snacks rich in calorie (Bishop, Middendorf, Babin, and Tilson para10-20). Television has a negative influence on achievement since TV viewing displaces time necessary for children in carrying out their academic learning. Moreover, TV has indirect effects that facilitate displacement of activities essential in cognitive development like play; as well, television is capable of weakening concentration capabilities during child development. Moreover, television makes children to prefer undemanding content that in return shapes their preferences toward more trivial content (Van 72). Moreover, the low level of information processing required in television can develop in children making them to employ the low processing skills in tasks that require high level processing like problem solving. Moreover, children may use partial attention strategies they develop when watching television within school situations, which are inappropriate in learning (Van 72). Besides the negative effects associated with TV in childhood development, there are studies that show positive effects of TV on child development. Researchers have gone beyond establishing the potential negative effects associated with television viewing to establish a positive view of television influence. According to Van (68), even though television displaces study time or even affects reading habits, it also has the ability to stimulate interest in new areas. Children who view fiction are likely to obtain academically relevant information that is accurate or inaccurate; in addition, television can increase literacy once the right TV programs are in place. Moreover, television functions as a source of social and emotional learning regarding social roles and suitable social behavior by understanding the positive and negative social behaviors. Planned programming functions as a source of learning that is effective in development of cognitive and social behavior in children (Huston 8). Discussion Since television exposes children to plenty of information, its potential for helpful use may outweigh the potential for abuse. Although, televisions can have both positive and negative impacts depending on the forms of programs, the medium is not essentially good or bad as some studies argue (Huston 7). Television offers an opportunity for children to learn and experience various human conditions and events regardless of whether television is designed for entertainment. As well, television has the potential of teaching children academic and social skills with thoughtfully planned TV programs targeting children. Regardless of the numerous and possible positive contributions that television can offer the development of children, there is plenty of emphasis on the negative and harmful effects associated with television on children. However, this concern is grounded on well-established knowledge that American TV programming aims at attracting a large audience to messages provided by sponsors. These programs often contain social violence and other selected content useful in appealing to the viewers that affect development of children. Nevertheless, the failure to use television in pursuing positive goals deserves better attention like that given to its capability to propagate harmful messages in the development of children in terms of physical and cognitive development (Huston 5). In conclusion, studies spanning decades on the effects of television in children development indicate harmful effects on children development. American children spend a lot of time watching television, which propels sedentary lifestyle that pose serious health risks in children after they become obese. Television also affects cognitive development in children both in harmful and helpful ways since television helps develop cognitive capabilities in children. However, most of the studies in America regarding the effect of television on children development mainly focus on the negative effects; nevertheless, some studies focus on the positive impacts of television associated with children development. The negative effects associated with television in development of children are mostly linked to the frequency and the amount of time children spend in interacting with television since majority of the studies show most of the negative effects result from spending a lot of time watching television. However, other studies indicate that television can offer positive effects in children development because some televised programs targeting children can enhance the development of social and cognitive skills. Apart from the much-publicized negative effects associated with television on children development, the positive effects associated with television in child development require as much acknowledgement evident in the negative effects. Works cited Bishop Jennifer, Middendorf Rebecca, Babin Tori and Tilson Wilma Childhood Obesity. 2005. Web Comstock, George, and Erica Scharrer. Media and the American Child. Burlington: Elsevier, 2007. Internet resource. Van, Evra J. P. Television and Child Development. Mahwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 2004. Internet resource. Halford, Jason CG, et al. "Effect of television advertisements for foods on food consumption in children." Appetite 42.2 (2004): 221-225. Huston, Aletha C. Big World, Small Screen: The Role of Television in American Society. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1993. Print. Martin, Carol L and Richard A. Fabes. Discovering Child Development. 2nd ed, Cengage Learning, 2008. Print. Napier, Carole. "How Use Of Screen Media Affects The Emotional Development Of Infants." Primary Health Care 24.2 (2014): 18-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Apr. 2014. Wartella, Ellen, Rebekah A. Richert, and Michael B. Robb. "Babies, television and videos: How did we get here?." Developmental Review 30.2 (2010): 116-127. Read More