The Role of the Environment on Human Behaviour - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages But in the modern household environment in which a child grows up, television sets and computers attract their attention easily. This is not a bad environment to grow up in entirely, for “The advent of digital media and the proliferation of technologies that support their delivery, such as the internet, mean that children now have easy access to lots of information. This ranges from educational material, through various types of entertainment, to interactive online experiences”. (Oates, p.103)
Unfortunately, though, these digital media and communication technologies tend to show a lot of emotionally intense imagery. This includes violent behavior, aggression, etc. which can appear very realistic in their portrayal, leaving a lasting impression on the formative minds of children. Even something as outwardly benign as cartoons contains a lot of violence (at times even exceeding those of action movies). The rubbery cartoon characters are seldom shown as getting hurt in their physical exuberances. But the danger lies if children try to replicate such actions during their playtime. There is also the avenue of video games, through which children get shown more violence. Many popular games in action genre involve the player carrying guns and ammunition as he sets out to accomplish the mission. An unguided child, who gets exposed to an excess of cartoons and video games, is bound to develop behavior problems both at home and in school. This assessment is backed by studies conducted on the subject. Author John Oates encapsulates the study results thus:
“In the 1930s, a study showed that crime was a major of the theme of 25 percent of the 1500 films that were analyzed (Dale, 1935). There was also growing concern around this time about violence shown in comics. ...Download file to see next pagesRead More