In this report I will talk about T.V. violence, what it does, and what we can do about. Does it affect us, can it persuade people.
"Typical American kids spend mor time in front of the television set by the time they are six than they will spend with their father during their entire lifetime."(Melashendo, and Crosby, 1993, p. 5)
"Violence has reached unprecedented levels. And in spite of vigorious denials by the film industry, it is clear that much of the problem may be laid at Hollywood's doorstep."(Melashenko, and Crosby, 1993, p.6)
Studies released in the June 1992 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Associostion pointed to the direction that there is a strong corelation between viewing T.V. violence and acting out violent or agressive behaviour.
"One study chronicled Physical aggression in forty-five first and second-grade students in a remote Canadian town that did not get television until 1973. Student's behaviour was compared with that of children in towns that already had television. Over a two-year period, the rate of physcial aggression among children in the remote village increased by 160 percent after television came to town."(Melashenko, and crosby, 1993, pp. 6-7)
In Canada and the united States we've had T.V. since it was introduced between 1945-1974. In Canada the homicide rate has increased by 92%. In the United States the homicide rate increased by 93%. In south Africa T.V. was not introduced until 1975. When it was introduced the homicide rate increased 130%. While in the U.S.A. and Canada it dropped slightly. And before T.V. was introduced in south Africa homicide rates went down 7%.
"Without television int he united states today, the data suggests there would be ten thousand fewer homicides each year, seventy thousand fewer rapes, and seven hundred thousand fewer injurious assaults. Dr. Centerwall, who conducted the study suggests that our crime rate today is double what it would have been had there been no television"(Melashendo, and Crosby, 1993, p. 7)
"Fourteen-year-old Rod Matthews was"t interested in baseball, but he found a chilling new use for a base ball bat. He used it to batter a young friend to death after luring him into the woods. Rod had just watched a rental video, Faces of Death , a collage of film clips of people dying violently, and he wanted to see how it worked in real life. At the trial a child psychiatrist testified that Rod was not conventionally insane, he just "doesn't know right from wrong... He is morally handicapped."(Melashendo, and Crosby, 1993, p. 10)
"Television is the most potent persuasive force and shaper of thought in the America today. Robert MacNeil estimates that the average watcher spends ten thousand hours in front of the television set for each decade of life. Ten thousand hours is enough time for a high-school graduate to earn his Ph. D. And during those ten thousand hours the viewer is being programmed to accept violence as humdrum fact of life.(Melaskenio, and Crosby, 1993, pp. 11-12)
When "President Clinton played his saxophone on television the sale of saxophones went up. Yet those who produce violent films and television programs deny that their work influences people to behave violently. Research indicates other wise.
University of Illinois professor of Psychology Rowell Huesmann found that adults who had been convicted of the most serious crimes were those who had watched the most television violence as children."(Melashenko, and Crosby, 1993, p. 12)
"Today more homes have T.V. than have indoor plumbing, water systems engineers must now design city water supply systems to accommodate the drop in water pressure caused by mass toilet flushing during commercials on prime-time television. They call it the flush factor."(Melashenko, and Crosby, 1993, p.46)
A Russian-Born scientist by the name of Vladimir Kosma Zworykin is largely responsible for television, and he said " I would never let my children even close to this thing."(Nickel, Focus on the family, June 1984, p.7.)
Violence is not the only thing on T.V. and movies. If we took all sex and violence off T.V. would it be a safe pass time.
T.V. executives would like you to think T.V. is for entertainment. But the real purpose of T.V. is to sell products and manipulate public opinion."Along the way it has some very alarming effects."(Melashenko, and Crosby, 1993, p. 47)
"First of all, television tends to dull the mind. It is and intellectual sedative. It tends to weaken the ability to sove problems and to think analytically because it presents ready-made solutions to problems. Kindergarten and grade-school teachers say that over the last few decades there has been a noticeable change in their students. They have less desire to learn, less ability to focus, and increased behvioral problems." (Melasenko, and Crosby, 1993, p. 47)
"Television teaches the values of insolence and arogance and disrespect for others."(Melasendo, and Crosby, 1993, p. 47)
"The message is repeatedly drilled into young minds that they will be socially rejected unless they own certain material things and dress and behave in certain ways."(Melasendo, and Crosby, 1993, p. 47)
One thing that could be done is to put a V-Chip in T.V.s. V-Chips are inexpensive only costing about $5 U.S. to add to a T.V. A V-Chip is easy to setup.
"Things to do instead of watching T.V. play a game, build something, read aloud with someone else, pray for people you know who need help, take a gift to someone, take a walk, alone of with the family, learn a craft, play with pets, discuss a family problem, solve a puzzle, draw or paint, write something creative, read book, bake bread, listen to music, have a taffy pull, make music have a family sing-in, exercise, plan the next family outing, invite a friend over, listen to the radio, try a new recip, listen to a recorded book, make popcorn balls, clean out yuour dresser drawers, talk to your spouse, finish a project, do a crossword puzzle, do a good deed, revive a dormant friendship, clean out your closet, clean house, work in the garden, go th the library, begin a Bible study, plan tomorrow, go to bed. (Melashendo, and Crosby, 1993, pp.63-64)
In conclusion television violence can be quit harmful to
society and can have a lot of power over someone. People should
only watch a little T.V. and pick out programs they approve of .