how media effects children

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How Media Effects Children

This will represent television as a form of media throughout this br

Television has become a significant socializing agent whose influence begins well before children enter public school . Most children grow up in homes where the television is on for an average of seven hours a day creating a virtually closed-circuit environment . The average preschool child (ages two to five ) watches about 28 hours a week , and the average school-age child (ages to six to 11 ) watches about

24 hours per week (Nielsen Media Research ,

. 12-16 . The average U .S . high school graduate will have spent more time watching television than in any activity other than sleeping (American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Communications ,

. 1119-1120 . Although everyone can view television poor and minority children rely more heavily on television as a prime source of information and education (Greenberg ,

. 165-188 Huston Watkins Kunkel ,

. 424-433

Research on the effects of television on children has been conducted for more than 30 years . Data indicate that children are affected by direct instruction , by the disinhibition of aggressive impulses , and through value shaping (Bandura ,

. 56-64 FriedrichCofer Huston ,

. 364-371 Huesmann ,

. 1-6 Singer Singer ,

. 107-124 . Children exposed to heavy doses of television violence can develop antisocial values , which can lead to aggressive acts and tolerance of aggressive behavior (Huesmann Malamuth ,

. 1-6 . Television violence is not the only cause of aggression in children , but it has consistently been found to be one cause (Singer Singer ,

. 171-188 . Heavy television viewing can cause increased restlessness as well as aggression , which can lead to academic and social problems (Eron Huesmann ,

. 195-202 . There is also evidence that heavy television viewing by children can create a sense of danger and vulnerability in a "mean world (Gerbner , Gross , Morgan Signorelli ,

. 177-196 . Some children exposed to heavy doses of television viewing may learn aggressive behavior , and other children may learn "to be a victim and identify with victims (Pearl et al ,

. 90

Interest in the socializing influence of television has not been limited to its correlation with violence and aggression . Numerous studies have found the potential for both negative and positive influences in regard to the acquisition of sex-role and racial attitudes (Liebert Spraflcin ,

. 34 . Child development issues have been a source of additional research interest . Singer and Singer (p . 27-36 ) and Carlsson-Paige and Levin (p . 56-72 ) have identified a relationship between television viewing and displacement of children 's imaginative play with imitative play . In a Canadian study , the introduction of television in a previously television-free town adversely affected children 's reading and creative thinking (Williams ,

. 82-97

Exploitation of Children and Childhood

How violent is children 's television ? According to Advertising Age "Viewpoint Forum "

. 18 , the average child ages four to eight in one year watched 250 episodes of war-related cartoons and more than 1 ,000 30-second commercials selling war toys . Although children 's cartoons have...