Violent Television: Is It Really That Bad?

Have you ever sat down as an adult and watched children’s TV shows for a couple of hours? For the parental audience, you may be all too familiar with many of the latest children’s shows. And I, as a college student and nanny, have spent my fair share in front of the television with a five year old boy as he watches his favorite (sometimes violent) children’s shows. What I didn’t expect, and what I am still surprised about, is the violence in the media that our children consume. Take our friends on Looney Tunes, a classic show that many of us have watched as both children and adults. How many times in one show does Wile E. Coyote plant TNT in attempt to catch Roadrunner? Probably too many times to count. With exposure to these violent television shows, it is no wonder that parents are concerned about the well-being of their children and the behavioral problems that could develop if exposure to violence is maintained. 

Craig Anderson and Brad Bushman brought to light this issue in their paper “The Effects of Media Violence on Society” published in Science in 2002. Simply put, Anderson and Bushman argue that exposure to violence in the media leads to aggression, not only in children, but in teenagers and adults as well. The researchers argue for a causal link between exposure and aggression and believe that enduring exposure to this particular media actually leads to aggressive actions. At this time, most people were under the impression that exposure to these violent programs was only detrimental in childhood. However, the researchers argued that exposure to violence could have negative effects for people of any age, from children to adults. At the end of their paper, Anderson and Bushman provide two ways in which aggression related to viewing violent media can be reduced. These suggestions include reducing exposure to violent media as well as changing your and your child’s attitude toward violent media.

More recently, CNN and the New York Times have picked up the issue and testified on the effects of violent media on children. Quoting a study published in Pediatrics, CNN reported that children who view shows that are centered around cooperation and empathy show improvement in behavior as compared to children who are exposed to violent shows. Also mentioned, excessive exposure to violence in television programs as a child can lead to antisocial behavior in adults. However, the aspect of causation (does violent media actually cause aggressive or antisocial behavior) is still under fire. While some researchers report a causation factor, other researchers are arguing solely for correlation.

So what are parents supposed to do with this information? First and foremost, experts suggest limiting the amount of television a child watches each day as well as monitoring the content that is being consumed by the child. If the parent shows active involvement in the child’s television program choices, they can prevent some exposure to media violence (but probably not all). As a parent, it is important to remember that television watching and exposure to media violence isn’t going to make or break your child. While it is important to monitor and limit exposure to the best of your ability, it is impossible to keep your child sheltered from violence forever. Thus, it is important to expose your child to empathetic and cooperative behavior in everyday life that they can model after. Wile E. Coyote will never stop setting up traps to catch Roadrunner. However, you as the parent get a say in how much exposure your child has to the antics of Wile E. Coyote. 

Sources: 

 

Anderson, C.A. & Bushman, B.J. (2002). The effects of media violence on society. Science, 295, 2377-2379. DOI: 10.1126/science.1070765.  

Emmons, S. (2013). Is media violence damaging to kids? Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/living/parenting-kids-violence-media/index.html

Pozios, V.K., Kambam, P.R., & Bender, H.E. (2013). Does media violence lead to the real thing? Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/opinion/sunday/does-media-violence-lead-to-the-real-thing.html?_r=0