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Are today's children being exposed to too much violence via television? I think so. From Pokeman, to the Ninja Turtles, kids are always being exposed to the rock-'em-sock-'em heroes of T.V., or the brainless violence of The Simpsons and Jerry Springer. When we live in a country where our children watch an average of three to four hours of television daily (Kill 1), That is a large number of punches, kicks, and many other violent acts that our children are soaking up every day. Is that really what we want for the children of our country? Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may become "immune" to the horror of violence (Kill 1). Gradually they even accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitating the violence they observe on television, as well as identifying with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers. One might ask If we know what is happening, why do they put violence on television? The basic reason is because violence is what people want to see. Much of the American viewing audience, and especially children, will watch the shows with more action before they even think about watching the morally correct ones. Another reason is that some broadcasters claim that there is not enough evidence to prove that TV violence is harmful. But, scientists who have studied this aspect have stated that TV violence and aggressive behavior are linked. In a Children Now Executive Summary, only one of many studies on the issue, experts agreed, among other relevant topics, "that television can have a negative effect on children, encouraging anti-social behavior such as dishonesty or violence." (Kill 2) This study as well as many others show that the violence is there. Another factor that points to children's television being too violent is the aggressive behavior that it is bringing out in the children that are watching it. During the average four hours a day that children watch television, They witness an average of 20 violent acts per hour. That is about 80 violent acts per day and, "Children who watch the violent shows, even 'just funny' cartoons, were more likely to hit out at their playmates, argue, disobey class rules, leave tasks unfinished, and were less willing to wait for things than those who watched the nonviolent programs," says Aletha Huston, Ph.D., now at the University of Kansas.
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