Television has conquered the minds and actions of people all over the world. It is the most important medium if it comes to disseminating information to billions of people. For many, television serves as the perfect entertainment tool, which allows people to watch various movies, shows, and news, but sometimes we forget how watching television affects our daily lives and especially our children.
Television does not only develop culture, but it also creates it. From watching the different entertainment shows, we get a picture of what traits are good and what traits are labeled as bad. A good example is the body awareness of young adults, where television programs show ultra thin as perfect, and only if you are thin you are accepted in society.
When we look at the society's most vulnerable people, the children, it is clear that television does not always expand the child's intelligence but rather hinders the child from growing.
In a study on television effects on children, these results were given; higher levels of television viewing correlate with lowered academic performance, especially reading scores. This may be because television substitutes for reading practice, partially because the compellingly visual nature of the stimulus blocks development of left-hemisphere language circuitry. A young brain manipulated by flashy visual effects cannot divide attention to listen carefully to language. Moreover, the "two-minute mind" easily becomes impatient with any material requiring depth of processing.
Another problem noted was the nature of the children oriented movies, which do not develop the capacity of the brain to think independently. This is because most animated movies have fast-paced, attention-grabbing "features," e.g., rapid zooms and pans, flashes of color, quick movement in the unimportant visual field, and sudden loud noises. These techniques serve as the best way to engage the brain's attention involuntarily. Such experiences deprive the child of practice in using his own brain independently, as mentioned above, as in games, hobbies, social interaction.
The study showed also another potential problem; the brain's executive control system, is responsible for planning, organizing and sequencing behavior for self-control, moral judgment and attention. These centers develop throughout childhood and adolescence, but research has suggested that "mindless" television or video games may idle this particular part of the brain and deprive its development.
It is clear by now, that overexposure to television influences the child negatively, especially in the early years where speech is still being developed. There are also various other negative “side effects” to television viewing. Research has shown that children, who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching television, are more likely to be overweight. Children who view violent events, such as a kidnapping or murder, are also more likely to believe that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them.
The violence in TV is often demonstrated and promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want, also it is often the “good guy” stereotype that perpetrate the violent act, and whom children have been taught to emulate. Television images are absorbed by children and can also leave them traumatized and vulnerable. According to research, children ages 2 to 7 are particularly frightened by scary-looking things like grotesque monsters. Simply telling children that those images aren't real won't console them, because they can't yet distinguish between fantasy and reality.
Kids ages 8 to 12 are frightened by the threat of violence, natural disasters, and the victimization of children, whether those images appear on fictional shows, the news, or reality-based shows. Reasoning with children this age will help them, so it's important to provide reassuring and honest information to help ease the child's fears.
Research also indicates that TV consistently reinforces gender-role and racial stereotypes, which may lead to discrimination and racism.
According to the American academy of pediatrics (AAP), children above 2 should only have a maximum of 1-2 hours of television time a day, wherein children below 2 should have no screen time due to the critical development and learning stages. The scary fact is that most child care centers do use television as a daily program or so-called bystander in their activities.
Not everything you see in television is negative. There are numerous educational channels that may develop the children's intelligence, yet these programs have to be selected carefully, because not every cartoon learning program is also good as mentioned above in relation to the techniques a cartoon uses. Government television channels also provide educational programs on how to count or how to spell for example.
To protect your child from too much television exposure, regulate the television time to maximum of 2 hours per day, watch television with your children so that you know what they are viewing, and teach them how to treat television as a privilege. This means that your child has to earn the right to watch television for example after finishing homework or house chores. Finally, it is very important as a parent to set a good example by limiting your own television time.
