Children and Television

[Mittens]

The Hypodermic Syringe theory, states that children are influenced by what they see on Television these days. There are multiple views on this matter such as; children becoming more violent, children getting accustomed to what disturbing images they see on television these days thus them developing an immunity for it and also, children becoming more materialistic due to incredibly large amounts of air-time used to advertise.

Agree, Disagree, Add to, Discuss... Simply give me your views on this...

[Uh_oh]

Agree...

I definitly think kids today watch to much TV (note - that sounded old, but I'm only 17). People ask why Japanese kids are becoming more violent (eg, the murder a few years ago at an emelemtary school where one student kill another and buried the head at school), just take a look at what they watch on TV. Yeah, it's not the only reason, but I do think seeing so much violence is a contributing factor here. And it's just not healthy for kids to be sitting in front of a box all day. They should all be destroyed, or parent at least should regulate what kids watch.

And I'm not being a hypocite here - I don't own a working TV.

[Citizen]

I think it's bullshit, for the most part.

Most kids won't display more negative behavior due to violence, sex, drugs, etc. on television. The ones that are influenced by television are, just like the ones that aren't, their parent's responsibility. I don't buy into the "No time in today's busy world to be a good parent." bullshit. You have a kid, you make time. Period. Don't fuck with other people's lives because you can't keep your hyperactive brat in line, or because you're an irresponsible parent.

As far as being desensatized goes, I don't buy into that either. You can see death on tv. You can see sex. You can see all sorts of shit. You can see it damn near 24/7. But unless you fry your brain out, it doesn't prepare you for what you encounter in real life.

Besides, it might even be a good thing. Being able to stay calm in intense situations while everyone else freaks out seems like a plus to me. Granted that I don't believe it's true.

It's all about responsibility. I'm not responsible for other people or their kids. People who like violence on tv aren't responsible for other people or their kids. People who like sex on tv aren't responsible for other or their kids. And so on.

Saying that you're too busy or that it's too hard to keep your child away from television shows they shouldn't be watching is a lazy, bullshit excuse.

People blame tv when they don't want to admit their own mistakes, or when they don't know what's causing the problem.

[h2orowe]

I think it should be restricted to younger kids, only children's shows. The V-chip should help alot with that.
You should be able to watch whatever you want, when you have the ability to pick apart fantasy and reality.
If you ask me, personally, I think it has alot to do with rap music. Being, that ghetto is cool, and to be ghetto you need to talk it, and walk it... you need to act/sound thug.
Acting thug is just rediculous... it doesn't make you cool in my oppinion... it just starts shit.
Like the other day my friend was talking about how he almost got in a fight because this dude gave him a look. I was like, you're an idiot, but I just said "oh, good thing you didn't fight"
I've had kids bring guns to school, and a kid try and stab someone.
It's not really televisions fault in a sense, as long as the parent does their job.

[Zaysho]

I agree with Citizen 110%. What the hell good is a V-Chip for? If parents can't be responsible and raise their kids right, then why the hell are they parents? Everytime I see some news story about some kid going out an comitting acts of violence just because he saw it on TV or video game, I get real steamed. The media isn't to blame at all; it all boils down to the parent.

You know, maybe there should be a test people take if they want to have kids, and if they pass, they can be parents. Give 'em a certificate and everything. It's stupid to have to listen to these irresponsible parents blame something that has nothing to do with how their kid turned out.

[setrict]

I think it does have a noticable effect on certain people, particularly those who are weak minded and easily influenced. I don't think it causes extreme behavior in the vast majority of viewers, just a few border-line sane people (http://www.gelitin.net/mambo/index.php?full=1&set_albumName=rabbit&id=mountainview&option=com_gallery&Itemid=28&include=view_photo.php) (which constitute about 10% of the population imo :p).

I don't think it's anyone's responsibility but the parents to keep kids from being influenced. TheV-chip and other technology is a useful crutch to help control what you want your kids to see... but in the end it's 100% the parents who need to set the standards and enforce them - not the gov't, media industry, or anyone else. You aren't going to be able to keep your kid from seeing some questionable things since you can't be there all the time, but you can definately draw clear lines that indicate what is acceptable and what isn't.

[GTARob]

I disagree with what Citizen says about children becoming desensitzed by graphic violence and sex. Though I agree whole heartedly with him about parents needing to take responsibility for thier children.

Children need guidence. That is what parents are there for. Children need parents to put into perspective what they see and experience. To explain what they do not understand. Its called learning, it's what children do. If all that they absorb is mass media and "vidya" games with no guidance they will emulate what they see. That is why video games have ratings on the box and any TV manufactured in the last 4 years has the V-Chip. These are tools that are there to help parents make informed decisions about what thier children see and play. If a parent fails to utilize them, that isn't my fault. I work in the games industry and CAN NOT stand parents groups that try to villify me for making a "vidya" game that isnt made so that thier 5 year old can play it while they watch thier "stories."

[Kass]

I think it's bullshit, for the most part.

Most kids won't display more negative behavior due to violence, sex, drugs, etc. on television. The ones that are influenced by television are, just like the ones that aren't, their parent's responsibility. I don't buy into the "No time in today's busy world to be a good parent." bullshit. You have a kid, you make time. Period. Don't fuck with other people's lives because you can't keep your hyperactive brat in line, or because you're an irresponsible parent.

Most, not all. Some children will and do adopt and display behavior seen on television, but the second part of this paragraph says why. It is parents who allowed their children to see that crap without parenting. Had they monitored their children’s TV selections and discussed what they were seeing with them, that wouldn’t be an issue.

When I worked in the juvenile court, we had kids come through all the time doing things they saw on TV or in the movies. Kids get killed because they try to emulate stunts like lying in the middle of the road and letting cars pass over them. (What was that movie? It had something to do with high school football several years ago…) You’d be amazed at the number of kids who think that because they saw it on TV, it must be possible.

One kid shot a friend in the chest over a girl and was shocked to find out that everyone doesn’t recover from a sucking chest wound caused by a .357 sized hole in the heart. “They always save them on TV. Why can’t the doctors save him? I only wanted to hurt him a little so he’d stay away from my girl.”

Hurt him a little? He has a hole the size of my fist in his chest. Hurting him a little would be a punch in the nose. (You know, I never thought I’d actually wish kids would just get in a fist fight and be done with it. Beats the heck out of a bullet to the brain.)

Sorry kiddo, but this is the real world. Welcome to it. Now neither of you will get the girl. Your friend is dead. Have fun in jail (he stood trial as an adult and was sentenced to the Texas Department of Corrections). Don’t drop the soap and beat the crap out of the first person to give you any grief or you will end up someone’s wife.

As far as being desensatized goes, I don't buy into that either. You can see death on tv. You can see sex. You can see all sorts of shit. You can see it damn near 24/7. But unless you fry your brain out, it doesn't prepare you for what you encounter in real life.

This is the one thing I do think TV/movies/etc. is very much responsible for. People are desensitized to violence and unacceptable behavior. Very little shocks anyone anymore and that is the problem. They see so much horror (not the genre) on the big and small screens, when they see it in real life, it isn’t appalling. It doesn’t outrage people. It’s just the same old shit, different day.

This can actually be proven and I will have to get my librarian friend to do the Lexis Nexis search again to find the studies, but when a person, regardless of age, is shown graphic, disturbing images over and over, the person becomes desensitized to it and eventually is no longer disturbed by the images.

Besides, it might even be a good thing. Being able to stay calm in intense situations while everyone else freaks out seems like a plus to me. Granted that I don't believe it's true.

But people aren’t calm. They are callous. They don’t react. They don’t care. Why bother? It happens everyday. It will happen again. Don’t get involved. It doesn’t matter. It’s not my problem. Someone else can deal with it.

Learning to deal with stress and tense situations is not the same as being desensitized. The two aren’t even remotely related. Acting appropriately in an intense situation requires that someone IS sensitive to the situation. They are prepared and handle it calmly, but they are acutely aware how serious the situation is.

It's all about responsibility.

Bingo. We have a winner.

I'm not responsible for other people or their kids. People who like violence on tv aren't responsible for other people or their kids. People who like sex on tv aren't responsible for other or their kids. And so on.

No you aren’t responsible for other people’s children, nor am I. However, people ARE responsible for their own children and how their children behave. If you had a kid and that kid was an obnoxious, ill behaved, little brat, it would be your fault for not teaching your child how to behave. Rotten little monsters are rotten little monsters because their parents were lousy parents. That belongs squarely on the parents.

All social behavior is taught, either overtly or by example. If kids don’t learn it from their parents, they’ll learn it from other sources, including the television.

Saying that you're too busy or that it's too hard to keep your child away from television shows they shouldn't be watching is a lazy, bullshit excuse.

Very true. It isn’t hard to monitor TV selections. It’s even less hard to turn the damn thing off and send your kid outside to play.

People blame tv when they don't want to admit their own mistakes, or when they don't know what's causing the problem.

Yes, and while I don’t think television is the cause of any problem in society or with our children, it is a contributing factor and a symptom of what is wrong with kids and people in general.

It is a bit of a vicious circle. A person does something awful. It gets on the news. The entertainment industry picks it up and shows it in about 600 different variants. People watch. Seeing it so often, people become less horrified by it. Because that something awful isn’t so awful anymore, it happens more in real life. It ends up on television more.

V-chips and information about shows are good things. Ratings aren’t there to curtail sales. They are there so that people know what they are buying. If my daughter gets a new video game, I want to know what is portrayed in the game WITHOUT buying it first. A “Mature” rating tells me I don’t want my kid to have that one right now. I have the right to know that before I spend money on something you can’t return after it has been opened.

Tools like ratings and V-chips should be provided by the industry. Parents should use them. As long as the former provides those tools and stays within the guidelines they defined, it isn’t their fault that parents shirk their own responsibilities.

[Roxie]

The Hypodermic Syringe theory.
No one who studies media takes this theory seriously in any capacity anymore.

It is null & void and is only referred to when talking about past, disproven theories.