TV violence brings no peace

So just how much is too much? A study released last Thursday in Science magazine found that too much TV as an adolescent might result in increased aggression and violence as an adult. All it takes is three hours or more of television watching a day to leave a lasting impact. This study, which tracked around 700 boys and girls over the course of 17 years, might make some parents nervous and others a bit skeptical about watching so much television.\nBy the average age of 14, those teenagers who watched three or more hours of television a day were more susceptible to aggressive acts versus those who watched an hour or less of TV a day. Even more so, females by the age of 22 seemed to be more affected by extensive TV viewing than their male counterparts. According to Daphne White, executive director of the Lamb and Lion Project, the average child has seen 100,000 acts of violence by the time they reach elementary school.\nAfter hearing about this study, one wonders if the study accounted for factors such as the environment the children grew up in, and whether they were subjected to violent acts in their home, at school, or in their neighborhood while growing up. But researchers claim that childhood neglect, family income and other factors were taken into consideration. The link between watching television and aggression remained.\nThe dangers of excessive violence on TV have been around for a while. A U.S. Surgeon General's report on violence and television watching in 1972 stated, "Televised violence, indeed, does have an adverse effect on certain members of our society." Certain members like children. Thirty years later, I wonder: Did anyone bother to listen to that study? It's just television, right? \nBut for children who love to watch cartoons, parents should be aware. Today by simply watching cartoons, they will see between 20-25 violent acts in one hour. Even though any rational person knows cartoons aren't to blame for the actions of adults later in life, it still makes you think. Some people have speculated the video games that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris frequently played encouraged them to open fire on fellow classmates at their school in Columbine. Their killing spree turned into a video game. Although I don't know if this is completely accurate, I have no doubt television, movies, video games and the like must have some lasting impact on their audiences. If anyone is going to be impacted negatively, it's young people.\nEveryone pursues young people -- cigarette advertisers, beer companies, you name it. Young people are impressionable and still forming ideas about the world they live in. So it shouldn't come to a surprise that children can be influenced by what they view on TV. \nThe National Cable and Telecommunications Association seems to think they have supported responsible television watching. Although many stations place ratings before a show comes on, these efforts still have done little to curb the amount of violence on TV. Viewers are now aware of their explicit content but this will mean nothing to a child unless they are under adult supervision.\nTelevision is a factor of increased violence in this society. It may not be the cause, but different forms of the media can and will continue to increase the use and acceptance of violent and aggressive behavior.