Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Brief-- Children should be allowed to watch Television

Children should be allowed to watch television:

1. There are many scientific and cultural programs available for children, as well as educational programs. These programs not only have educational value, but they also demonstrate positive social interactions, many of which encourage children to do the same.
a. Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, the Wiggles, American Idol, History for Kids,
Amazing Animals, etc.

2. Television can also be used to help children bond with one another as well as with their families. Families could use television as part of their family time. Parents could watch kids programs and movies with their children.
a. Family TV night—where the family all watches a show/movie together and then has a
family discussion afterwards.

b. Children can sit and watch an educational program together and respond as a group to
promote bonding.

In response to negative views of television and advertising within television programs:

3. Advertisements are needed in order to keep the economy flowing. If parents are concerned that toy advertisements are brain washing their children then they should be more focused on the fact that their kids are easily persuaded.

4. There is no direct link between mass media and antisocial behavior. Psychologists claim that television does not have a simple, direct stimulus-response effect on its audiences. This can be illustrated by the example of Japan, where TV movies are famous for extreme violence, but the crime rate is low – much lower than in many societies where TV viewing is relatively rare. Families, friends, religion, and school are more involved in the shaping of children’s moral and social standards. Television does not make a child antisocial. A child may become antisocial because they were predisposed to be that way, no amount of television will change that.

1 comment:

Ainsley said...

I think you have presented a very strong argument and have made very good points, but I disagree with some of your reasons why children should be allowed to watch TV.
While educational programs CAN be beneficial to children, excessive TV watching is never a good thing. The American Academy of Pediatrics actually declares that children under the age of two should not watch any television or movies because the first two years of life are the most critical for brain development. TV watching gets in the way of exploring, learning, and spending time interacting with parents and other kids. So even if a program is promoting positive social interactions, it is also discouraging social interactions by keeping children "glued" to the TV.
I also think that families should find other ways to bond and spend quality time together than sitting in front of a screen. I mean how much "quality time" is actually being experienced when there is no communication between family members.
As for advertisements, yes they are needed to keep the economy flowing, but toy commercials are not the only advertisements being shown. Commercials for junk food appeal to children, encouraging them to want to eat the unhealthy snacks that are being advertised by their favorite cartoon character. According to the AAP, children in the United States see 40,000 commercials each year! - That is NOT healthy!!
Although there may not be a DIRECT link between mass media and antisocial behavior, it is pretty obvious that when a child is inside watching TV by himself, he is not out playing and interacting with other children. And even if antisocial behavior may not be directly related to TV watching, Attention Deficit Disorder is directly related with the amount of television watched. Each hour spent watching TV increases a child's chances of developing ADD by 10%. Too much TV watching leads to concentration problems, impulsiveness, restlessness, and being easily confused.