TV Violence

Age Differential

Because of attention span infants miss most program content. But, at the same time, there is evidence that infants imitate what they see from television. By two and a half kids become dedicated viewers, and pay more attention when the television is on. Although they extract limited meaning from the content, they do imitate very well what they see and hear.

Toddlers prefer cartoons and fast moving characters. This increases the likelihood that they will be presented with a large volume of violence. Preschoolers between 3 to 5 years old tend to explore the programs they view. They are looking for meaning in content, while being attracted to the vividness of what is being presented.

Because of this preschoolers are attracted by the violent content, especially in cartoons. It’s the vivid production features, not necessarily the violence per se, that grabs their attention. Motivation and consequences are not considered as it is difficult for kids at this age to put things into context. This is evidenced by the more aggressive play of children this age.

When kids get to elementary school, they are more able to follow continuous plots as their attention span and cognitive ability develops. They are also able to make inferences about the content, and become aware of the consequences and motivations of the actions of a character. But there is also less mental effort involved in their viewing, which results in reacting to the content in a more superficial and less focused way.

At about the age of eight, kids are able to moderate the content better, but they can show increased aggressiveness if they believe the tv violence they are witnessing reflects real life, or they identify with a violent hero figure, which can lead to engaging in aggressive fantasies. .

As the child approaches the age of eleven, he or she begins to watch more adult or family oriented shows as well as cartoons. Usually at this point they acquire an attraction for horror flics. This may serve to desensitize them to violence and fear, but it may also make them more tolerant of tv violence as well.

Middle and high school kids use more reasoning and abstract thought, but don’t use these abilities when watching television. Because of interest in sex, romance and being independent, they watch less TV. The emphasis now is on horror movies, music videos, video games and pornography, which all deal with violence negatively.

Only a small percentage of kids at this age will actually imitate the tv violence and crimes they observe. Difficult children will still be influenced, and positive role modeling and discipline is necessary from parents.

Alternatives

There are many alternative to TV violence by learning a child’s interests and passions. Forcing limitation of programs does not consistently work. If they want to see something bad enough, they’ll find a way. Creating an atmosphere of change and alternative interests is much more preferable. The real insanity here is that there is not a more abundant variety of positive, life affirming programs being telecast from which our children to choose.

There is no doubt TV violence has detrimental effects. But at the same time this is an opportunity for us as parents to present viable alternatives that engage our child in a life expanding and growth experience. Let us take the necessary time and effort to make this happen. It may take time and some trial and error, but it is so necessary and worth it. Click here for the Transforming Child Behavior Home Page.

When done reviewing TV Violence, click here to return to The Models of Insanity page.