Negative Effects Of Television Violence On Children example essay topic

The Violence is Fake, The Impact is Real In the essay, "The Violence is Fake, the Impact is Real", Ellen Goodman demonstrates that despite the fact of violence on television is fake, the image it engraves in the minds of children are not. Goodman points out that advertisers know what children watch affects them. However, the same advertisers tell parents that children are not affected by what they watch. To back up her argument, Goodman provides theories by the government on television violence. They believe that just as kids learn their "ABC's" at an early age, they also learn morals and values from the things they are exposed to, such as programs broadcasted on TV.

The government also believes that if kids are exposed to "aggressive behavior" at a young age then they will "accept it as normal behavior". Goodman also points out that if the media were to show the harmful affects of violent behavior, it would shed a new light of reality onto the children in our society today. In "The Violence is Fake, the Impact is Real", Ellen Goodman vividly illustrates the negative effects of television violence on children. It is a shocking reality that R-rated scenes of a gory murder are now acceptable in our homes for children to view. It is shameful that, in the past, actions of this nature frightened and upset children but today, such scenes of violence are viewed as entertaining and exciting. Media, movie producers, and the entertainment industry should re-examine the messages they are conveying to children because, unfortunately, make-believe and pretend has become a reality in the minds of children.

In her article, Goodman several times states that children who view violence on television do not realize the real-life effects. They see only the action and not the reaction. Children see violent action as only fun and entertainment with heroes. They do not understand that a single gun-shot can cause death in a movie and bring about sorrow in real life to those around them.

More importantly, they do not understand that in real life close friends and family members often spend a lifetime of suffering due to a loved one lost to an act of violence. Goodman makes a good point about implementing the Japanese customs of showing consequences to the act of violence seen by the viewer. In America, we should follow Japan's lead in showing the reaction to violence in programs as well as the action. For example, "Law and Order" opens up with a tragic scene to catch the audience's attention but ends by showing the punishment. The show follows the long and tedious legal process involved in bringing perpetrators of violence to justice.

On the other hand, shows such as "The Sopranos" and "Oz", which are not marketed toward children, but are considered "cool" for children to watch, repeatedly depict random and senseless acts of violence. This includes rape and homicide, and they show little or no consequences for the perpetrator of violence. Producers should bring the reality of violence home more often so that children can see the whole experience. They might then realize the consequences in harming others. In the article, "The Violence is Fake, the Impact is Real", the author clearly supports the idea, that children are adversely affected by violence on television.

She states that there should be quality television shows during the daytime hours for children to learn to love and care for one another. If there were more suitable networks for children, they might learn better character traits that would ensure high moral values. This would alleviate the amount of adult content watched by children on a daily basis. In conclusion, the entertainment industry is presenting children with the wrong image of violence and crime. Solutions to this problem might include more realistic depictions of the consequences of violent actions, and the suffering that violence can cause. There is a sad shortage of quality children's programming on television today.

An important issue the author ignores is that of parent responsibility. Perhaps if parents, along with the entertainment industry showed more concern about what children are watching, there might be a better and more diverse selection of children's programming.