Dangers of TV and Video Games on your Children
Do you know that TV shows such as Barney & Friends, Junior Showtime – Jeff Evans are harmful to your kid? Even if TV is a high tech source of entertainment, education and information, it has negatively influenced the lives of children in the country. According to Paik Comstock (1994), 90% of households in USA have TV sets. While this should be appreciated as a progress, a lot of questions should be raised about the use of TV by young children. Surprisingly, no one has imagined thinking about the dangers of exposing young children to these technologies.
Over the years, television (TV) has become a very common gadget in many households. It has significantly gained popularity because nearly all house holds in the USA have it. Although it is perceived as a good thing, many households have failed to appropriately use it to benefit them. Instead, it has been used as a tool to keep children busy while having no work to do. They expose toddlers to the TV at a very early age. However, they do not understand that it is a bad thing to do since it does not benefit the children in any way. The worst thing such parents do is to introduce their children to the TV at an earlier age. This is quite unsafe for them because it enables them to consume harmful contents. Many TV Cable services air some shows which are not appropriate for children. This is because they can interfere with their mental development and affect their health. Their lack of concern makes them to broadcast violent shows in which the actors portray unethical conducts like rudeness and use of vulgar language. Obviously, this interferes with their mental and physical health. It makes them to be violent, rude and uncooperative. For instance, the glorification of murder in these shows and video games influence them to participate in violent acts against their siblings and peers in schools. Besides, the spending of much time watching TV can lead to childhood obesity. The participation of these indoor activities makes these children lazy. Moreover, it influences them to be rude and use foul language when communicating to their colleagues, teachers and parents. Such a behavior is not tolerated since it is beneficial to the society. It explains why there is an increase in the cases of indiscipline amongst the school going children. Many teachers are finding it challenging to discipline the learners and make them conform to the standard codes of conduct.
In this regard, it is important for the parents to know that it is their duty to care for their children. Despite its enormous contribution to the society, TV should be sparingly used. The parents can restrict certain TV programs by using secret pass words unknown to their children. At the same time, they should educate their children on the dangers of watching certain programs which may be harmful to them. Instead, they should be encouraged to watch TV shows such as Blue's Clues, Doc McStuffins, Wild Kratts, Super Why! and Curious George since they have a content which is specifically targeting them. This is the only way through which they can help their children to secure a promising mental and physical status. If left uncontrolled, they may develop unaccepted behaviors which might not only harm their future, but the entire society.
Dangers of TV and Video Games on your Children
For my RIP project, I intend to create a magazine articled Dangers of TV and Video Games on your Children is an article which sensitizes the readers on the effects of emerging technological trends on the contemporary society. Although it concentrates on the dangers of technology, it acknowledges the fact that the numerous innovations have positively impacted on the life of man. It has helped in improving the life of human beings in several ways such as providing education, entertainment and information. As a matter of fact, the article states that the a lot of children who have got access to the TV and video games at a much younger age, have a risk of learning a lot of things which negatively influence their behaviors. However, this is contrary to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics that there should be a zero TV-watching by the children under the age of two.
The article targets parents as the primary audience. Since it is their duty to guide their children, parents should be accredited with any success in their behavior. In this regard, the article addresses the parents on exactly what they should to their children as far as the use of TV and video games is concerned. Precisely, it accepts that parents may be committed in their day to day activities. However, they should be serious with the welfare of their children. Although children should be under strict supervision of their parents, some parents are extremely busy and do not have enough time to be with their children. The article informs the parents that their absence is quite detrimental because it creates room for the children to get access to technologies which may adversely affect them as they grow up. They should be concerned about the kind of shows their children view. For example, parents should try to keep their children away from horror movies because they feature serial and slasher killers who can interfere with their behaviors. Even if children can have time to view such programs out of home, the parents should take time to enlighten on the importance of viewing specific programs which my not have a negative influence on them.
According to Sampson & Laub (1993), TV has really affected many children. A good number of children have grown up to what they are due to their exposure to it. According to Paik Comstock (1994), young children between the ages of 8 and 18 years spend approximately 4 hours per day glued to the TV. To them, they think that they are getting entertained and educated. However, they are not aware that the contents of the shows and programs they watch are harmful to them because they end up determining their behavior in the long run. Most of the TV channels air programs which are not suitable for the consumption of young children. These include Barney & Friends, Junior Showtime – Jeff Evans. Even if they instructions to the parents to guide their children on what to watch, many parents fail to take action.
The main reason why TV is the most dangerous form of technology to children is because they get exposed to it at an earlier age. In other words, it is the very first form of technology they come across in their lives. This is a very unsafe thing since it makes them be wild creatures. First, it makes them view programs about violence. Violence is a very common theme in most of the programs aired in the TV. Unfortunately, it ends up affecting children because they grow up to emulating the actors who participate in these shows. According to a research conducted by Schonfeld I.S. (2006), 20% of school going children tends to copy the characters of the actors they view in these shows. Although this only applies to a small number of children, the parents can be keen on such programs. First, they should only encourage their children to buy specific video CDs. Meanwhile, they can also ensure that they restrict the use of Cable TVs in their homes. This is the only way through which such a problem can be avoided at a much earlier stage.
An earlier exposure to TV has also contributed to the increase in the level of undisciplined number of the school going children. Surely, indiscipline was not a major issue in schools in the previous years. This is because children mainly relied on their parents and teachers as the main source of authority. Nearly all the households in USA have a TV set today. Hence, it has become popular with many children who may go as far as visiting their friends’ homes to view their preferred programs. However, as the article reports, it has made children be so undisciplined because they watch TV shows such as Barney & Friends, Junior Showtime – Jeff Evans. Actually, it gives them an opportunity to learn such behaviors from the actors they see. Thus, they copy and apply them during their day to day interactions both at home and in schools. This explains why they are more aggressive and difficult to be handled by their teachers. TV has made children to be rude and uncooperative to their colleagues, parents and teachers.
The uncontrolled watching of TV has also been associated with the use of foul language amongst the children. Indiscipline has become a force to reckon with in the education sector thanks to uncensored TV programs. TV viewing has contributed to the increase in foul language in schools because such children often use abusive words such as ‘burger!’ ‘Fuck you,’ ‘I hate you,’ ‘you are ugly,’ and ‘do not look at me.’ These are not appropriate for their age because they believe that they are acceptable behaviors which should be emulated. This stems from the exposure of learners to characters in the certain TV programs in which rudeness and foul language is a norm. With the expansion of the TV shows, several programs have greatly contributed to the use of foul language amongst the children. The watching of such shows influence their language use since they believe that it is a celebrated trait which everyone should demonstrate. However, it has not yielded any fruit because it has deteriorated their interactions with their age mates, peers, teachers and parents. In this regard, the parents should recommend their children to watch programs such as Blue's Clues, Doc McStuffins, Wild Kratts, Super Why! and Curious George because they are specifically made for children. TV watching is not only detrimental to the children’s physical, but also mental health. The increase in the cases of childhood obesity can be attributed to the prominence of TV watching and video game playing. According to Kaiser Family Foundation (2011), children watching TV and playing video games are five times more likely to suffer from childhood obesity as compared to their counterparts who participates in out door activities. Such children are actually endangered since, despite their huge daily calorie consumption, they do not burn them off. I would like to concur with this research because childhood obesity is closely associated to laziness. The same thing had happened to my younger brother who developed obesity at 4. When taken to the hospital, it was found out that he had spent a lot of time indoors while watching TV.I would like to concur with this observation because childhood obesity is becoming a common problem. The participation in door activities makes children be so lazy. A part from failing to burn their calories, they fail to create time to participate in out door physical exercises. This justifies the research done by Reinehr (2011) who reported that the rate of childhood obesity has recently increased by 16% in USA because of such lifestyles. Children have become lazy while still young. This is a very unfortunate experience which is harmful for their health and future developments.
However, the article appeals to the parents to be cautious and concerned about the welfare of their children. Despite their busy schedules, they should ensure that they create time to monitor what their children consume. Shows like Minipops should not be encouraged because they can negatively influence children. Children are very innocent people who may not be blamed for whatever they do especially while still young. Often, they learn from and believe what they see and hear. As they mature up, they become the products of their environment. Even if technology can not be avoided, the parents should be in the fore front in determining the kind of game played or TV show watched by their children. They should be given adequate information regarding the appropriate videos to watch. At the same time, parents can limit children’s access to harmful shows which can interfere with their behaviors. They can as well use pass words to prevent them from viewing them. This is the only way they can be salvaged from any inappropriate exposure that can be harmful to their bodies, minds and future.
In conclusion, Dangers of TV and Video Games on your Children is a well written article appropriate for the target audience. It is invaluably insightful, informative and educative and should be in the must read list of anyone willing to sensitize himself on the negative consequences of unsupervised television on the mental and physical health of children. It contains detailed information regarding the dangers of unsupervised television on children. Besides, it uses a simple language accompanied by well designed and relevant visual illustrations. Moreover, it exploits external sources from previous researches by reputable organizations. This makes it credible and accurate in its claims. Thus, it can be relied upon as a valid article appropriate and appealing to the parents to be concerned about the contents of the video games or Cable Television programs that their children view.
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