Today many people think that television is the cause of violence in today`s
youth. Many have pondered that television disturbs traditions as well as
interferes with the minds of adolecened children who can not yet comprehend the
truth of fiction and reality. Thus television has become a widely talked about
controversy, mainly because of the fatal incidents that have been occurring
during the past couple of years. Questions are being raised and people want
answers. What kind of effects does the television have on human beings? In today`s
society the public is interested in the detailed information about the content
of television. Persons who work in the media are often concerned with what the
television portrays and why it portrays the way it does. Even though they know
that their shows are representative to their viewers tastes and not that of the
real world. Although this information is not acknowledged as fiction or
non-fiction it is still portrayed and processed information by the viewer. One
must be able to realize, How this information is different from everyday life?
By mocking a family, situation, or community, distortions and biases occur on
the television when these subjects are compared to real life. Still unsure of
these problems the majority of humans watch even when they don`t understand why?
Television is a medium of novelty, with each new season bringing new shows with
dreamier characters and more enticing situations. These shows are successful
because they challenge one`s wisdom if he or she were in the same situation.
This is the reason why people are starting to question and be afraid of the
pushed boundaries of television. With the dramatic increase of violence in today`s
world the programmers are filling ones mind of not wisdom, but the dark escape
of violence which makes up the viewers mind for them. The definition of physical
violence is stated as these two presented: Any overt depiction of a credible
threat of physical force or the actual use of such force intended to physically
harm an animated being or group of beings. (National Television Violence Study,
1996) The overt expression of physical force against self or other, compelling
action against one`s will on pain of being hurt or killed, or actually hurting
or killing. (Gerbner, 1972) These definitions concur in encompassing credible
threats, behavior, and consequences, and the former includes accidents and acts
of God and nature. (Comstock, 65) The viewers who are exposed to this violence
are children, young children, who do not know better. Children start watching
television at a steady habit around the age of 2 (Anderson & Levin, 1976),
although there is some evidence that children are aware of some things about
television, and like it, as early as 6 months of age (Hollenbeck & Slaby,
1979). The longer children grow up with TV the more accustom they become to the
violence and false realities of a fiction world not like their own. The most
obvious areas of deceiving behavior from television characters are violence,
sexual behaviors and health portrayals. In health related issues parents are
skeptical because there is a soft line for all of the true facts. With the same
aspect parents do not want their young children to learn about sex related
issues too early. When a child reaches adolescence he or she has already spent
more time watching television than going to school, and had been exposed to all
of television`s deceiving messages (Signorielli, 1987). Violence is not the only
distortion on television these days; it is just the most extensively studied.
Analyses of the messages on television have revealed other interesting facts
about portrayals of sex and gender, of occupations, and of the age distribution
of characters. All of these categories are distorted in some way or
another compared to demographic information in the United States. Keep in mind
that these findings all concern the program and not the advertising content of
television (Condry, 68). A common drug to almost all teenagers and to television
is alcohol. It is mentioned in about 80% of all prime-time programs, and places
where alcohol is consumed, not to mention it is frequently the centerpiece of
action. On television, characters rarely decline a drink or express disapproval
of drinking. When disapproval is expressed, it is usually mild, ineffective, and
comes from women (Condry, 77). Television`s discourses are ideological in that
they provide subject positions to which audience members are said to
be recruited. Thus, the individual ⌠learns to recognize itself in a
series of subject positions...which are the positions from which discourse is
intelligible to itself and others (Academic Press, 103). The viewer is not
compelled to take a position even though there are different ones offered by the
program. In either case it would seem that the logical effect remains within the
discourse and does not translate directly to the viewer. The simple answer to
the objection is that the reader will not be able to make sense of what he or
she sees other than identifying with. Now that you know some of the ways that
television programs can cloud your mind, try and be more observant when you or
your little one is sitting in front of the television. You are watching more
than ⌠just some thing on TV. Television today is getting more
violent and graphic, and that is not the worst of it. Programmers are playing
with a young child`s mind with my mind, and even with yours. People
just don`t realize it, or they choose to ignore it, until something drastic
happens.