The Wrong Lesson
...est, 1982). The report offers four major behavioral changes that are shown with prolonged exposure to violent programming: “Attitude changes, youth becomes more suspicious and distrustful of the world. Justification, justifying their violent behavior based on their favorite television character. Arousal, watching violent television episodes lead to physiological arousal. Observational Learning, behavior acquired from watching violent programming (World News Digest, 1982).” Studies have shown the long-range effects on children who watched many hours of TV violence when they were in elementary school tended to show a higher level of aggressive behavior when they became teenagers, and by their thirties were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for a criminal act. In spite of overwhelming evidence, politicians, parents, and broadcasters debate the link between the viewing of TV violence and children’s aggressive behavior. Some broadcasters believe that there is not enough evidence to prove that TV violence is harmful. A spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters argued that “networks had made a concerted effort to lessen violence aimed at children’s programming” (World News Digest, 1982). At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing in 1993 Janet Reno called on the television industry to decrease the level of violence on television or she would support three bills that would regulate such programming (World News Digest, 1993). Janet Reno expressed frustration with the industries past promises to monitor itself. She said that “though she I do not relish the prospect of government action, but that if immediate voluntary steps are not taken and deadlines established, government should respond and immediately” (World News Digest, 1993, p1). In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Public Law 104-104 effective February 8, 1996, in section 551, “Parental Choice in Television Programming,” Congress established the following findings: (1) Television influences children's perception of the values and behavior that are acceptable in society. (2) Television stations, cable television systems, and video programmers should take into consideration that television programming has established a uniquely pervasive presence in the lives of American children. (3) Studies have shown that children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life. (4) Studies indicate that children are affected by the pervasiveness and casual treatment of sexual material on television, eroding the ability of parents to develop responsible attitudes and behavior in their children. (5) Parents express grave concern over violent and sexual programming and strongly support technology that would give them greater control to block programming in the home that they consider harmful to their children. (6) There is a compelling governmental interest in empowering parents to limit the negative influences of programming and providing parents with timely information about the nature of upcoming video programming and with the technological tools that allow them easily to block violent, sexual, or other programming that they believe harmful to their children. (FCC, 1999) Parents are stuck in the middle of this debate, and as a parent, I believe more needs to be done to protect our children. This is not a solvable problem; all that is needed is parental involvement and network accountability. Parents need to remember that they have the biggest influence in their child’s lives and that they are the ones who need to take control of the types of programming their children are viewing. Parents need to be aware of what their children are watching, and be part of the program selection process. Limit the amount of television your child watches. The National Institute of Health suggests that parents should watch at least one episode of the program their child watches. That way they know what their child is watching and will be able to talk about it with them. When they see a violent incident act parents should discuss the incident without being judgmental or critical. Parents should point out that violent behavior is not the way problems are usually solved. Finally, parents should ban shows that they find too offensive (APA, 1992) Networks need to be more accountable for the programs they produce for children. They have established a rating system, known as “TV Parental Guidelines,” by the ...