Addicts to Television

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the effect that television programs have on school-aged audiences. The paper notes that excessive television is detrimental because it replaces family togetherness and more worthwhile activities and also exposes children to violence. On the other hand, the paper also notes the more positive aspect of television in that television programming now includes educational content as well as science and nature channels that rival the traditional educational methods. The paper concludes that any negative consequences associated with modern television is
more than outweighed by the tremendous availability of educational, informative, scientific, historical, and artistic programming now available around the clock.

From the Paper:

"As cable television increased the availability of youth-oriented television programming and children spent even more time in front of the T.V., several sociologists made observations similar to those previously published in connection with the amount of advertising absorbed by children in connection with their exposure to violence on the screen. According to them, constant exposure to violence on television, (even if it was mostly fictional), corresponded to increased aggression in person, by virtue of desensitization. It was even suggested that watching the highly caricatured violence represented in cartoons like Bugs Bunny constituted "violence" in terms of its effect on the minds of children. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Science & Technology Department (1997) The Handy Science Answer Book 2nd Ed. Detroit: Visible Ink
• Henslin, J.M. (2002) Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach 4th Ed.Boston: Allyn & Bacon
• Larson-Duyff, R. (2002) American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide 2nd Ed. New York: Wiley
• Macionis, J.J. (2003) Sociology 9th Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall
• Esposito, V.J. (1964) A Concise History of World War I. New York: Praeger

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