The Dark Side of TV | Teen Ink

The Dark Side of TV

March 19, 2009
By Brandymj13 SILVER, Cornish, New Hampshire
Brandymj13 SILVER, Cornish, New Hampshire
9 articles 4 photos 2 comments

Have you ever really thought about the effects television has on you and your children? Or how much they watch? Well did you know that 98% of families in the US have at least one TV, according to TV Free America, and the TV is on an average of seven hour and 12 minutes a day.

On average, a child ages 2-11 watches TV for 1,197 minutes a week! That is pretty surprising seeing that the same age group of children only spends 38.5 minutes a week in a meaningful conversation with their parents according to TV-Free America.

As Children start watching TV at a younger age the more it affects their behavior and relationships with their family. When a group of 4-6 year olds were asked to choose between watching television and spending time with their fathers 54% preferred TV (TV-Free America). But what if you don't let your small children watch TV? You may not but if your toddler goes to a daycare, you may not know but 70% percent of daycare centers use the TV during a typical day. Shouldn't they be playing and learning with each other not doing something they can do at home?

Parents do not have to feel completely helpless. as of 2000 all TVs now have a chip that helps monitor and even block certain shows, with a parental control. All TVs have them so if you feel as if TV is not as wonderful as it seemed before, just think you have at least a little power over what your kids watch.

But what is even more shocking is how much violence they show on television. Different TV shows that are just about violence. Some kids do enjoy that but surprisingly most don't. The percentage of children polled who said they felt 'upset or scared' by violence on TV is 91%! I think that the more violent and scary show should be aired at a later time so smaller children will not be exposed to it.


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This article has 3 comments.


on Apr. 14 2009 at 6:47 pm
BellaLuna1 BRONZE, Ozone Park, New York
2 articles 0 photos 93 comments
i think we have problems with the effect not the product think people tend to go overboard i wrote somethng like this about things that play on the radio anyway, people dont do anything but watch tv anymore and as time gose on things that play dont get nybetter all thats on is reality shows

on Mar. 30 2009 at 8:08 pm
well i truly understand what your saying, people, mostly adults complain about the bad stuff about tv. i myself watch tv often and think its a great way to get news, entertainment and some education. but some TRUE facts about TV are pretty shocking. yes TV Free America does not sound like a great source but that is because i sumerize it. (i cant spell @ this moment) i did that because this was written for a school essay and the essaw WAS longer. but the essay was printed in the local newspaper so i had to shorten it tv free america was the sites nickname anyway so they shorten the sources name to that because the editer and my teacher both have the whole source link. but think what u want! i love my writing and i enjoy hearing what i can fix next time. thnks bunch!

on Mar. 28 2009 at 10:13 pm
ebarker8 BRONZE, Canton, Ohio
2 articles 5 photos 5 comments
I am really kind of tired about hearing all the negatives about television. If you have such an issue with it, then just don't watch it. Easiest solution. And I just wanted to to say something about your article. This is very opinionated, but I don't think a source called "TV Free America" is the most reliable source. It is obvious that they are going to try to put as much of a negative spin of tv as they can. Try using information from multiple sources and from ones that might not be as biased. And it doesn't surprise me that children watch so much tv at home and at daycares. Children want to be entertained all the time, and tv is a great way to do that when the parents or daycare people are busy. Besides, its not like the children are out watching terrible things on tv. Much children shows these days are fairly educational and help teach kids things as well as keeping them entertained. The shows shouldn't have to move around their time just for a small viewing audience. The parents know what their children are watching, and besides, if child finds a show scarey, chances are they will switch the channel.