On September 11th, 2001, millions around the world crowded around televisions across the globe and watched the horrific scenes of terrorism that had struck New York City, Washington, D.C and Pennsylvania on that ill-fated and now infamous morning. Suddenly, in a crowded room everyone felt alone. As the Twin Towers vanished before our very eyes, so did our sense of security and protection. We watched with shock and horror, disbelief and grief as the images were repeatedly flashed before our eyes.
There was no escape. Every television channel and every radio station constantly reminded us of the tragedy that we will never forget. Even today, over three years later, I can see the images and remember the desperate pleas for help of people searching for their loved ones in my mind – over and over. Every sympathetic person was captivated by the horror on the television. We felt like we were there.
September 11th, 2001 was an unprecedented tragedy that undoubtedly proves that violence on television is a very powerful influence. In that crowded room, workplace, classroom, or living room we all felt alone. We could not have been more wrong. We were all probably feeling a lot of the same emotions.
Children across the globe were seeing the same events unfold repeatedly too. For the next few days, the major broadcasting stations had twenty-four hour coverage of the “attack on America.” I remember turning off the television because I watched all I could bare. I laid in bed with my eyes closed, but all I could see were the images replay and all I could feel was the warmth of my tears on my pillow. If we as adults were so affected by the trauma of the events, then what about the children? With an undeveloped capacity to understand the world and the proximity of danger, how can anyone claim that children were not affected by the violence illustrated on television of this tragedy? In the weeks following the tragedy, the images of the attack on the Pentagon and World Trade Center were banned from the media.
Government officials and scientific experts agreed that the trauma incited by these images were detrimental to children. President Bush expressed his concern for the welfare of our children who were exposed to violence in the media reports of the attack. It is evident that scientific experts, government officials, and The President of the United States all agree that violence in the media affects children. Personally, I cannot watch the news more than a few times a week. It’s simply too depressing.
Today’s news stories are explicit enough to make adults cringe, leaving children staggering. Images of injured, suffering, and the deceased often fill our television sets with reality violence. The news, however, is not the only type of media violence affecting children. Even family oriented cartoons such as the Looney Tunes starring household names such as Bugs Bunny, Wildie Coyote, and the Road-Runner portray a lot of violence.
Unfortunately, these types of violence are often rewarded with a laugh. While it may be comedic to adults, children are witnessing acts of violence that happen without punishment. Many of these acts of violence would leave a person greatly injured or dead, but in the cartoons the character on the screen is unaffected and ready to try again in the next scene or segment. This clearly is not reality. Children do not have the ability and understanding to grasp fictional television and reality. Even as children grow out of cartoons, they are still entertained by violence.
I grew up watching the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) with my older brother and my step-father, two people I looked up to. I remember countless days of wrestling with my friends throughout my childhood in result of watching the WWF. I did not understand how watching fake wrestling on television altered my reality until I grew up and now watch some of cousin’s children or neighborhood children wrestle and they expect no one to get hurt, which is rarely the case. I can remember watching movies for children growing up that were all about violence, such as The Teenage Muntant Ninja Turtles and The Three Ninjas. Movies, televisions shows, news broadcasts, music, theatre plays, sports, and even books are cluttered with violence. Virtually all forms of entertainment contain violence.
Why? Adults are more likely to watch violence, nudity, and sexual situations. Children emulate their parents, so it becomes more profitable to entertain them by the same means. There have been hundreds of studies that show that television violence affects children. Not only in the hours directly after watching violence, but for the rest of their lives. Unfortunately, correlating children who are entertained by violence and the life long affects is not an exact science. Due to it not being an exact science, it is easily ignored by big corporations who are making money off of the television shows portraying violence.
I have only one question for the corporations: If watching something repeatedly does not endorse a behavior, why will I be viewing thirty seconds of advertising that cost your corporation millions of dollars this weekend during the Super Bowl? It is evident that corporations sit on both sides of the fence. They want to profit off of violent television shows but claim they do not harm the youth, but they also try to profit by airing commercials for television shows, merchandise, etc. So what can be done to protect our children? There have been lists made trying to help parents prevent their children from becoming a victim of the television violence hype. Most lists contain the following: limit, schedule, participate, talk, and be a role model.
Parents should limit their child’s exposure to television. The average child in America watches three to five hours of television each day. Instead of children watching television, parents should try to get them involved in after-school programs or spend time with them playing board games, etc. Parents should also have their children schedule what shows they want to watch. This will cut down on channel surfing and enable the child to turn off the television when his or her show has concluded. Parents should help schedule the television programs and also watch them with their children to make sure they are appropriate.
Afterwards, parents should talk with their child or children about what they just viewed. Finally, a parent should be a role model for television viewing habits. Children will follow parents rules more easily if the parents themselves abide by their own rules. So, if there’s a way for parents to prevent too much violence on television to greatly affect their children, should the government try to regulate what’s aired? Yes. The steps above are a great way for a parent to get involved with their children and their viewing habits, but it is not always possible. Many times, single parents are working two to three jobs to support their children and unfortunately do not have enough time to do everything possible for their children.
I describe today’s American society as “rush rush rush.” Everything we do, we rush. People today do not have as much free-time as they did thirty years ago. That’s why fast food restaurants are everywhere. Nearly every couple miles, you’ll come across another place that has food ready to eat in minutes.
The American family isn’t the traditional family seen on “Leave it to Beaver” anymore. More families today have to rely on babysitters and daycare centers to help raise their children. When parents need time to themselves, they turn to the television to keep their children occupied. I see it every time I visit my nephews. It is just not possible for every parent to be perfect in everyway, especially when it comes to television parenting.
I remember when “The Simpsons” was a quality television show. At least to me as a child, I thought it was good family fun. The worst thing I can remember ever hearing or seeing on that television show was Bart saying, “Eat my shorts.” That was near ten years ago. Things have certainly changed. That television show now covers a wide range of topics from puberty to pregnancy, from detentions to murder, from injury to death.
Television shows on regular television need to rated and placed into appropriate time slots. How can people expect their children not to curse when that’s what they hear on television shows they watch with their parents? The line has to be drawn. Parenting is probably the most important job anyone can have. Unfortunately, it’s also the only job that does not come with training.
If our government can regulate television shows to enhance the lives of every citizen by lessening the affects of violent television on children, then they should – and they can. The government just hasn’t done it. In my opinion, three words will always be synonymous with each other: politics, power, and money. If experts believed that this violence has no effects on children, why then would they regulate exposure to the images of violent destruction and terrorism that occurred on September 11th?
