2_rodriguez

Rodger Rodriguez

Rhetoric

6 April 2001

Television Corrupts Young Minds

Have you at one time or another been channel surfing with a child present, and stopped on a program or television show that was of interest to you? After watching for a while you realize the program has a lot of scenes of violence and sexual content. The violence, drugs, and sexual content portrayed in some of today's television programs corrupt young children's minds and cause them to act inappropriately. However, the question is whether the parents of these children or Hollywood producers are to blame for the children's irrational behavior after watching these programs. Well-intentioned parents don't necessarily agree with their children viewing this indecent material but simply do not make the time to monitor the programs their children watch. The same could be argued for Hollywood. They produce these shows with the intent to make money and do not necessarily direct the violence to be viewed by children. Whether they directly or indirectly target these young viewers, the fact remains that young children are being affected negatively by inappropriate material in today's television programs. Ultimately, the duty lies with parents and their ability to prohibit their children from watching these programs.

Violence and crime have increased in the United States and a big reason for this is because television stations have allowed more guns and violence in their programs. According to James Potter, a professor at Florida State and Ph.D. in communication, "Reviews of the efforts of literature have concluded that exposure to television violence portrayed with particular contextual characteristics can lead to fear, desensitization, and disinhibition." Furthermore, Potter says the more graphic the show the more violent a person will act. With all the violence and indecent material displayed in television today, parents have to take responsibility and preview the material, so their children don't get the wrong impression of violence, drugs, and sexual content. F. Scott Andison, a graduate student and Academic Assistant in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria claims, "That television violence can stimulate aggression in its viewers" (315). Moreover, Andison says violence on television encourages violent forms of behavior and fosters moral and social values about violence in daily life that are unacceptable in a civilized society (316). Children don't understand that what they are watching on TV is just a show, and everything is done for entertainment. It is understandably difficult for working parents who are not home at all times to preview every show before their kids watch it. Susan D. Witt an assistant professor at the University of Akron states, "Studies show preschoolers spend an average of nearly thirty hours a week watching television, some spend more time watching television than doing anything else except sleeping." Witt also says research has proven that by age 16, children have watched more television than gone to school. It's not to say parents are at fault; however, most of the television these young kids view is in their household where parents need to monitor more carefully the programs they watch. They might watch a talk show like Jerry Springer where vulgar language and violence isn't rare, and later end up getting into quarrels at school. Such shows lure children with indecent material and attract them by implying such actions are okay. Constance Faye Mudore, writer of multiple articles on television violence in Current Health magazine, states, "The United States has the highest youth murder rate in the developed world." She goes on by saying family stress, drugs and alcohol abuse, and easy access to guns contribute to the violence. Children act and think on things that are instilled in their minds, and if all they see is constant violence, it is only a matter of time before they act violently. Watching television violence will have a negative effect on the aggressive levels of the individuals who view it. Constantly watching violent behavior on television has an opposing result on children's character and attitude (Andison 315).

On the other hand, Hollywood cannot be blamed for young kids being corrupted by inappropriate material because they have the freedom to produce any material they choose and are not necessarily targeting young viewers. They make and produce programs that will catch viewers' attention and in the process have attracted the younger crowd. As for the parents, they should resort to finding alternate methods of entertainment for their children, such as reading, enrolling them in athletic activities, or another activity that interests their child. Involving them in other activities will lessen the time they have to watch television. However, Hollywood producers need to do a better job of targeting indecent material to adult viewers, so there will be no question as to whom the show is directed.

Violence isn't the only problem on television. Another serious problem with today's programs is portraying the message that the use of drugs can be innocent and insinuating everyone uses them. J. Ronald Milavsky, Associate Professor of Social Science remarks, "The enormous amount of drug advertising that is going on tends to reinforce the drug behavior that we get, the illicit drug behavior as well as the legal drug taking" (458). In addition, he feels once kids get the idea drugs solve problems, it's just a little step further before they use hard drugs to solve hard problems. Television shows young teenagers using intoxicants to ease their minds and relax, and that's exactly how some kids are going to view it. Unbelievably, the age at which kids experiment with these drugs has decreased as more and more kids begin using drugs before they reach high school. Bill Carter, professional writer of the effects of television, feels "young people today are surrounded by messages that say drinking alcohol and doing drugs are normal activities." He also claims TV programs often show actors using drugs regularly, giving the wrong impression.

Another problem on television today is the sexual content displayed. It is rare to see a program whether in daytime television or prime time where sexual content is not present. From teenage to adult programming, every other scene seems to display some form of sex. S.A. Bascow, a writer of many novels on gender, feels that "rap music videos, for example, frequently, portray women as objects of lust." So when young kids view their videos on television, they feel they just have to try it out. In television shows the actors are role models to young kids, and as Bascow also says, out of all the factors that shape young minds, imitations and role models are highly influential. Young children admire the popularity and attention these famous actors receive, so when the actors use sex to get recognition, young children tend to try this as well. Children are affected because "most females on prime time television are often depicted as sex objects" (Witt). That is a horrible message to send to youngsters.

Parents of young children argue that Hollywood producers are to blame for allowing violence, drugs and sexual content in their programs while Hollywood producers might argue that if the parents don't think the material is appropriate for the younger viewers, then they should turn the televisions sets off, or insist that their children watch other programs. Susan Linn, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, feels "it is unfair to put parents in the difficult position of limiting their children's television consumption." Linn goes on to say someone must set limits on corporate exploitation, but it just isn't logical to put all the responsibility of what children watch on Hollywood producers' shoulders.

Everyone should be responsible for their own kids and what they view on TV. If parents want their children to grow up well behaved, then it is up to the parents to steer children in the right direction. They must not let them be influenced by improper actions such as violence or the use of drugs. For the most part, Hollywood does a fairly good job of letting the viewer know what to expect in their programs. They rate their films according to content and give the viewer an idea of what kind of material is going to appear in the film. Jonah Goldberg, editor of the National Review, feels, "Despite all the posturing, nobody is addressing the real problem with Hollywood: It's not the violence at all, but the message of moral relativism." He goes on by saying that violence has been a constant in world culture, and that Hollywood is not bringing out something new that hasn't already been seen. In order to raise well-mannered and well-behaved children, parents have to reduce the input of negative material imposed by violent television. If parents feel that watching inappropriate, violent programs cause their children to act violently then they should decrease their child's television consumption.

Nevertheless, something has to be done about the existence of indecent material in today's television or the corruption of young children's minds will continue to increase. Parents have to be responsible and choose wisely the programs they want their children to view. There are so many violent and indecent programs on television today that the parents of young children are better off restricting or limiting the time their children watch it. Eugene L. Hartley, Dean of the College of Community Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay says, "The clear story of television violence is not that a new generation is more violent but the new generation knows more about violence" (189). Likewise television teaches violence to an entire generation, and the material is just not suitable for everyone (189). Parents need to discover their own way of figuring out which shows their children should watch. Television as it is shown today has violence that stimulates aggression in young individuals, which corrupts their adolescent minds (Andison 323). The best solutions are to limit how much time a child spends viewing television; also, find alternative forms of entertainment such as reading, athletic activities, or other activities of interest to a child. It has to come to the point where television stations have ratings on their programs similar to those movies shown in theaters. However, Hollywood can only do their part by informing viewers about what sexual or violent content is in their programs, and then leave it up to the parents to decide if their children should watch the programs.

Sources Cited

Andison, F. Scott. "TV Violence and Viewer Aggression." Public Opinion

Quarterly 41.3 (1977): 314-331.

Bascow, S.A. Gender and Roles. 3rd Edition. California: Cole Publishing,

1992. 27 Feb. 2001 < http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Carter, Bill. "A New Report becomes a Weapon in Debate on Censoring TV."

New York Times 7 Feb. 1996. 5 Feb. 2001

<http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Goldberg, Jonah. "Violent Fantasy." National Review 52.20 (2000): 62-65. 5 Feb.

2000 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Hartley, Eugene L. "Passive Learning from Television." Public Opinion Quarterly

34.2 (1970): 184-190.

Linn, Susan. "Sellouts." American Prospect 11.2 (2000): 17-20. 5 Feb. 2001

<http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Milavsky, J. Ronald. "TV Drug Advertising and Proprietary and Illicit Drug Use

Among Teenage Boys." Public Opinion Quarterly 39.4 (1976): 457-481.

Mudore, Constance Faye. "Does TV Violence Kill?" Current Health Feb.

1997: 24-26. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Potter, W. James. "The Context of Graphic Portrayals of Television Violence."

Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 44.2 (2000): 301-23. 5 Feb.

2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.

Witt, Susan D. "The Influence of Television on Children's Gender Role

Socialization." Childhood Education 76.5 (2000): 322-24. 27 Feb. 2001

<http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.









			Rodger Rodriguez Rhetoric 6 April 2001 Television Corrupts Young Minds Have you at one time or another been channel surfing with a child present, and stopped on a program or television show that was of interest to you? After watching for a while you realize the program has a lot of scenes of violence and sexual content. The violence, drugs, and sexual content portrayed in some of today's television programs corrupt young children's minds and cause them to act inappropriately. However, the question is whether the parents of these children or Hollywood producers are to blame for the children's irrational behavior after watching these programs. Well-intentioned parents don't necessarily agree with their children viewing this indecent material but simply do not make the time to monitor the programs their children watch. The same could be argued for Hollywood. They produce these shows with the intent to make money and do not necessarily direct the violence to be viewed by children. Whether they directly or indirectly target these young viewers, the fact remains that young children are being affected negatively by inappropriate material in today's television programs. Ultimately, the duty lies with parents and their ability to prohibit their children from watching these programs. Violence and crime have increased in the United States and a big reason for this is because television stations have allowed more guns and violence in their programs. According to James Potter, a professor at Florida State and Ph.D. in communication, "Reviews of the efforts of literature have concluded that exposure to television violence portrayed with particular contextual characteristics can lead to fear, desensitization, and disinhibition." Furthermore, Potter says the more graphic the show the more violent a person will act. With all the violence and indecent material displayed in television today, parents have to take responsibility and preview the material, so their children don't get the wrong impression of violence, drugs, and sexual content. F. Scott Andison, a graduate student and Academic Assistant in the Department of Sociology at the University of Victoria claims, "That television violence can stimulate aggression in its viewers" (315). Moreover, Andison says violence on television encourages violent forms of behavior and fosters moral and social values about violence in daily life that are unacceptable in a civilized society (316). Children don't understand that what they are watching on TV is just a show, and everything is done for entertainment. It is understandably difficult for working parents who are not home at all times to preview every show before their kids watch it. Susan D. Witt an assistant professor at the University of Akron states, "Studies show preschoolers spend an average of nearly thirty hours a week watching television, some spend more time watching television than doing anything else except sleeping." Witt also says research has proven that by age 16, children have watched more television than gone to school. It's not to say parents are at fault; however, most of the television these young kids view is in their household where parents need to monitor more carefully the programs they watch. They might watch a talk show like Jerry Springer where vulgar language and violence isn't rare, and later end up getting into quarrels at school. Such shows lure children with indecent material and attract them by implying such actions are okay. Constance Faye Mudore, writer of multiple articles on television violence in Current Health magazine, states, "The United States has the highest youth murder rate in the developed world." She goes on by saying family stress, drugs and alcohol abuse, and easy access to guns contribute to the violence. Children act and think on things that are instilled in their minds, and if all they see is constant violence, it is only a matter of time before they act violently. Watching television violence will have a negative effect on the aggressive levels of the individuals who view it. Constantly watching violent behavior on television has an opposing result on children's character and attitude (Andison 315). On the other hand, Hollywood cannot be blamed for young kids being corrupted by inappropriate material because they have the freedom to produce any material they choose and are not necessarily targeting young viewers. They make and produce programs that will catch viewers' attention and in the process have attracted the younger crowd. As for the parents, they should resort to finding alternate methods of entertainment for their children, such as reading, enrolling them in athletic activities, or another activity that interests their child. Involving them in other activities will lessen the time they have to watch television. However, Hollywood producers need to do a better job of targeting indecent material to adult viewers, so there will be no question as to whom the show is directed. Violence isn't the only problem on television. Another serious problem with today's programs is portraying the message that the use of drugs can be innocent and insinuating everyone uses them. J. Ronald Milavsky, Associate Professor of Social Science remarks, "The enormous amount of drug advertising that is going on tends to reinforce the drug behavior that we get, the illicit drug behavior as well as the legal drug taking" (458). In addition, he feels once kids get the idea drugs solve problems, it's just a little step further before they use hard drugs to solve hard problems. Television shows young teenagers using intoxicants to ease their minds and relax, and that's exactly how some kids are going to view it. Unbelievably, the age at which kids experiment with these drugs has decreased as more and more kids begin using drugs before they reach high school. Bill Carter, professional writer of the effects of television, feels "young people today are surrounded by messages that say drinking alcohol and doing drugs are normal activities." He also claims TV programs often show actors using drugs regularly, giving the wrong impression. Another problem on television today is the sexual content displayed. It is rare to see a program whether in daytime television or prime time where sexual content is not present. From teenage to adult programming, every other scene seems to display some form of sex. S.A. Bascow, a writer of many novels on gender, feels that "rap music videos, for example, frequently, portray women as objects of lust." So when young kids view their videos on television, they feel they just have to try it out. In television shows the actors are role models to young kids, and as Bascow also says, out of all the factors that shape young minds, imitations and role models are highly influential. Young children admire the popularity and attention these famous actors receive, so when the actors use sex to get recognition, young children tend to try this as well. Children are affected because "most females on prime time television are often depicted as sex objects" (Witt). That is a horrible message to send to youngsters. Parents of young children argue that Hollywood producers are to blame for allowing violence, drugs and sexual content in their programs while Hollywood producers might argue that if the parents don't think the material is appropriate for the younger viewers, then they should turn the televisions sets off, or insist that their children watch other programs. Susan Linn, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, feels "it is unfair to put parents in the difficult position of limiting their children's television consumption." Linn goes on to say someone must set limits on corporate exploitation, but it just isn't logical to put all the responsibility of what children watch on Hollywood producers' shoulders. Everyone should be responsible for their own kids and what they view on TV. If parents want their children to grow up well behaved, then it is up to the parents to steer children in the right direction. They must not let them be influenced by improper actions such as violence or the use of drugs. For the most part, Hollywood does a fairly good job of letting the viewer know what to expect in their programs. They rate their films according to content and give the viewer an idea of what kind of material is going to appear in the film. Jonah Goldberg, editor of the National Review, feels, "Despite all the posturing, nobody is addressing the real problem with Hollywood: It's not the violence at all, but the message of moral relativism." He goes on by saying that violence has been a constant in world culture, and that Hollywood is not bringing out something new that hasn't already been seen. In order to raise well-mannered and well-behaved children, parents have to reduce the input of negative material imposed by violent television. If parents feel that watching inappropriate, violent programs cause their children to act violently then they should decrease their child's television consumption. Nevertheless, something has to be done about the existence of indecent material in today's television or the corruption of young children's minds will continue to increase. Parents have to be responsible and choose wisely the programs they want their children to view. There are so many violent and indecent programs on television today that the parents of young children are better off restricting or limiting the time their children watch it. Eugene L. Hartley, Dean of the College of Community Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay says, "The clear story of television violence is not that a new generation is more violent but the new generation knows more about violence" (189). Likewise television teaches violence to an entire generation, and the material is just not suitable for everyone (189). Parents need to discover their own way of figuring out which shows their children should watch. Television as it is shown today has violence that stimulates aggression in young individuals, which corrupts their adolescent minds (Andison 323). The best solutions are to limit how much time a child spends viewing television; also, find alternative forms of entertainment such as reading, athletic activities, or other activities of interest to a child. It has to come to the point where television stations have ratings on their programs similar to those movies shown in theaters. However, Hollywood can only do their part by informing viewers about what sexual or violent content is in their programs, and then leave it up to the parents to decide if their children should watch the programs. Sources Cited Andison, F. Scott. "TV Violence and Viewer Aggression." Public Opinion Quarterly 41.3 (1977): 314-331. Bascow, S.A. Gender and Roles. 3rd Edition. California: Cole Publishing, 1992. 27 Feb. 2001 < http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Carter, Bill. "A New Report becomes a Weapon in Debate on Censoring TV." New York Times 7 Feb. 1996. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Goldberg, Jonah. "Violent Fantasy." National Review 52.20 (2000): 62-65. 5 Feb. 2000 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Hartley, Eugene L. "Passive Learning from Television." Public Opinion Quarterly 34.2 (1970): 184-190. Linn, Susan. "Sellouts." American Prospect 11.2 (2000): 17-20. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Milavsky, J. Ronald. "TV Drug Advertising and Proprietary and Illicit Drug Use Among Teenage Boys." Public Opinion Quarterly 39.4 (1976): 457-481. Mudore, Constance Faye. "Does TV Violence Kill?" Current Health Feb. 1997: 24-26. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Potter, W. James. "The Context of Graphic Portrayals of Television Violence." Journal Of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 44.2 (2000): 301-23. 5 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>. Witt, Susan D. "The Influence of Television on Children's Gender Role Socialization." Childhood Education 76.5 (2000): 322-24. 27 Feb. 2001 <http://www.texshare.edu/ovidweb>.