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What they See, is What They Imitate

Photo by Red Castro


Never do anything in front of your child that you don't want him/her to imitate. Be the good model for your kids of being a non-violent person.

Even your language should not be violent. Avoid using sentences like, "I'll kill you, " etc. even if it's in jest.

The Effect of Violence on Children.

By: Justin Swapp

If you want to prove something, you have to use the

scientific method, right? Observe something that you want

to measure, and then measure it.

Photo by: Keith Bacongco

There are many people who would water down the effect that violence in the media has

on our children.

If there is any doubt in your mind, just spend a little time applying the scientific method – observe them.

As we start this discussion, it's helpful to understand a little about child psychology.

During their earlier years, children are trying to understand their role in life by framing

it within what they observe in everyday life.

It stands to reason that if you feed your child a steady diet of bacon for every meal,

it's only a matter of time before the kid looks like a pig.

You are what you eat, as the saying goes.

If children have a steady diet of violence, it's only natural for them to experiment with

it as it relates to what they do every day.

If you think there is anything less than a buffet of violence out there for your children

to stuff their faces with, you are kidding yourself.

Here are some examples:

Internet, DVD, Blu-Ray, Wii, Playstation, Xbox, Gameboy, MMORPG, World of

Warcraft, Comics, iPods, Music, Online Chat, Magazines, Movies, School, Cell Phones,

and TV – Now in higher-than-ever definition.

That's right, all the violent detail you could ever want, accessible from anytime, or

anywhere.

Most recently my youngest son, Alexander, got a hold of the remote control and found

his way to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television show.

If you are not familiar with the Power Rangers, It's one of those

kids with martial-art-super-powers-and-costumes shows.

Alexander is two. At that young age, children copy what they see, and they test

boundaries. If you are a parent, you know this.

What do you think Alexander did? He got something he could use as a cape, and

hopped through the house, pausing occasionally to pose in a martial arts stance.

Then, he would find his nearest sibling, and practice a punch or a kick he had seen

on the TV show, complete with sound bites from the program.

He was acting out what he saw glorified on TV. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

seem to have the same effect on him.

TV and movies are arguably the most powerful mediums for communication that we

have today. The technology behind them now is extremely advanced, and made to

impact our senses to extreme degrees.

Trends in content seem to be advancing almost as fast as the technology displaying it.

It's more acceptable now than ever to show extreme content at all hours of the day.

Hack and slash movies are making a comeback.

Just look at movies like Saw or Hostle. These shows are out of control and

are the perfect example of gratuitous film making that marks our day and age.

It's well known at this point that violent situations cause a chemical reaction in humans.

This reaction is called fight or flight. We must act now.

We are surrounded by violence in every form of media. It's up to us now to either

fight, or run. As adults we have to protect our children.

We must fight this, not run. You have to fight this in your homes, but you have to also

find other avenues to fight the trend of violence.

Look to join forces with anyone fighting violence. Choose fight, not flight. Don't run

out on your children.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


JUSTIN SWAPP is from Ogden USA. He maintains a Writing and Literature blog - Finish Writing and a business blog - Swappratices.

In his blog, he provides invaluable articles about techniques and styles in writing and encourages aspiring writers to give out their best.

This is what he has to say for himself.

And I quote:

"I am a 32 year old with a BS in Business Marketing, and an MBA. Don’t let that fool you, however. I have always loved writing, and storytelling. I feel that reading and writing is extremely important, and I want to share what I can with those who find what I have to say useful. Write on, regardless of what they say. Write on."

End of quote.

Such inspiring words from a knowledgeable blogger. Thanks, Justin for accepting my invitation.

Things I've Learned From Watching TV

I don't write commentaries, reviews or factual thoughts. I am more into creative writing. I am not a psychologist either, so I don't claim expertise in this field. I wrote this piece because I have observed and learned that TV has a very significant effect on children's behavior. I speak most specifically of violence on TV, which is slowly but surely destroying the basic non-violent mind-set of our children.

There are several factors affecting how the young are developed and molded into adults. These are the environment in which they grew in, the people around them, their genetic make-up, and their experiences and interactions with society.

A child who grew amidst love would think that the world "out there" is a "loving" world. On the other hand, the child who grew up amidst violence will assume that it is normal for people to hurt each other. Children will learn as they grow up that there is always the good and the bad and that these two exist in the real world. The belief they acquired; however, during their vulnerable childhood days would be more predominant in developing their personality.

Exposure to violence as a kid will have its lasting effects. These maybe deep seated or just "floating" on the surface of the child's subconscious. This will depend upon the intensity of his experiences. One thing is certain though - whatever memory he would have acquired, would be indelible.

Some TV programs have made violence as a selling point of their drama series/soap operas. There is no problem with adults watching these programs because they are able to identify the real from the fantasy world, but children do not have adult discernment to be able to do so.

People would say, "So don't allow the child to watch!" This is not possible though because families belonging to the lower economic stratum who have only one room - living room cum bedroom - are not allowed this luxury. And these families are growing in numbers!

This is most especially observed in third world countries where TV is the most convenient and cheapest method of entertainment. All these poor families could afford is a TV so while the mother puts the child to sleep, she watches; and the child's eyes are also glued to the TV, while trying to get some sleep.

Every single day, I watched the characters in these soaps in various violent scenes; they maybe in a gunfight, pulling each other's hairs, slapping each other or shouting at each other. These scenes say to the children that problems and conflicts could not be settled amicably and peacefully; that we have to be violent to settle disputes. Even family members plot and kill each other in some "soaps".

Are these the values we would like our children to learn? Several researches have proven that indeed violence on TV negatively influences children. As one researcher observed that most people believe this is so, but as expected, people in the TV industry do not believe in the results of these scientifically conducted studies.

I know it would be hard work for the TV people to create a high rating soap opera that does not involve violence, but that is the challenge I confront them with.

A talented and creative writer/producer would be able to write/produce TV soaps which would concentrate on non violent approaches, which would focus more on the positive aspects of the human character.

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EXCERPTS ON VIOLENCE ON TV FROM AROUND THE WORLD

From : TV and Film Violence
"Researchers followed 329 subjects over 15 years. They found that those who as children were exposed to violent TV shows were much more likely to later be convicted of crime. Researchers said that, "Media violence can affect any child from any family," regardless of social class or parenting."


From: Violence and TV Ratings

"It's well known that TV violence holds an attraction for most viewers and this attraction translates into ratings and profits. Because of this most media executives have been reluctant to admit that media violence is in any way responsible for violence in our society.

If it weren't for the ratings and profits involved, producers would undoubtedly be much more willing to acknowledge the harm in TV and film violence and do something about it.

Instead, we have such things as the American Medical Association finding that shows that in homes with premium cable channels, or a VCR or DVD..."

Many TV and film producers have elected to "take a higher road" and not rely on gratuitous violence to capture and hold an audience. This route typically results in more accolades for their work and more personal respect from the creative community.

But the higher road is often the more difficult one. It takes talent to engage an audience through the strength of your storytelling and production expertise."

END OF ARTICLES

Violence on Television: Can it be stopped?

By: Nicholas Chase

Let me begin by stating that I have worked in the broadcast television industry for over thirty years, in a variety of roles including studio cameraman, producer / director of music videos, broadcast senior systems design and integration engineer, and senior broadcast television project(s) manager.

In my ten-year role as a senior post-production maintenance engineer, it was partially my job to screen hundreds of television programs and motion picture films to test and assess quality of the technical aspects of the program, video audio and FCC-mandated transmission standards adherence.

Photo by Aaron Escobar

I was unfortunately subjected to many dark, evil and basically sick horror films, or so called situation comedies with poor moral values displayed. Now that I am a parent, with two children,I have always been hypersensitive to the movies and TV programs our children watch.
An unfortunate effect of all of this negative programming being produced in the first place is marketing.

The innate curiosity and viewing appetite of the general public is for mystery, murder, sex, violence, and depravity to be somehow only satisfied through the watching of this material.

The program producers feel that they are merely satisfying a need for these programs, as the so called ‘wholesome family entertainment’ programs have their place, but cannot be the only source of revenue for the production industry.

I have had extensive conversations with some of the top production and movie studio executives and production staff over my extensive career, and the general consensus is that this programming will continue as long as advertisers and the general public are engaged in making these productions successful.

Photo by woodleywonderworks

For me, the question of entertainment in general requires that I be either edified, and educated by the material, by example The Discovery Channel, PBS and others, maybe laugh or cry during a particular wholesome program, but never want to be a captive-witness to suffering or harm to another human, animal or life-form.

I certainly do not want to be forced to ask for my money back, after discovering the promotional materials left out the part about the violence, sexual-content or foul language that is so pervasive in the film and television marketplace. If more moviegoers would perform this simple act of outrage, perhaps the producers of this material would change their focus to the style of movies in the 50’s, where you never actually saw anyone harmed.

My wife and I seldom go to the movies anymore, and not just because of the high ticket prices. High ticket prices are the result, of special-effects-laden productions, where character development is pushed-aside, and the special-effects have become the ‘Stars’ of the film.

There are really only a few movies produced in the last twenty years that I can recall for exhibiting what I would call strong family values. The alternative-lifestyles portrayed in these modern productions have only served to diminish the traditional and biblical precepts for marriage between a man and a woman.

Children growing up today are ridiculed by their peers in school when they have to introduce their two ‘DADS’, or two ‘MOMS’ to their classmates at school events. I have witnessed this first-hand at school functions, and while I cannot rightly and in good conscience sit in judgment for the choices made by these ‘parents’, as an observer of human behavior, their children appear confused and believe that they are ‘different’ through no fault of their own.

A general ‘watering-down’ of moral, social, and kind behavior has been building for many years in my observation. Numerous alternative lifestyles and celebration of offensive actions are portrayed in music, television programs, motion picture films, and much of the literature on the best seller lists of Publishers. An unfortunate aspect of this ‘feeding-tube’ of sub-standard content is acceptance by the viewer that this is normal and acceptable.

My mother is 87 years old, and her generation demonstrated a deep concern for one’s ‘reputation’ in the world, values that have certainly disappeared from our current generation. Respect for authority, kindness, being humble, dressing in a manner that states, ‘I’m proud of my accomplishments in life’, are totally in absent these days. The language I hear being used in public places is so offensive, that I can hardly contain my anger.

The self-respect exhibited by my parent’s generation is gone. The manners, morals and lifestyle of this current generation are bordering on causing a collapse of society not witnessed since the ‘Fall of Rome’. Roman society became depraved, gluttonous, and perverse, forgetting their own history in conquering whole nations of people.

For a man living in 2008, who is currently in his ‘middle-age’, this is so very frustrating. While I remember living in the 1960’s, ‘when do not trust anyone over thirty’ was the battle cry, I observed even then, a gradual shifting of moral and ethical values starting to slip away.

Governmental and parental authority was being questioned, primarily due to a horrendous, ‘undeclared’ war in Vietnam, but also the infiltration and adoption of certain eastern philosophies and precepts as exhibited and promoted by popular musicians of that time.

Photo by daveynin

These new moral codes were embraced by a generation hungry to take charge of their own lives, and even the very country they lived in was affected by these choices. The display of public nudity on billboards, magazine covers, and easy access to pornography and criminal attacks against our children by predators, as well as ‘quickie’ marriages and divorces and the taking of numerous, recreational-drugs whose long-term, mental and physical health effects, were not considered at the time.

Now a generation of damaged people, who were the innocent victims of a society whose moral turpitude caused their exposure to cruel and inhuman, murders, crimes and other accepted violent solutions to their perceived problems.

As a result of the general meltdown of societal values and mutual respect required for a healthy functioning society, criminal behavior has caused our prisons to be filled to over-capacity with individuals who chose to take a path of destruction, having no doubt learned these actions from their peers.

In my opinion, the general decay of respect, kindness, and wholesome lifestyle choices has caused all of the current suffering our world is experiencing. The realization that things may never be as they were before should be a wake-up call to all. We may never again have the true ability to celebrate our freedom as our forefathers intended, "One Nation Under God, With
Liberty and Justice For All".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

NICHOLAS CHASE is a new but dedicated blogger from the San Francisco Bay Area.

He has four active blogs with significant topics namely :

The Debt Blog, The Diet and Weight Loss Blog, The Guitar Blog,

and The Way To Success Blog.

This is what he says : "My purpose in creating these blogs is to populate them with rich content, and begin adding advertisements gradually."

And he does write well about his daily progress in his blogs - which is quite interesting to me.

Visit his site and take part in his blogging experiences and challenges.

Good luck to you Nicholas and I'm certain you will succeed in your goals.

Interesting Results of Studies from Abelardo

This article is from: www.abelard.org.


START OF ARTICLE

1 Gerbner

Studies by George Gerbner, at the University of Pennsylvania, have shown that children's television shows contain about 20 violent acts each hour. They also showed that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place.

Children often behave differently after they've been watching violent programmes on television. In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 pre-school children were observed both before and after watching television. Some watched cartoons that had many aggressive and violent acts; others watched shows that didn't have any kind of violence. The researchers noticed real differences between the children who watched the violent shows and those who watched non-violent ones.

Children who watched the violent shows were more likely to strike out at playmates, argue, disobey authority and were less willing to wait for things than those children who watched non-violent programmes.

END OF ARTICLE

A NOTEWORTHY REMINDER FOR TV DIRECTORS AND FILM PRODUCERS

FROM : http://www.cybercollege.com/violence.htm

"Many TV and film producers have elected to "take a higher road" and not rely on gratuitous violence to capture and hold an audience.



This route typically results in more accolades for their work and more personal respect from the creative community.



But the higher road is often the more difficult one. It takes talent to engage an audience through the strength of your storytelling and production expertise."