CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
Television has become one of the most widespread forms of mass media available to the general public. The popularity of television has grown since it became common in American homes in the middle 1950s. Many homes in America are equipped with a television: about 97% have a VCR, and 74% have cable or satellite (Graves, 1999). Currently, television technology includes TiVos, DVD players, and High Definition Television.
With these innovations in technology, there has been an increase in the overall use of television (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988). In 1999, Graves reported that children spend at least three hours per day watching television. At six months, the average infant spends an hour and a half per day in front of a television (Liebert, 1988). The average school child watches over 21 hours of T.V. per week and by the age of 18 will have spent more time watching television than any other activity except sleeping (Liebert, 1988). That child will have witnessed over 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders (Center for Media and Public Affairs, 2003).
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According to Liebert’s 1988 study, 60% of families changed their sleeping patterns, 55% altered meal times to accommodate television viewing, and 78% used television as a babysitter. A family’s principal TV is usually in an accessible location, such as the living room or family room, but 54% of U.S. children have a T.V. in their bedroom as well (Center for Media and Public Affairs, 2003).In families with children aged 6 to 17 years, television viewing by the entire family is uncommon, with most viewing done with a sibling (Comstock, 1991). Co-viewing usually occurs with peers. In households with more than one T.V., there tends to be a generational separation in viewing so that young children and adults do not watch programs together (Comstock, 1991). Among 5 to 12 year-olds, co-viewing was inversely related to a family’s socioeconomic status (Comstock, 1991).
These studies suggest that television viewing reduces the number of time children and parents spend together and that many children do not receive adult guidance about what they have seen. For example, “Sesame Street” was developed to promote intellectual and cultural growth of children from households of low socioeconomic status and ethnic minorities and has proved to improve the learning of the alphabet, numbers, and cognitive reasoning skills (Comstock, 1991). While “Sesame Street” is an example of how television can enrich viewers’ lives, it is also true that the socialization of children in their development of peer relationships, stereotypes, and their internalization of attitudes and values is also affected by television viewing. As early as 1980, psychologists studied television’s role in desensitization to violence (Moody, 1980). Exposure to media violence contributes to general desensitization to real-life violence and an increased likelihood of aggression (Calvert, 1999, Huesmann & Miller, 1994, Paik & Comstock, 1994). Desensitization causes children to not react to what they have seen on television. They aren’t able to process what they have seen. Children may learn to accept violence as a given and develop a detached and cynical outlook through repeated exposure to violent acts. In addition, those with heavy exposure to television violence are less likely to help someone victimized (Murray, 1997).
Television violence is represented in various forms, including verbal, physical, and emotional violence. Violence on television exposes children to aggressive or anti-social behavior (Liebert & Sprafkin, 1988), contributing to aggressive behaviors (Murray, 1997).
During childhood, we learn how to be a member of society. Usually, the adults in children’s lives, such as parents, guardians, or teachers, influence children’s socialization most. Where family and schools were once the primary sources of information that gave children access to direct experiences of social learning and the transmission of culture (Moody, 1980), children today are increasingly dependent on their exposure to television. Television legitimizes the current social order (Gerbner, 1980) so that children are exposed to society’s images and expectations, which reflect the norms, beliefs, and values of the dominant group (Barcus, 1997). Children’s programs have become a primary text in their social learning, on which they base their understanding of the everyday world (Warren, 2002).
There is no doubt that communication technologies have impacted children. Concerns have grown as
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