The Impact of Television Viewing on Children and Teenagers
The debate regarding the relevance of television viewing among children and teenagers has been ongoing for quite a long time and seems to gain momentum every day. Parents are concerned about the impact that social media platforms which include the internet and television might have on their children. Since the invention of television in 1926, the number of users has gradually increased with adolescents being reported to spend most time behind screens than the time they spend at school (Robertson, McAnally " Hancox, 2013). The fact that televisions are consuming much of the youths' time is worrying to the parents who think that the young adults waste a lot of time watching television programs instead of working hard to perfect their future. Whereas time wastage is the collective effect of television, many other effects are associated with using the media. The programs that are aired on stations have both positive impact and negative impact on the society. The clear implication here is that televisions are an integral part in shaping the culture of a particular community. The American culture is intrinsically dictated by the media mainstream. Children are born right in front of big screens which they watch for the better part of their lives. As children grow and develop, they learn most of their skills and cognitive knowledge through the help of such media as the internet and televisions. Later in their lives, the children who have now turned addicts will find it hard to shift their attention from TVS. The close relationship between children and the use of televisions explains why teenagers are fond of watching TVS. This composition will, therefore, argue that higher levels of television viewing among adolescents causes adoption of immoral behaviors.
The Influence of Media on Psychosocial Development in Children
According to (Robertson, McAnally " Hancox, 2013), the media has a profound influence on the psychosocial development in children. The effect is the primary reason why parents should consistently consult physicians so that they may know what programs to restrict their children from watching. Although it may be hard to sort out good and bad TV programs, parents should always try to limit their children's usage of the internet and other media platforms. Experts suspect that the media has a more discrete impact on the youth than it benefits them (Robertson, McAnally " Hancox, 2013). Having lived in a westernized society since they were born, the modern teenagers have acquired so many insights and lessons from televisions that determine their social behaviors. Scientists believe that excessive viewing of TV will; one, increase the youths' stereotypes towards other races, ethnic groups or even religion (Bandura, 1986). Depending on the type of programs they view, adolescents will most likely pick the dominant behavior among the TV characters. Secondly, the media might cause the development of social vices like violence, aggression, and crime in extreme situations. Similarly, specific programs encourage the use of abusive language and signs among the youths who are the most vulnerable target viewers.
The Relationship Between Television Viewing and Negative Behaviors
Perhaps the question that most parents are probably asking themselves is why their children might develop negative behaviors, and yet they have ensured that they remain out of evil companies. The truth is that teenagers build their characters from what happens around them and from what they see each day. With a lot of changes taking place in their bodies, the slightest motivation they get out of the programs they watch will probably make them adopt bad behaviors. During the adolescence stage of life, a person is too explorative and will want to try out something new without considerations on the probable effect of the act. In a study conducted by (Gutschoven " Van den Bulck, 2005), the researchers found out that there was a significant relationship between televisions viewing and age at smoking initiation. The experiment which includes a total of 909 participants drawn from secondary schools showed that excessive viewing of TVS among teenagers encouraged the introduction of smoking at an earlier age. The results of the study indicated that television view is the leading predisposing factor for smoking initiation compared to other factors like peer smoking, parental smoking, and gender (Gutschoven " Van den Bulck, 2005).
Explaining the Link and Cultivation Theory
The conclusion from the study is that more substantial television viewers start smoking at an earlier age. The explanation given therein is that the majority of teenagers make the actors and actresses in the television programs their behavioral role models (Gutschoven " Van den Bulck, 2005). The above social theory implies that heavy viewers will merely smoke because their role model uses tobacco or do any other behavior in line with what the actor or actress is doing (Bandura, 1986). Another explanation of the relationship existing between television viewing and early smoking initiation is the cultivation theory which holds that exposure to specific behaviors will increase the desire to try out the behavior and chances that the adolescent will elicit the habit (Gutschoven " Van den Bulck, 2005). Prolonged exposure to smoking scenes will make the viewer want to smoke.
Conclusion
In conclusion, excessive viewing of television, especially among adolescents, encourages the initiation of immoral behaviors at an early age. The benefits of watching TVS during adolescents are few compared to its effects. Teenagers should be taught alternative ways of spending their spare time instead of focusing on televisions which are evidently detrimental to their psychosocial development (Robertson, McAnally " Hancox, 2013). Parents and teachers need to work closely to ensure that the youths have no access to contents and scenes that are likely to deviate their thinking and probably change their behaviors.
References
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Gutschoven, K., " Van den Bulck, J. (2005). Television viewing and age at smoking initiation: Does a relationship exist between higher levels of television viewing and earlier onset of smoking? Nicotine " Tobacco Research, 7(3), 381-385. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14622200500125260
Robertson, L., McAnally, H., " Hancox, R. (2013). Childhood and adolescent television viewing and antisocial behavior in early adulthood. PEDIATRICS, 131(3), 439-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2012-1582
