Everyone watches TV every day-not only adults but also kids. Letting kids
watch TV makes them focus on it, which makes their parents less suffer from their
kids and do their work. However we usually forget that TV can influence kids
seriously. Maybe TV has a good influence to kids. They can enjoy interesting
programs, and it becomes a good subject of conversation among their peers. Plus,
it can give educational affects to them since it has many educational programs
such as learning HANGUEL, alphabet, but the overall disadvantages outweigh the
benefits. Think about it-your kid, whose brain and body are actively developing
and growing watches TV about 3hours. You may think that it is OK, but actually,
from birth to age five, this period time is so crucial to the development of a
child’s body and brain, any negative influences have lifelong effects.
The educational institution, “KIDHEALTH”
said that most kids plug into the world of television long
before they enter school. It mentioned that Kaiser Family
Foundation (KFF) found that two-thirds of
infants and toddlers watch a screen an average of 2 hours a day, kids under age
6 watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day, primarily TV and
videos or DVDs, and kids and teens 8
to 18 years spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen and almost 2
additional hours on the computer (outside of schoolwork). However, according to
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2
hours a day of quality programming, because the first 2 years of life are
considered a critical time for brain development. TV and other electronic media
can get in the way of exploring, playing, and interacting with parents and others,
which encourages learning and healthy physical and social development.
This means that when your kids are exposed to TV too early or too excessively (not
the standards of adults), it causes many problems to your kids in a physical
and psychological ways.
First is obesity. Health experts
have long linked excessive TV-watching to obesity — a significant health
problem today. While watching TV, kids are inactive and tend to snack. They're
also bombarded with ads that encourage them to eat unhealthy foods like potato
chips and empty-calorie soft drinks that often become preferred snack
foods. According to the AAP, kids in the United States see 40,000
commercials each year. From the junk food and toy advertisements during
Saturday morning cartoons to the appealing promos on the backs of cereal boxes,
marketing messages inundate kids of all ages. And to them, everything looks
ideal — like something they simply have to have. It all sounds so appealing —
often, so much better than it is. Studies have shown that decreasing the
amount of TV kids watched led to less weight gain and lower body mass index
(BMI — a measurement derived from someone's weight and height).
Second is malfunction of the organ.
According to “MALE ONLINE”, Children as young as six are risking heart
problems in later life because they are allowed to spend too much time watching
TV or playing on computers, scientists warn. A study of 1,492 primary school pupils found that those who spent hours
glued to the screen suffered narrowing of blood vessels in their eyes.
They were an early warning sign of increased likelihood of heart disease
and high blood pressure. Also, the study which is carried out by Dr Bamini
Gopinath and a team of researchers at the University of Sydney says
that on average, children spent 1.9 hours per day watching TV or playing on
their computer had an average ‘retinal arteriolar’ narrowing of 2.3
microns. These show that the watching TV brings
functioning problem on organ.
Third is violence.
The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by
age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV
violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a
fun and effective way to get what you want. Many violent acts are perpetrated
by the "good guys," whom kids have been taught to admire. Even though
kids are taught by their parents that it's not right to hit, television says
it's OK to bite, hit, or kick if you're a good guy. This paradox can lead to
confusion when kids try to understand the difference between right and wrong.
And the "bad guys" on TV aren't always held responsible or punished
for their actions. Young kids are particularly frightened by scary and violent
images. Simply telling kids that those images aren't real won't console them,
because they can't yet distinguish between fantasy and reality. Behavior
problems, nightmares, and difficulty sleeping may follow exposure to media
violence. Older kids also can be frightened by violent images, whether they
appear on fictional shows, the news or reality-based shows. Reasoning with kids
this age will help them, so it's important to provide reassuring and honest
information to help ease fears. However, consider not letting your kids view
programs that they may find frightening.
Next is Risky
Behavior. TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviors
(such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs, smoking cigarettes, and having
premarital sex) as cool, fun, and exciting. And often, there's no discussion
about the consequences of those actions. For example, studies have shown that
teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate
intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers who
don't watch sexually explicit shows. Alcohol ads on TV have actual increased over
the last few years, and more underage kids are being exposed to them than ever.
A recent study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) found that
youth exposure to alcohol ads on TV increased by 30% from 2001 to 2006. And
although they've banned cigarette ads on television, kids and teens can still
see plenty of people smoking on programs and movies airing on TV. This kind of
"product placement" makes behaviors like smoking and drinking alcohol
seem acceptable. In fact, kids who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far
more likely to begin smoking cigarettes than those who watch less than the
recommended 2 hours a day.
Finally, is low learning ability. Too
much TV during the early years has been linked to poor performance in school,
especially in the areas of language and reading. If TV is substituted for
reading and talking with others at a young age, children may have delayed
language development. And they are less able to use imagination. Too much TV
can lead to an overload on the visual part of the brain while depriving other
parts of the brain. Areas of the brain responsible for creative thought and
imagination are under used because watching television doesn’t require these
skills. Also, they are not able to tell apart television from the real world.
And too many fast paced images from watching TV keeps the brain from learning
how to pay attention and also the instant stimulus of TV can cause a child to
become impatient in complex situations. The areas of the brain responsible for
these skills are underused and not fully developed if a young child watches too
much television and plays too many video games which bring poor skills in
planning and judging.
Obviously my arguments can seem to be a
subjective, and there will be plenty of people who think that there are much
more advantages that TV gives. They will give examples of education, enjoyable
contents, and they will say that TV is sometimes good for our health. For
example, there are many exercising promoting programs such as yoga programs..
However, although there are huge amounts of exercising program in Korean
broadcasting, Korean boys’ (15-18) obesity rates took the first place in
the world. And they watch TV 3hours a day according to “polis”. Then, is
exercising programs help with their obesity? What I want to say is that there
is little relationship with the exercising program and real health. Also, of course, TV provides educational programs. However,
there are more non-educational contents like lewd and violent contents. Also, enjoyable
contents are that what makes children a couch potato.
It is not hard to find sources that want
your kids of the disadvantages that are given by TV, both in the areas of
physics and in the areas of psychology. In part, I agree; that TV also has lots
of advantages such as education, and enjoyable contents, though, are just parts
of the TV’s influences. There are more disadvantages that TV gives to kids. So
I strongly recommend you guys to stop showing TV to your kids (but also to you)
and enjoy a healthy body, healthy soul, and healthy life.
Reference
Steven
Dowshen, MD (2011.October). How TV affects your
Child. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html#/
washington.edu, TV & Children:Television, Health and Development. Retrieved
from http://depts.washington.edu/tvhealth/materials/third-party-resources/TV-Children-Television-Health-Development.pdf
