NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 0F SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

Children and Television

By Theodore A. Ridder
Belding Area Schools, Michigan

Background - Both the Surgeon General and the National Institute of Mental Health have cautioned us about the influences of television. Recommendations by researchers for controls on programming for children are opposed by the television industry; and the generations of citizens now in their twenties and thirties, parents of today, have no memory of a childhood without television. Meanwhile, children spend as much as 30 hours a week watching television. By the time they graduate from high school most have spent 12,000 hours with the school and 18,000 hours with the TV.

Development - Studies have demonstrated that watching violence on television can increase children's aggressive behavior. This seems most likely if the children consider the program realistic and if they want to be like the violent character. The television industry often uses production methods such as "cutting away" to spare viewers the really gory results of the violent acts. This is called "sterilizing" the violence. Some research suggests it is even worse than unsterilized violence because children see no bad results and don't learn to fear strong violence or feel uncomfortable when they see it. Using weak, unimportant strangers as victims is part of "sterilizing." It prevents children from experiencing the action from the victim's point of view.

'The production methods which television uses are called formal features. Some of these formal features, such as short segment length, rapid action sequences, non-human voices, and special effects, are clearly able to hold children's attention better than the familiar voice of a classroom teacher. Children who grow up constantly entertained by these exciting, rapid-paced programs may find listening to a teacher simply too much effort. They may also find that if they pay attention in school only part of the time, the way they do to television, they completely lose track of what's being presented. Formal features may be more important than content or message in other ways. For example, the increased aggressive behavior and hyperactivity associated with viewing some programs, may simply result from heightened arousal caused by the frantic pace.

TV is not a drug, but it does give instant pleasure and requires little effort from the viewer. Television allows children to escape boredom without thinking, talking with adults, or developing complex interests such as reading, studying, or playing complicated games.

Television functions as a "window on the world" for small children. Even as they get older, however, they do not necessarily make a clear distinction between true stories and fiction or between actors and the characters they play. Their ideas about life are shaped by the version of reality they see on TV. Watching life on TV can mislead children about the amount of crime, violence, and family conflict that is normal; the kinds of lifestyles, jobs, and income easily available; and the chances for constant excitement in life. Television programming creates impressions about the very pace of life. Only Mr. Rogers shows children how long real life events take from start to finish. Other shows cut out the boring parts. Trials on crime dramas are sometimes over in less time than it takes Mr. Rogers to change his shoes. The message underlying some television shows also impacts children, suggesting that uncontrolled aggression isn't really such a bad reaction.

What Can I Do as a Parent?

Limit the amount of television children watch. It will take courage to do so. It may require parents to set an example and to find baby sitters who will do the same. It makes sense to require children to pay, from their allowance, for the privilege of watching television. It teaches them that television is entertainment, that entertainment costs money, and that free TV is not a constitutional right.

* Eliminate unplanned and incidental viewing. Allowing children to simply turn on the TV and search for something to watch insures that they will not find a more active or creative way to deal with boredom. Watching television while doing other activities may teach a subtle habit of not fully attending to anything. Watching television while doing homework may help to develop a superficial and disinterested approach to education.

* Specific programs can be stopped by simply charging a very high fee to watch them. Parents need to watch these shows and discuss them with children. Some high action, violent programs with gross distortion of reality and anti-social role modeling are easy to recognize; and most children will have a difficult time arguing that they get anything positive from watching them. But parents will need to learn what questions to ask to get at the impact of other shows. Which character are you most like? Do policemen really live like the ones on Miami Vice? Do cars always explode when they crash? Was Rambo justified in killing all those people? Where do the characters who never seem to work got all their, money? Do people really make major personality changes in a few days? If children have never thought about such matters, they need to be helped to do so. Research suggests that they accept more on television as realistic than they should. Attention to the gross inaccuracy of much TV programming may diminish children's enjoyment of it. More importantly, such discussion can help parents to recognize the areas where children are learning wrong or undesirable beliefs, values, and behaviors. Parents must not assume that they can unteach what has been taught by a TV program simply by telling children to ignore the message. Parents will have to listen carefully to children, apply the TV messages in real life situations, and return to the themes repeatedly if they wish to prevail.

* Eliminate cartoons and high action shows for preschoolers. Preschoolers whose play themes involve specific references to cartoons, certain superheroes, and action-detective characters are more likely to be aggressive. It is not difficult to see how a child who wants to be the Incredible Hulk might have problems in kindergarten. Watching children will usually reveal which programs contribute to what parents often refer to as "hyperness."

* Encourage children to watch programs that require attention and that teach pro-social lessons. Viewing programs such as Nova, Wild America, and Wonder Works with children provides a chance to praise careful attention to fairly complicated material. It is ridiculous to reward children for paying careful attention to a show such as St. Elsewhere or Hill Street Blues because the programs jump back and forth between several plots with constant high-energy, action sequences to prevent anyone from losing interest. No real concentration is necessary.

* Help children to develop interests, hobbies, and pastimes that are more constructive and less passive than watching television.

* Try to change the nature of television for children. Action for Children's Television is a citizens' action group that has organized in an effort to improve the quality of programming for children. Their address is 20 University Road, Cambridge, MA 02138.

Resources:

T.V. On/Off: Better Family Uses of Television, by E. DeFranco. Goodyear, Publisher. 1980.
This is a very practical book written on an easy reading level. It could be of considerable help to a family attempting to reduce or gain better control of viewing within the home.

The ACT Guide to Children's Television: Or How to Treat TV with TLC, by E. Kaye, Beacon Press, Publisher. 1979.
This work could be helpful to parents who want to learn how to more effectively mediate the impact of television on their children.

TV. Tips for Parents, from Corporation for Public Broadcasting, 1111 16th St., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036. 1987
Free pamphlet giving practical tips for parents that encourages positive use of television.