Exposure of Children to Negative Stimuli through Television

The issue of children and television should be of concern to any responsible parent.

It has been found that verbal violence is on the rise compared to physical violence (which has a downward trend), but this, although it may sound like good news, has equally harmful effects on the child. Exposure to such stimuli - even if only verbal - makes it extremely easy to adopt those behaviors and language.

Thus, in connection with the issue of children and television, it was appreciated that verbal violence is present through insults, vulgar language, quarrels, ridicule, labeling, and stereotypes.

And not only American movies are to blame, but also local series and reality-show shows. According to this study, there are many violent stimuli in reality-show or entertainment shows, but also in action movies or in the banal Romanian soap operas and sitcoms - which show 22% of all violent acts on TV! (according to the article Violence on TV published in the Journal in 2009).

When it comes to children and television, there is also the variable of sexual stimuli: oversaturation with sexual images can negatively influence a person still in training.

A study by American researchers showed that young teenagers who often watch TV programs with high erotic content are twice as likely to get pregnant early! Exaggeration? Probably not, it's about long-term exposure to certain stimuli.

How does the whole equation work for children and television, what does this exposure to negative stimuli mean? A child who watches TV every day for about three hours (or more) will be influenced by those behavioral patterns and values ​​displayed on the small screen.

Does he watch a movie in which the hero has to kill ten people to survive, speaks like a big jar because he is so "macho" and in the end after he has butchered them all, is he happy with the beautiful girl?

The child will internalize - without processing beforehand - the following variables: physical violence is ok if someone threatens you, violence solves problems, swearing is "super-cool" and if you prove that you are the strongest, you end up having sex! In the most mundane film, there are such stimuli, which the unformed mind of the child internalizes and transforms them into desired patterns of values ​​and behavior!

Prolonged exposure to such stimuli results in the observation of frequently displayed behaviors, their learning through repetition, and finally, their imitation! He objected that the theory of behavioral imitation is too simplistic: indeed, other factors contribute to the adoption of violent or sexual behavior by the child, but initially, there was this learning of the model, and the imitation will occur when there is another trigger factor: a threat, a challenge, an emotional problem.

In connection with the subject of children and television, another undesirable effect is that of identification: in addition to imitating the behaviors often watched on screen, the child often identifies with his favorite hero - this is all the little one wants to become when "he grows up. "!

The TV hero will become his model in life and will have the same influence as the model represented by his parents! Therefore, they must be extremely careful about which hero the child has! Does he have a hero like the "bad but good boy" - who often resorts to violence and is a sex addict? The child will dream of becoming his hero!

Another effect of television: the trivialization of violence! Children who are exposed to violent scenes daily become immune to them, and similar scenes in real life end up impressing them with almost nothing - even entertaining them, just as the ones on the screen entertain them!

Parents have the responsibility to find out about their child's subject and the television and to watch their child's daily routine, to make sure that watching TV does not exceed three hours and to observe what kind of programs he chooses.

Watching your child's TV shows at least once or twice is a must - so parents can find out how exposed their child is too violent or sexual stimuli. Also, it is necessary to impose certain limits: viewing time - because late in the evening there are double chances of movies or shows loaded with negative stimuli, viewing duration - a long exposure, longer than three hours, may have no only the effect of exposure to stimuli, but also of "sluggishness": unlike reading, the on-screen tracking of events does not require any processing, selection or creativity.

It is a routine activity that "trains" the brain to be in a state of relaxation and pause. Thus the stimuli are internalized without any previous selection. It is not for nothing that the TV has been called the "stupid box"!

What else can parents do about their child and television? First of all, don't set yourself a negative example! Don't let the child see them enjoying an action movie in which the hero shoots left and right, then he enjoys his victory by seducing the sexy heroine! Parents need to be careful about what movies or shows they watch in their child's presence, as their role model is extremely important, especially at an early age.

Moreover, they should try to watch TV with the child as much as possible, to make sure what is happening on the screen - just because a movie has a dot that says it's ok for kids, that doesn't mean finished the responsibility and to show verbal disapproval in front of the child about certain scenes.

For young children, their parents need to explain to them that it is just a movie, that the hero does not really die, and that he does not really hurt others, but only plays and in real life has never been beaten. no one! It is essential to distinguish between imaginary (TV) and real!