Tv And Values Essay, Research Paper
Has our nation been deceived by the media? Has the media sent forth an era that it is all right to define what was considered ?old fashion values?? Values are defined by the Webster?s Dictionary as,
beliefs or ideas.
Violence on TV affects how children view themselves, their world,and other people. In fact, experts warn that viewing violence can have
lifelong harmful effects on children?s health. By the time children
complete school, the average child will witness more than 100,000 acts of
violence on TV, including 8,000 murders.
The more violence children watch on TV, the more likely they
may act in aggressive ways, become less sensitive to other?s pain and
suffering, and be more fearful of the world around them.
Since we live in a violent society, we?re constantly hearing
arguments that seeing TV violence, particularly children, desensitizes us
so we accept real violence more off handily maybe it even triggers real
violence.
The theory behind the TV attacks is always the same: if Bobby
commits a crime, he?s not responsible and his parents are not
responsible: Something Else is responsible. The problem in this society
isn?t the easy availability of drugs, or guns, or television, although all
are scape goateed.
All of these things are mere senseless: they do only what we have
them do. All supposedly scientific studies on the subject of TV violence
?causing? real violence are based on a theory of cause-and-effect that is
contrary to humans having the capability of making responsible, moral
choices. So is the media causing the nation to stray away from the ?old
fashion values? We are voluntary beings by nature: we chose what we
do and what we make ourselves. For example, you take two brothers
from an identical lousy environment missing father, overworked
mother, no money, rotten inner city neighborhood.
One brother joins a gang and has committed his first murder
within a couple of years. On the other hand the second brother hides
out from the gangs at the public library and learns to read out of
boredom. Since he learns how to read he manages to stay in school and
takes a fast-food job while attending night college classes. Comparing
two specific phenomena in isolation tells us nothing.
How can you isolate one specific set of television images from the
effects of the other available images? Further, how do you go inside the
skulls of the people doing acts of violence and find out the actual causes,
when even asking won?t give you a sure answer of why?
Studies linking TV violence with real violence try to reduce
human behavior to stimulus and effect. It may work with rat
psychology, but it doesn?t work with human psychology. We are not
robots which are programmed.
We learn, chose what we focus upon, change our minds, ignore
what we like or believe, focus on what we like and believe. If someone is
prone to violence, then they will probably seek and obtain violent
images and if it isn?t broadcast on TV, it will be sought and obtained
otherwise.
If there is any valid criticism of TV, it?s the same one that can be
brought against drugs: both can be distractions designed to dull the
pain of living in a stupid, painful, and hope destroying society. TV, not
religion, is today?s tranquilizer of the masses. If you want to change
TV, change the desire of the viewing public from distraction to
intellectual stimulation.
Or you can just change the channel.