NO MORE TV *REVISED*

Children should not be allowed to watch television.  Television programs have a negative influence in the lives of children and promote no educational benefits.  Television actually takes away from education; encouraging children to stay inside watching pointless TV shows instead of working on schoolwork or even interacting with other kids. Television watching has become a very unhealthy pastime of children today.  The amount of children who choose to be active after school is decreasing, while the amount of children who decide to watch TV after school is increasing; ultimately causing obesity and attention disorders.  Another damaging affect that television has on the children of today’s world is that TV is negatively shaping the minds of the youth and lowering their moral standards by promoting risky behaviors.   

            Healthy after school activities are almost unheard of in society today.  Instead of children spending their free time reading, and broadening their minds as well as their vocabulary, they are mindlessly watching television. According to the Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the average child in the United States spends 900 hours in school and nearly 1,023 hours in front of a TV!  Children become engrossed in television shows after school and refuse to do their homework or study.  Considering that on average, children spend about four hours watching TV a day, it is obvious that television has become quite the distraction from schoolwork.  The excessive amount of television being watched by children is leading to an increase in Attention Deficit Disorder in the youth population.  According to studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, between three and five percent of children in the United States are currently being diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, and each hour spent in front of the TV increases a child’s chance of developing this disorder by 10%.  Because TV can cause the developing minds of children to experience unnatural levels of stimulation, many kids continue to expect this same rate of stimulation in real life and are not able to deal with the slower pace of school and homework. 

            No matter if the television show that a child is “hooked-on” is educational or completely un-educational, it is negatively affecting the child.  Television watching encourages children to be inactive and also promotes mindless eating.  Commercials only add to this problem by advertising unhealthy snacks.  It has been proven that an individual is likely to consume more food if they are eating while watching a television show or movie than if they are just eating an afternoon snack.  When an individual is focused on a television show or a movie, he or she is not thinking about what is entering their mouth or how much food they are consuming.  This mindless eating leads children to continue eating until they run out of food; ultimately resulting in gaining weight.  Obesity has become a serious problem in society today, and television is only increasing the numbers in the obese population.  Studies have shown that decreasing the amount of TV viewed by children led to less weight gain and lower Body Mass Indexes.  Television watching discourages children to participate in healthy activities such as exercising or playing with friends.  Children need to release their energy after a long day at school; so being outside with friends will keep kids healthy by releasing stress and encouraging social interaction.

            On many occasions, children watch television alone, which holds them back from making friends and interacting with their peers.  Children not only disregard their friends because of television, but they also tend to ignore their family members.  Families are no longer spending quality time together like they did before the invention of the television.  This is because in society today, children do not need their families to entertain them; they have TV to do that.  Even if families do watch television together, they are not interacting with each other or talking about important matters; they are only together in the same room. 

            Many shows on television today are very racy and inappropriate for children to watch.  Even family sitcoms such as Friends and Seinfeld promote sexual activity and openly discuss sexual promiscuity.  The majority of television shows do not have a positive message or support healthy hobbies.  Smoking, alcohol consumption, cursing, sex, and violence are almost always expected to appear in television shows and are usually depicted as being fun, cool, and exciting.  Children should not be introduced to these severe topics through television in which they are handled lightly.  Instead, parents should be informing their child about sex, drugs, alcohol, and other serious matters that are so common in today’s society. 

            The reoccurrence of sex, violence, and drug and alcohol use in everyday television begins to influence children into believing that these are not major problems or big deals.  When a child continually watches violent television, they are more likely to act violently and aggressively towards others because they do not think that there is anything wrong with the way in which they are acting.  According to research by the AAP, children ages 2 to 7 are particularly frightened by scary-looking images that they see on TV, leaving them vulnerable and traumatized. Studies also claim that the average American child will witness 200,000 violent actions on television by the age of 18.  Not only does TV violence beg for imitation, so does repeated sexual content.  When children frequently see sex on television, their morals become altered and sex is no longer and intimate bond between two people, but simply an activity that follows a date. 

            Because children are young, their minds are easily molded by what they observe and watch on television.  When they repeatedly see sexual activity, cursing, violent acts of crime taking place, and drug use, these things begin to be taken lightly when they should not be.  Research has also proven that TV consistently reinforces gender-role and racial stereotypes.  Instead of television positively affecting children by promoting exercise and living a healthy lifestyle, television is negatively affecting children and shaping their minds and should not be watched.   Studies have also shown that children who consistently spend more than four hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight.  Children need to become more active and should spend their free time interacting with other children or running around outside instead of isolating themselves inside, in front of a television screen.   Not only does spending time outside with friends promote physical activity, but it also releases stress and betters an individual’s social skills.  If children refrain from watching television, out world will become a more intelligent place, and our population will become less obese; thus creating a healthier and happier planet.