CAUTION: TV is a Health Risk!

Television has long been viewed as a source of entertainment to a lot of people. Television, or TV for short, is one of the mediums through which entertainment, information and news can be broadcasted. The age old debate of TV’s effects on a child’s developments has been present since the dawn of the TV age. Despite the numerous amount of information available on TV, it still poses a great deal of negative effects such as being unhealthy, acquiring bad habits and decreasing brain activity.

Judith Graham, extension human development specialist, explains that children who watch too much TV lack physical work. This lack of physical activity leads to fewer calories being burned resulting to children being overweight. Graham also points out that one of the major causes of obesity today is too much exposure to TV (2008). Graham’s statements insinuate that too much TV is one cause to leading an unhealthy lifestyle. The website kidshealth.org also argues that TV may promote habits which may cause health problems, such as smoking cigarettes, utilizing drugs and drinking alcoholic beverages. Smoking, using drugs and drinking are not suitable for kids as they pose a great amount of health risks.

There are numerous negative acts that are depicted on TV, the most common being violence. Kyla Boyse, one of the creators of the University of Michigan Health System YourChild resources, compiled a list, based from different studies and surveys, of facts regarding TV violence. She claims that since violence is so often shown, there is a link between this violence and a child’s behaviour. She basically expresses that most TV programs contain too much violence and that this violence can mess up a child’s attitude. Oftentimes, even shows depicting protagonists use violence. Boyse argues that these violent acts which protagonists use may seem as the “proper way” to solve disputes. Since children tend to imitate what TV programs display, this may lead children to use violence regularly (2009). There are also a bunch of other negative impacts involved. One such impact would be that of a child fearing the real world for its explicitness. As related to health issues, certain TV characters smoke and drink, as well as eat too much, which may lead to young minds to the presumption that such acts are acceptable.

An age old argument regarding TV is that TV leads low academic performance. TV affects a child’s brain by replacing reading text with watching fast-paced animation. This would then lead to lowered reading comprehension and overall academic abilities. The brain of one exposed to too much TV would prefer images and sounds opposed to anything that would force him or her to think (International Child and Youth Care Network). Katherine Westphal, author of “The Awful Truth About Television: The Zombie Look,” explains that there are strange brain activities present when one’s attention is on TV. She exclaims that one’s eyes are different (which she calls “Zombie Eyes”) and that the brain is “hypnotized.” The brain’s state is relaxed and less active (“The Awful Truth About Television”). Manual dexterity, controlled by the brain, may suffer due to improper brain development which TV may bring. Children used to utilize their hands in their activities, which developed hand-eye coordination. TV is a likely contributor to this lack of dexterity, as TV has now replaced past activities (“Health Effects of Excessive TV Watching”).

Some people argue that TV is good for the mind. Carey Bryson, child advocate and Brigham Young University Psychology alumna, supports this idea. She claims that TV can help kids learn, explore and study different subjects and people, among others. She also argues that there are a lot of good role models on TV that can help influence kids positively (“TV”). However, such TV programs only present the positive side of these subjects. Their negative aspects are disclosed from viewers. This may lead children to believe that the world is a utopia. Kids may also rely on these shows as the only means of gaining knowledge, making them lazy to explore the world as they can just sit and watch from their homes. They may be content just learning through TV as opposed to learning from experience.

While it may be true that TV has helpful benefits, it also poses a lot of negative effects. TV is indeed entertaining, and it may be educational, however, are those worth gaining physical and mental health risks? The bad far outweighs the good. TV should be controlled before more drastic actions are taken.




LIST OF REFERENCES:

Boyse, K. (November 2009). Television and Children. Retrieved April 5, 2010 from http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

Bryson, C. (n.d.). TV Can Be Good For Kids! About.com. From http://kidstvmovies.about.com/od/healthytvhabits/a/tvgoodforkids.htm

Graham, J. (2008). How Television Viewing Affects Children. From http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/4100.htm.

Health Effects of Excessive TV Watching by Children. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.limitv.org/health.htm.

International Child and Youth Care Network. (September 7, 2001). Understanding TV's Effects On The Developing Brain. Retrieved April 12, 2010 from http://www.cyc-net.org/today2001/today010907.html.

Westphal, K. (n.d.). The Awful Truth About Television: The Zombie Look. Retrieved April 5, 2010 from http://www.trashyourtv.com/node/318..