Gomba, Mariella Denice P. Children's Educational Television Programming and Prod.

Activity 1 COC- BABR 3-1

“Television has a negative influence on kids and should be limited.”

We can all agree that Television has a large influence to people, especially children because
this is the time where they are gaining their knowledge, building their characters and shaping
their future. The first three years of life are the most significant period of a child’s development,
especially for the brain, which is growing faster than any other part of the body. During this time,
a child’s brain is more receptive to positive influences and more vulnerable to negative ones
than it will be in later years. Having too much exposure with television can lead to damage, as
we all say "​too much of everything, is as bad as too little" ​Although we cannot refrain them
from watching television at all, because of a lot of good things it can also offer (e.g. Knowledge,
skills, new ideas, productivity, entertainment, and etc.). ​Still, I am in favor of limiting the use
of it with the following reasons:

According to ​URBAN CHILD INSTITUTE ​--- an organization promoting the education, health,
and well-being of young children in Shelby County, their research shows that watching
television starting at a young age can profoundly affect children's development.

These effects include ​obesity, language delays, and learning disabilities​. Physical inactivity
while viewing TV reduces necessary exercise and leads to over-eating. Language delays occur
when a child doesn't interact with others. ​Children learn language best from live interaction
with parents or other individuals.
Resulting learning disabilities from over-watching TV include ​ADHD, concentration problems
and even reduction of IQ.​ Children who watch too much television can thus have difficulties
starting school because they aren't interested in their teachers.

Children should watch a maximum of 2 hours daily if any television --- The American
Academy of Pediatrics (APP) ​recommends limiting the screen time to the following: ​No more
than 1 to 2 hours a day for children 3 and older. No screen time at all for children 2 years
of age and younger. A​ AP experts note that while there are some potential benefits from
watching some TV shows, research links TV to a wide range of negative health effects in
children and teens.

However today, it is an epidemic scenario for children to ask for their personal television in their
own bedroom. In a study by ​Roberts, Folour, Rideout, & Brodie (1999)​, it is reported that ​32%
of the children between ​2 to 7​ years old and 6
​ 5%​ of ​8 to 18​ years olds have television sets in
their bedrooms ​(AAP, 2001)​. This percentage leads to an estimation of 3 hours per day of
television and an average of 6 hours 32 minutes per day with various media combined ​(AAP,
2001; Roberts et al., 1999).
Looking at this scenario, it is still not clear to many researchers why parents could allow media
to be in these young children's rooms, with access to various channels and leaving them to
watch television on their own. One possibility might be that parents believe that media could
offer a positive learning environment, and that children could develop certain skills from viewing
TV. This is shown in a study by ​Dalzell & Msall (2000) ​wherein majority of parents of ​0-35
months​ old believed that television could improve a child’s vocabulary ​(Certain, & Kahn,
2002).

According to the ​American Academy of Pediatric (2001),​ as much as ​10% to 20% of real life
violence may be attributable to media violence. ​The recently completed ​3-year National
Television Violence Study ​found that nearly two thirds of all programming contains violence,
with children’s programs contained the most violence, portrayals of violence are usually
glamorized and perpetrators often go unpunished ​(AAP 2001; Federman,1998).

Many previous and recent researches have reported more negative outcomes rather than
positive outcomes, which is a worrying scenario for parents and professionals. ​Therefore, it is
important for parents to teach their children to be media literate, as young children are
particularly vulnerable to the message conveyed through television, which could
influence their perception and behaviors​ ​(AAP, 2001).

Television plays an important role in our everyday lives, in history rather. But it doesn't mean
that we will tolerate everything that comes from it, we must know what and what not to accept
especially that we are not just the one who will benefit from our actions. ​We must protect the
younger ones, we must guide them because they need us and they are our future. Let us
not be swallowed by our computer generation. We have to know our limits and
responsibility.​ There are positive effects, yes but don't forget that there are also negative ones.
Because as I've said earlier "​too much of everything, is as bad as too little" I​ t may be
Television, games, food or etc. But as long as you know how to balance everything then you are
good to go.
LINKS:

http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/articles/policy-briefs/infants-toddlers-and-television

https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting/how-much-television-for-children#:~:text=Th
e%20American%20Academy%20of%20Pediatrics%20advises%20against%20any%20telev
ision%20viewing,above%20the%20age%20of%20two​.

https://adc.bmj.com/content/83/4/289

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15295038509360095?journalCode=rcsm19

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2827729/

PDF:

Education Studies:
Television and Media Literacy in Young Children: Issues and Effects in Early Childhood
Kamaruzaman Jusoff (Corresponding author)
TropAIR, Faculty of Forestry, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor.
Malaysia
Tel: 60-3-89467176 E-mail: kjusoff@yahoo.com
Nurul Nadiah Sahimi
School of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA 01003-9297, USA
Tel: 413-883-8945 E-mail: nadiahns@yahoo.com