We live in a society where there are many diverse ideas about the social world. People hold very different opinions about the factors influencing the ways we think and behave. Since the 1950’s, the quest to discover ‘ what makes children violent’ has motivated over 7000 separate studies examining the relationship between representations of violence committed in society.

There are two different traditions of audience research that could relate to children, yet there is a very low possibility that there is someone who does not fit into both uses and gratifications and the effects model.

Effects Model. In the 1940’s the main view of audiences was that they were ‘passive’. In other words, they were easily influenced by what they saw and heard in the media. Most of the research that took place in the 1950’s and 1960’s was driven by the need to find evidence to support the theory that audiences are susceptible to the messages they receive in the media. This is often referred to as the ‘effects tradition’.

Uses and gratifications. The same time as effects theory was being tested, other research was underway to test the theory that audiences used the media in dif

For Children television can provide an escape from stress and frustration, which are two conditions, which plague children in this age of increasing demands and expectations. Television provides children with a wealth of information. It allows them to 'visit' other parts of the world, capture the excitement and awe of the animal kingdom, and work through the most intricate steps of a scientific equation and a myriad of other fun and exciting venues. Television can entertain, inform, inspire and provide company and communication for everyone who chooses to watch it.

For educators television can provide students with a 'window on the world'. It can bring information to children in all cultural milieus. Through a wide variety of techniques, television can present math, science, geography and all other subject areas in a unique and interesting format to help all types of learners understand the information. Television, when used properly, can enhance the existing curriculum by addressing core initiatives through an exciting and engaging medium. Through television itself, educators are able to provide students with the tools to understand what they are watching, so they can watch carefully, think critically and navigate safely.

4 Eron and Huesmann ‘University of Michigan psychologists Leonard Eron and Rowell Huesmann have followed the viewing habits of a group of children for decades. They found that watching violence on television is the single factor most closely associated with aggressive behaviour-more than poverty, race, or parental behaviour.

Williams ‘some of the most compelling studies have investigated children's behaviour in areas before and after the introduction of television. In the early seventies, Tannis Macbeth Williams and other researchers from the University of British Columbia compared the levels of aggression in first and second graders from two Canadian towns, one with access to TV and one, due to a mountain range, with no TV access. When the mountain town finally received television, the hitting, biting, and shoving levels of the children increased by 160 percent.’

So far all I have really talked about is the many bad things, which have affected children, but I need to review the data that presents television in a negative light. It's important to remember the benefits of television for children, parents and educators.

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