Since 1946, when violence was first introduced, there were changes found in the behavior and perception of children and adults exposed to television violence. There is now solid evidence to suggest a relationship between exposure to violence on television and aggressive behavior. Researchers have found that children are more physically and verbally aggressive immediately after watching violent television and movies (ACT). The percentage of violence portrayed in television programs has been at sixty-one percent for the last couple of years and only four percent promote an anti-violent theme (Media Awareness Network). Over fifty percent of the programs on television today c

ontain violent scenes and actions. The most shocking statistic of violence affecting society is that those who have watched less than an hour of television a day, 5.7 percent had committed a violent act that resulted in serious injury (ACT). The percentage increases to 18.4 percent for just three hours of daily watching, that is more than three times the percent for just one hour (ACT). Studies of the content analysis of prime-time output on seven New York City channels showed that there were 3,431 acts and threats of violence observed (Gunter, p13). Unfortunately not everyone can distinguish fact from fiction. Seeing violence on television desensitizes the viewer to violent acts (MAN). Children watching violent programs desensitize themselves to fear and violence, also in the future they will become more tolerant of violence in the real world. Studies of Children’s fictional entertainment programs showed to have three times the frequency of violent acts or threats recorded in adult programs (Gunter, p13). Children perceive violence differently than adults; they cannot distinguish fact from fantasy. When children see cartoon characters beating each other over the head with mallets they see humorous violence, but what they don’t see is the repercussion of those actions. The NTVS report notes that for over three years out of a variety of violent t

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