Therefore, if not used responsibly, television has the potential to be a detrimental influence on the growth and development of children, which can negatively affect the individual, family and society as a whole. .
- Today with functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), researchers catch brains in the very act of cogitating, feeling or remembering. The scans show that blood flow varies depending upon the type of activity the brain is occupied with. In other words, a child that grows up on a heavy diet of TV viewing has a physically altered brain. Though there is much difficulty in studying how TV affects a complex system such as the rapidly developing brain interacting with the environment, this suggests that the influences (which will be discussed in the following paragraphs) are embedded into the brain of a child during development, and may be difficult, if not impossible to reverse later in life.
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Televised violence has been a very important and studied concern of social scientists since just after televisions" conception. About five violent acts are committed during 1 hour of "prime time" evening television programming and 20 to 25 violent acts occur each hour on Saturday morning "children's programs." While still in their formative years, before they leave elementary school, children who watch the typical amount of TV will see about 20,000 murders and more than 80,000 other assaults. That's around 100,000 violent acts witnessed by these children before they become teenagers. Research reveals there is a stronger relationship between viewing violence in television programs and movies and aggressive behaviour, than there is between asbestos and cancer, and calcium intake and bone mass. All Canadian and US studies of the effect of prolonged childhood exposure to television show a positive relationship between earlier exposure to TV violence and later physical aggressiveness, with three general effects being: Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, they may be more fearful of the world around them, and they may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others.