The way a child reacts to his environment is a direct reflection of how they see the world and how TV portrays that world.
On average, children between the ages of two and eighteen spend almost five-and-a-half hours a day watching television (Clay 1). The average child spends about 28 hours a week watching television, which is twice as much as they spend in school (Nisbett 4). A National Television Violence Study showed all animated films produced in the US between 1937 and 1999 portrayed some violence. By the age of eighteen, a young person will have seen 200,000 acts of violence on television. TV shows directed at children contain the most violence (Lavers 1). During a typical week there are over 800 violent portrayals that qualify as high risk for children under seven, and there are about 400 episodes of violence that are considered high risk for teens (Nisbett 4). Viewing violence on TV promotes aggressive behavior, particularly in children. Children use violence as a first and not as last resort to conflict these days. Research has shown that violence on television is damaging to children because of the vast amount of television a child views. .
Television's use of violence can be seen on daily shows such as sitcoms and children's cartoons. The weekly sitcom Monday Night Raw, a professional wrestling program, has been under fire for the increasing use of bloody violence and sexual degradation. Children watch this programming and try wrestling moves, causing injuries and even deaths. Cartoons such as Ren and Stimpy, Beavis and Butt Head, and South Park use violence, swearing, and acts of social misconduct as children's entertainment. Many research studies have shown that cartoons are the most violent form of entertainment on network television today (Greenspan 2). Prime-time TV contains about five violent acts per hour compared to an average of 26 violent acts per hour during Saturday morning children's TV (Nisbett 5).
