Children might think it is okay to rob a bank, shoot someone or commit other violent crimes against another person. Also as the child grows older, he begins to believe that revenge through violence, as demonstrated on such shows as New York Undercover and NYPD Blue where people get revenge by breaking other peoples' noses, shooting them or committing hit and runs, is okay. In other words, a false impression of reality is formed for children. We have found out that cartoons are the most violent programming found to date in television today. Between the ages of two and twelve, the average amount of television watched is approximately 25 hours per week. Most of these 25 hours are comprised of cartoons. Cartoons like Tom and Jerry, where they both get hurt or blown up, and never die and always get back together, without a scratch. Again, this promotes a false sense of reality. Nowadays, there are products out, such as the ""V box'. This box is programmable by a parent to block out certain channels at certain times so that the child will not be exposed to violence on television at certain times of the day. On the other hand, networks should not be responsible for what they air. What - 4 - they are doing is catering to what the public wants. In their business, the network with the highest ratings wins. Which in turn means more capital for the network. Why would a parent use television as both a babysitter and a educational outlet? Television is for entertainment purposes only. Much of the information from today's television programming is purely fictional. And if people decide to imitate what they see on television, then so be it. Everyone in this society has the right to either lay down in the middle of a highway and die or not to and live a happy and prosperous life as demonstrated after teenager saw the movie The Program. As we all know, this was a real incident that occurred right here in Nassau County.
