Television Censoring and Children Under 16 Years

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Introduction

Television has its advantages. It can, for example, be used as an entertainment, as well as, an educational medium, and, as a result, it can open up new opportunities and worlds for children, providing for them numerous chances to learn about different things in the world like cultures, and gain new knowledge to ideas they might never come in close contact with in their society. Also, different television shows can have a positive impact on the behavior of a child, for example, programs which have models that are positive can help children make decisions that are positive in their lives. However, television can also have detrimental impacts on young children. For example, it can expose children to things that are not meant for young people. It can also negatively affect the behavior, health, and family life of the young ones (Television and children, n.d). This paper, hence, is an argument as to why television should be censored for viewers under the age of 16.

Several studies have indicated that children spent more time in front of the television that in any other activities during the day. This can further the effect of watching television in young children. There are three main reasons why television should be censored for children of this age (Facts and TV statistics, n.d). The first is because most television programs today are explicit when it comes to sex and sexual relationships. Second, most programs show a lot of violence and crime. Third, watching television promotes laziness and inactivity and can lead to overweight and obesity. Sex and sexual relationships is one of the major concerns most parents have when it comes to the television. Children below the age of sixteen are at a critical stage of development, and they only need to be taught and given information about such matters by experienced people or by people who care like parents and teachers. The television exposes children to such information without explaining the deeper meaning of the information or the consequences of engaging in sexual relationships without knowledge and when one is too young. Such things should be censored in the television as they could mislead young people into committing mistakes (Facts and TV statistics, n.d).

Crime and violence is another concern that numerous parents have when it comes to television programs. Several studies have indicated that the behavior expressed by children is influenced by such things as environment and family. So when a child is exposed to an environment that is violent, there is a high chance that these children will develop violent behavior, as well. As a result, television should be censored to make sure that children are not exposed to environments that will affect their development (Television and children, n.d).

Overweight and obesity is another issue that has currently gained attention. One of the biggest contributors of obesity is inactivity and overeating. When children spend all their time sited in front of the TV all day, and remain inactive, their chances of being obese are higher. Also, when children watch TV, they are motivated to snack all the time, on junk food and food that is not healthy. The combination of inactivity with unhealthy diet is an excellent brew for overweight and obesity. To bring up children who are healthy, therefore, television should be censored to allow children to only watch television at designated time (Why watching TV won’t turn your baby into a genius, n.d).

Conclusion

Television can be detrimental to the health, development and behavioral outcomes of children. Television programs should, therefore, be censored to ensure that children are healthy, and develop accordingly.

References

Facts and TV statistics. Parents Television Council. Retrieved from http://www.parentstv.org/ptc/facts/mediafacts.asp

Television and children. University of Michigan Health system. Retrieved from http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

Why watching TV won’t turn your baby into a genius. The Sunday Times. Retrieved fromhttp://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article6894458.ece