Desensitized to Violence
Studies show that children exposed to repeated television violence can become desensitized to violence (Ray 1). Television shows can teach children bad habits because there will be no punishment when the character in the show commits the crime. Children will often start to believe that they too can commit acts of violence, and get away without a punishment. Hundreds of studies of the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers have found that children may become "immune" or numb to the horror of violence, gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, and imitate the violence they observe on television (Children and TV Violence 1). Television is make-believe. The people in the stories are make-believe. They are actors and the story is not true. Some children do not comprehend this though. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated or unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see (1). Think about it, many young kids still believe in Santa Claus or even the Easter Bunny because of what they are told and from holiday specials; how could they tell between real and make-believe violence?
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