By Dr. B. J. C. PereraMBBS(Ceylon), DCH(Ceylon), DCH(England), MD(Paediatrics), FRCP(Edinburgh), FRCP(London), FRCPCH(United Kingdom), FSLCPaed, FCCP, FCGP(Sri Lanka) Consultant Paediatrician
KEY POINTS
* Television sets are around in most places including homes, shops, clubs, schools etc.
* There are certain advantages and disadvantages of television viewing for children.
* The "box" certainly has positive effects in education and exposure to different countries, nations and cultures.
* Suitable TV programmes could be entertaining as well.
* There are several important negative effects of TV as well.
* Parental control is a key factor in limiting the undesirable effects of television on children.
* Quite a few things could be done to ensure that the negative effects are minimised
Television or TV is an ubiquitous presence in virtually every home, commercial establishment, many a shop and in perhaps every imaginable location. Children are exposed to this medium at every turn and the implications are that one needs to critically assess the impact of the "box" on them. It is well known that most children plug into the world of television long before they enter school. It has been said that two-thirds of even infants and toddlers watch a television screen on an average of 2 hours a day, children under the age of 6 do watch an average of about 2 hours of screen media a day and older children spend nearly 4 hours a day in front of a TV screen. In fact it is most likely that children do spend more time watching television every day than on any other single activity, apart perhaps from sleeping.
moreTelevision (TV) has its good side. It can be entertaining and educational, and can open up new worlds for children, giving them a chance to travel the globe, learn about different cultures and gain exposure to ideas they may never encounter in their own community. Shows with a pro-social messages can have a positive effect on childhood behaviour and programs with positive role models can influence viewers to make positive lifestyle changes. It is indeed a matter of fact that television viewing, in moderation and in a controlled way, can be a good thing. There are a very wide variety of educational programmes that are of benefit to all and sundry including children. Pre-schoolers can get help learning the alphabet on public television, grade-schoolers can learn about wildlife on nature shows and the teenagers are able to keep up with current events on the news programmes. In addition, there are specifically designed educational programmes to help with school curricular work as well. There is absolutely no doubt about the fact that television can be an excellent educator and entertainer.
However, the reverse can also be true. Children are likely to learn things from TV that parents do not want them to learn. TV can affect children’s health, behaviour and family life in negative ways. It is well known that, despite its advantages, too much television viewing can be detrimental. It has been found that children who consistently spend more than 4 hours per day watching TV are more likely to be overweight. This is due to inactivity and the thoroughly undesirable habit of munching snacks while watching the box. It has been said that those who view violent acts on television are more likely to show aggressive behaviour but also fear that the world is scary and that something bad will happen to them. The TV characters often depict risky behaviours such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes. Sexually explicit scenes in television are of course, for obvious reasons, quite an unwelcome thing for young children and young people.
A great deal is known about children and television, because there have been a large number of studies done on the subject. The reasons for concern as to why television could be harmful for children are that for the last couple of decades, studies have linked excessive TV viewing to childhood obesity, poor brain development, lagging educational performance, sleep disturbances and diminished physical activity. In addition, the effects of television are not monolithic but instead, the effects arise as the result of the content to which children are exposed. Researchers have studied how TV affects children’s sleep, weight, grades, behaviour, and more. It is worth looking at what the research says when deciding how to manage television in a family. It has been clearly shown that spending time watching TV can take time away from healthy activities like active play outside with friends, eating dinner together as a family, or reading. TV time also takes away from participating in sports, music, art or other activities that require practice to become skilful.
In a sweeping statement, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that children under two years of age should not be allowed to watch any TV and that those older than two years should be allowed to watch no more than one to two hours a day of quality programmes. The basis of these recommendations is that the first two years of life are considered to be a critical time for brain development. It has been demonstrated that TV and other electronic media can get in the way of exploring, playing and interacting with parents and others, a method which is considered to be a much better way of encouraging the learning process and healthy physical and social development. As children get older, too much screen time can interfere with activities such as being physically active, reading, doing homework, playing with friends and spending time with family. However, time-use surveys in the USA have repeatedly shown that the average American child sits in front of a TV for anywhere from two to five hours per day, despite the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.
TV is full of programs and commercials that depict risky behaviours such as sex and substance abuse as cool, fun, and exciting. And often, there is no discussion about the consequences of drinking alcohol, taking drugs, smoking cigarettes and having premarital sex. Studies have shown that teenagers who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than their peers who do not watch sexually explicit content on TV. Alcohol advertisements on TV have actually increased over the last few years in some countries and more underage children are being exposed to them than ever. A recent study by the Centre on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) in the USA found that youth exposure to alcohol advertisement on TV increased by 30% from 2001 to 2006.
Although many countries including Sri Lanka have banned cigarette and alcohol advertisements on television, children and teenagers can still see plenty of people smoking and drinking on programmes and movies aired on TV. This kind of "product placement" makes behaviours like smoking and drinking alcohol seem acceptable. In fact, some studies have pointed out that children who watch 5 or more hours of TV per day are far more likely to begin smoking cigarettes than those who watch less than the recommended 2 hours a day.
Violent scenes on television are definitely a problem as far as young people are concerned. It has been said that children exposed to television violence may become desensitized to violent acts and even become more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what someone wants. In fact many violent acts are perpetrated by the "good guys," whom children have been taught to emulate. Even though many children are taught by their parents that it is not right to hit, television scenarios imply that it is in order and it is alright to bite, hit or kick if one is the "good guy". This can lead to confusion when children and young people try to understand the difference between right and wrong. In addition, even the "bad guys" on TV are not always held responsible or punished for their actions. Younger children are also particularly frightened by scary and violent images. Simply telling them that those images are not real will not be a real solution. The reason for this is that these very young minds are not yet able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. Behaviour problems, nightmares and difficulty sleeping may be a consequence of exposure to media violence. Older children can also be frightened by violent depictions, whether those images appear on fictional shows, the news or reality-based shows. Reasoning with children of that age will help them and it is important to provide reassuring and honest information to help ease their fears. However, the best solution is to consider not allowing these children to watch such programmes that may frighten them.
A new technological development, the V-chip (V is for "violence") is being used in developed countries to protect children from television programmes that contain violence. This technology lets one block TV programs and movies that one does not want the children to see. All new TV sets that have screens of 13 inches or more in those countries now have internal V-chips. Set-top boxes of these devices are available for older television sets. The V-chip allows one to program the TV to display only appropriately rated shows, blocking out other, more mature shows.
According to some authoritative sources, children in the United States see 40,000 commercials each year. From the junk food and toy advertisements during Saturday morning cartoons to the appealing promotions on the backs of cereal boxes, marketing messages inundate children of all ages. The problem is that for children, everything looks ideal, like something they simply have to have. It all sounds so appealing and very often, so much better than it really is. Under the age of 8 years, most children do not understand that commercials are for selling a product. Children 6 years and under are unable to distinguish program content from commercials, especially if their favourite character is promoting the product. Even older children may need to be reminded of the purpose of advertising. Of course, it is nearly impossible to eliminate all exposure to marketing messages. One could certainly turn off the TV or at least limit children’s watching time but they will still see and hear advertisements for the latest gizmos and must-haves at every turn.
Health experts have long linked excessive TV-watching to obesity, a significant health problem today. While watching TV, children are inactive and tend to snack. They are also bombarded with promotional advertisements that encourage them to eat and drink unhealthy foods such as potato chips and empty-calorie soft drinks that often become preferred snack foods. Studies have shown that decreasing the amount of TV that children watched led to less weight gain and lower body mass index, a measurement of obesity derived from someone’s weight and height.
What the parents can do is to teach children to be savvy consumers by talking about the products advertised on TV. One may need to ask thought-provoking questions like, "What do you like about that?," "Do you think it is really as good as it looks in that advertisement?," and "Do you think that is a healthy choice?" They need to explain, when children ask for products advertised, that commercials and other advertisements are designed to make people want things they do not necessarily need and that these advertisements are often meant to make us think that these products will make us happier somehow. Talking to children about what things are like in reality can help put things into perspective.
Children’s advocates are a bit divided when it comes to solutions. Although many urge for more hours per week of educational programming, others assert that no TV is the best solution. Some even say that it is better for parents to control the use of TV and to teach children that it is for occasional entertainment and not for constant escapism. It is of course extremely important for parents and care givers to monitor the content of TV programming and set viewing limits to ensure that their children do not spend too much time watching TV. Parents also need to set a good example by restricting their own TV viewing time
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