Mass Media Influence - part I

Polish children in front of the TV set

(Part I)

Photo: Aaron Escobar

Cable television has a bad influence on Polish children in school age. According to European Research on Preferences of Televiewers, about 60% of viewers from Europe have more than one TV set at home and according to research for Canal+ on Polish viewers, 73% of teenagers watch television from two to more than four hours a day. Unfortunately, watching television seems to be one of the major activities for Polish teenagers and children. Medium such as cable television has several advantages, for example the possibility to learn more about travelling, animals, history, or to be up-to-date with events from the whole world. But sadly there are more disadvantages of watching television by children.

First of all, there are many channels which show far more violence and sex than they should. There are programmes which present themes like drug or alcohol abuse. The above problems are shown almost in every movie in cable television. Watching such programmes has a bad influence on social and emotional development of Polish teenagers and children and generates aggression in their behaviour. According to Journal of the American Medical Association, in countries where children watch more television, there is more violence in schools. If there is no balance between positive and negative examples of programmes, young viewers may have problems with learning what is right and what is wrong. As states David Grossman, an expert in psychology of killing, in his book “About killing”, there is much evidence when it comes to children’s aggression.

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Worth mentioning is also the fact that today’s Polish children and teenagers prefer watching movies to reading books. Students read less and this causes a lowering of the level of their erudition and grades in school. Children at the school age spend much time in front of the TV set, and this reduces their ability to play individually, because they lack motivation. Important aspect is that young viewers, who watch television habitually, are usually retarded intellectually. They read worse, very often even without understanding the text, and they get worse grades in schools. Many of Polish children at school age have problems with concentration even for a short period of time and short activities.

An equally important disadvantage of watching television by Polish students is its bad influence on family lives. Watching television is very popular form of spending free time not only among children, but also among their parents. TV set is the best way of resting and relaxing after heavy work, or boring lessons. So instead of spending actively time with parents, children turn on the TV set. In place of going and playing football in the garden, an average young Polish viewer watches a football match on the television.

Often young Poles watch the same programmes as their parents, for instance movies for adults, or channels such as Cartoon Network, which often shows very brutal and violent cartoons. Moreover, watching too much television may cause an addiction to this medium, and as a result children lose contact with families and friends.

But some people are saying that the cartoons violence disappeared

Finally, recent research demonstrate that Polish children, who watch television everyday, are more often at risk of obesity. Young Poles addicted to television consume far more unhealthy food, than children at the same age, who do not spend much time in front of the TV set.

To sum up, Polish parents should be careful, because there is a risk that television can be a reason of loosing control over their children. Frequent watching of television can cause an insufficient physical activity and lowering of the intellectual level of children. Parents have to establish rules with their children, for instance how many hours a day young viewers are allowed to watch television or which programmes are appropriate for them.

Questions:

• Which do You prefer, reading in books or watching in TV?
• Do cartoons have negative impact on children?
• Do You still love watching cartoons? What is Your favorite cartoon?