Television: Causes and effects

Everybody watches tv

Earlier TVs were

black&white,

but now we can

choose from more
modern types of
TVs
 98. 5 percent of households have at least
one television set

70% of households have two or more TV sets

The average U.S. home has the TV on more than

51 hours a week. (Obviously, the TV is on many
more hours a week than each family member
spends watching it.)
 Why We Watch TV
We like to be entertained.

We like excitement.

We like to vicariously (and safely) experience the

experiences of other people.

We like to be drawn into fantasy worlds that we

will probably never be able to experience first hand.
Good things about watching TV

We can simply get to know

the news

We can watch sport

matches

If the weather is bad and

we are bored TV can
entertain us
 Bad things about watching TV

Becoming a couch
potato
It`s bad for our
eyes
There`re lots of
long adverts
 Effects : Television

World portrayed on television is very

different from real life in:
Matters related to health
Its numbers of overweight characters
Studies have shown that time spent
watching television is a good predictor of
weight problems in adolescents.
Smoking has almost disappeared from
television and illegal drug use is rarely
shown.

7
 Effects: Television

Sexual content has steadily increased; 78%

of the programs in the 1999-2015
contained sexual content, compared to the
previous 56%.
Few sexual scenes show the use of
contraceptives or the practice of safe sex.

8
 Effects : Television
Effects of sexually explicit films-
male college students tended to
trivialize rape as a crime and showed
more sexually callous attitudes
toward women after viewing such
films.
Two-thirds of childrens animated
feature films have included at least
one character who used tobacco or
alcohol.
9
 Effects: Television
Emphasize physical sex, violence, and
violent sexual encounters

Negative effects on teen health:

Teenage pregnancy, suicide, substance
abuse, and sexual assault

Different adolescents interpret videos

differently, according to their age,
race, gender, and previous experiences
10
and attitudes.
 The big picture on Violence

60% of TV programs contain violence

5 acts per hour in primetime

Childrens Saturday morning shows

include about 23 violent acts per hour
Cartoon violence

Child will witness 200,000 violent acts

on TV by the time she is 18 years old
 The big picture on Violence
SMALL DOSES ADD UP
EFFECTS OF TV VIOLENCE ON CHILDRENS BEHAVIOR,
THESE ARE CUMULATIVE. 8 PERCENT INCREASE IN THE
AVERAGE CHILDS LEVEL OF AGGRESSIVENESS WOULD
DOUBLE THE ADULT HOMICIDE RATE 15 TO 20 YEARS LATER.

TELEVISION PRODUCES GENERALIZED FEAR

THERE IS CLEAR EVIDENCE THAT PEOPLE WHO WATCH A
LOT OF TELEVISED VIOLENCE (INCLUDING THE NEWS) ARE
MORE FEARFUL AND MISTRUSTFUL THAT PEOPLE WHO
WATCH LITTLE TV.
 TV and Obesity
During Saturday morning cartoons there are
typically more than 200 "junk-food" commercials.

At least 12 medical studies link excessive

television watching to increasing rates of obesity.

In 1963, 4.5% of children ages 6 to 11 were

seriously overweight; by 2001, this percentage had
more than tripled. In 2015 20 % of children are
overweight