TV has a negative impact on children. Do you agree or disagree?

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Negative Impact of TV on Children
Media effects are harder to study in humans. This is because researchers are unwilling to experiment with humans as they do with animals and things. Our ethics, for example, forbid us to find out whether TVs produce negative effects to children by subjecting a child to the same. The effects are thus complex but understanding them is vital for the efficient development of the child. Television is the most used form of media among children. It is easily accessible, cheap and has different programs that catch the children’s interests. However, they result in adverse effects on children.
Children engage in the TV programs with their whole mind. However, the response to television depends on the respondent. Every program aired has a unique effect on the child, an issue that is hard to characterize. Children watch TV for two main reasons. The first is to be entertained and the second as a custom. Though, they do not have the ability to differentiate the two. What may have started as an entertainment ends up being a custom. The time spent watching increase as they grow up if not controlled early. Eventually, a child becomes addicted to watching until when they are 12 years. This alters the way they spend their leisure time. For a positive psychological development, a child should have more playing time and engage in critical thinking activities. Using much time watching the TV affects their study and sleep hours, and the time used in developing motor skills.

The child may lose track of time, lag in their school and become affected by diseases that result from lack of physical exercises like obesity.
Children cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality. Depending on the program, they believe in what they view and even try to exercise it. This has seen may companies initiate child-based advertising in a bid to form the next generation of buyers. These include food producing and toy companies. Eventually, the child forces the parent to spend in the belief that they will experience similar qualities as advertised. This forms a custom that may be carried to adulthood (Livingstone 6). The more they engage in spending on touchy things the more they are unable to manage their resources.
Television airs many forms of violence and destruction not only in movies but even in cartoons and comedies. This may make a child more violent than they naturally are which is displayed in many traits such as being violent to their peers, fighting in school and becoming aggressive when confronted by parents and teachers. According to the research by Huesmann et al., there is a significant connection between watching violence and actual aggression (202-205). The study revealed that kids who had watched commercial sadism displayed higher levels of the same towards their mates. This can lead to early indulgement into nonethical behaviors and immorality. As they mature, the children may adopt mistrust towards other people, have a problem in solving real life challenges and become unwilling to be adults.
Evidence supports that effects of TV viewing on children are adverse both in the immediate and long term. Parents must control the time they allow their kids to spend on television and instead encourage them to play, read and engage in creative thinking activities. They should also spend time playing together, cooking and doing other social activities so that the child can develop social skills. These are the practices recommended for positive growth of the children.
Works Cited
Livingstone, Sonia. Television Advertising Of Food And Drink Products To Children. London: N.p., 2006. Print. Research Annexes 9-11.
Huesmann, L. Rowell et al. “Longitudinal Relations Between Children’s Exposure To TV Violence And Their Aggressive And Violent Behavior In Young Adulthood: 1977-1992.”. Developmental Psychology 39.2 (2003): 202-25. Web.