IMPACT OF WATCHING TELEVISION ON CHILDREN

BY DHANLAXMI RAJA

AIM: To study the effects of television viewing on a child's eating habits,

general physical health, physical activities, interest in study and school performance.

OBJECTIVE: We are conducting this research to find out television’s Effects on Children’s Behavior and due to this change in their Relationships With Their Parents.

ABOUT TELEVISION: A Television, commonly referred to as TV or Tele is a telecommunication medium used for transmitting sound with moving images in monochrome (black-and-white), color, or in three dimensions. It can refer to a television set, a television program, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium, for entertainment, advertising and news.

In 2013, 79% of the world's households owned a television set. The replacement of bulky, high-voltage cathode ray tube (CRT) screen displays with compact, energy-efficient, flat-panel alternatives such as plasma displays, LCDs (both fluorescent-backlit and LED), and OLED displays was a hardware revolution that began with computer monitors in the late 1990s. Most TV sets sold in the 2000s were flat-panel, mainly LEDs. Major manufacturers announced the discontinuation of CRT, DLP, plasma, and even fluorescent-backlit LCDs by the mid-2010s. LEDs are expected to be replaced gradually by OLEDs in near future. Also, major manufacturers have announced that they will increasingly produce smart TV sets in the mid-2010s. Smart TVs are expected to become the dominant form of television set by the late 2010s.

Television signals were initially distributed only as terrestrial television using high-powered radio-frequency transmitters to broadcast the signal to individual television receivers. Alternatively television signals are distributed by co-axial cable or optical fiber, satellite systems and via the Internet. Until the early 2000s, these were transmitted as analog signals but countries started switching to digital, this transition is expected to be completed worldwide by late 2010s. A standard television set is composed of multiple internal electronic circuits, including a tuner for receiving and decoding broadcast signals. A visual display device which lacks atoner is correctly called a video monitor rather than a television.

POSITIVE IMPACT OF TELEVISION ON CHILDREN 1. Educational Shows:

Today, television has some very good shows that are a must for your

child. Encourage your children to watch educational shows. These are a

great choice for those times when they are stuck indoors. Watching

educational shows can introduce children to a wider vocabulary and

increase their general knowledge.

There are various shows that are created for toddlers. These are a

great way to teach kids about alphabets, numbers, shapes, colors,

nursery rhymes and much more.

Wildlife and nature channels are a great way to help children learn

about wildlife and nature in a realistic way.

Shows on history are another great way to get kids interested in

lessons from the past. There are certain shows that teach children

about how various things are made. These are a great way to answer

most queries that your child might have.

2. Health-Related Shows:

While the TV is denounced as ‘the couch’, it can also play a big role on giving your child some much needed physical time.

Encourage children to watch shows that teach aerobics or other exercises.

Let them follow a virtual exercise routine and practice it.

Clear out a work out area for your child in front of the TV and let her

practice the moves.

3. Food-Related Shows:

Letting your child get a taste of cooking is a great idea to get her

interested in eating.

Motivate your child to follow a healthy diet by directing her to TV shows

which promote healthy eating.

Let her watch cooking shows for kids.

Encourage her to prepare food in the kitchen using these shows as a

guide.

Once your child creates something on his/her own, he/she would be

more interested to eat it too.

There are various shows that teach children how to bake. Let your child

surprise friends with her creation.

There are various shows that teach children about the various food

ingredients. These will help your child know more about the food that is

on his/her plate.

4. Make The Most Of TV Time: TV time can actually be a good family time activity too. Engage with your child in follow-up activities to reinforce the skills taught in the show.Interact with your child while watching the show.If you saw something interesting, make sure you discuss about it with your child.

NEGATIVE IMPACT OF WATCHINGTV

While it has so many positives to it, television can be quite harmful for your children if viewing tends to get out of hand.

1. Curbs Real Activity:

Experts believe that children watching TV too much doesn’t participate

in activities that are more ‘real.’

It takes away your child’s crucial time from engaging in outdoor

activities.

Your child may get more interested in watching a TV show than things

like going to the park, interacting with other children, engaging in

sports and such.

2. Tiring Mentally:

Watching too much TV can be mentally tiring for your child, without

even doing anything physically exhausting.

Your child may not have enough time to finish homework.

Too much TV may result in sleeping late or poor sleeping habits.

This will make your child less alert and can result in poor

academic performance too.

3. Health Problems: Kids who watch a lot of TV are at a higher risk of being affected with various health related problems. Excessive television can result in problems like emotional outbursts, short-sightedness, heart attack, spine disease, mental disorders, exhaustion, difficulty in sleeping pattern, excessive tiredness and more. Too much TV tends to make your child overweight. Children often snack on junk food during shows which can result in unhealthy weight gain.

4.Negative Behavior: Unsupervised TV time and influence of tv on children can expose your child to negative end by watching shows that are not necessarily meant for them.

It promotes aggression. May promote disobedience and problems like talking back to parents or elders. Introduces them to and sometimes glorifies activities like drug use and sex.

Certain kids’ shows are also inappropriate in terms of language and

content.

5. Self-Consciousness and Underestimation:

The television is a big tool in telling children about how they are

supposed to look, which is not always a good thing. Commercials tend

to focus more on physical beauty rather than intelligence. Those with

outward beauty and style are shown as successful and superior. Beauty

products are marketed as a must-have, something that should

absolutely be used to look and feel good.

6. Materialistic Attitude: The television is responsible for instilling a materialist tendency in children. Various commercials and shows encourage the desire in children for certain products. Those who do not

possess those said products are shown in a poor light, often made fun of. Children are enticed to ask for things, like a chocolate flavored drink in order to drink milk, or repellant bands in order to go out and play. These are not always necessary, yet are shown as absolute needs.

An Article Which Show Children who watch too much TV may have 'damaged brain structures

The more time a child spends watching TV, the more profound the changes It leads to more grey matter in the regions around the front polar cortex area of the brain - towards the front and side of the head Watching too much television can change the structure of a child's brain in a damaging way, according to a new study.

Researchers found that the more time a child spent viewing TV, the more profound the brain alterations appeared to be. The Japanese study looked at 276 children aged between five and 18, who watched between zero and four hours TV per day, with the average being about two hours.MRI brain scans showed children who spent the most hours in front of the box had greater amounts of grey matter in regions around the front polar cortex - the area at the front of the frontal lobe. But this increased volume was a negative thing as it was linked with lower verbal intelligence, said the authors, from Tohoku University in the city of Sendai.

They suggested grey matter could be compared to body weight and said these brain areas need to be pruned during childhood in order to operate efficiently. ‘These areas show developmental cortical thinning during development, and children with superior IQ's show the most vigorous cortical thinning in this area,’ the team wrote.

They highlighted the fact that unlike learning a musical instrument, for example, programmes we watch on TV ‘do not necessarily advance to a higher level, speed up

or vary’.‘When this type of increase in level of

experience does not occur with increasingexperience, there is less of an effect on cognitive functioning,’ they wrote. Children who watch the most TV have the most profound changes to their brain structure. The authors said the impact of watching TV on the ‘structural development’ of the brain has never before been investigated.

‘In conclusion, TV viewing is directly or indirectly associated with the neurocognitive development of children,’ they wrote.‘At least some of the observed associations are not beneficial and guardians of children should consider these effects when children view TV for long periods of time.

‘The children in the study were an almost even split between girls and boys. The findings, published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, highlighted an association between TV viewing and changes in the brain but do not prove that TV definitely caused the changes. Scientists also cannot be sure whether missing out on activities such as reading, playing sports or interacting with friends and family as a result of watching TV could be behind the findings, rather than TV being directly to blame. But they did say that the front polar cortex area of the brain has previously been associated with ‘intellectual abilities'.

Questionnaire

Survey on Impact of Watching TV

NAME:

RELATIONSHIP:

NO. OF CHILDREN:

BOY: GIRL:

AGE:

1. Do you think that children at an early stage should be watching T.V?

.YES .NO

2. Do you think children can learn from watching T.V?

.YES .NO

3. Do you think T.V can cause violence in children?

.YES .NO

4. Do you think children watching T.V is the cause of obesity?

.YES .NO

5. Do you think children should be limited, to the amount of T.V they watch?

.YES .NO

6. Do you think children watch too much T.V now, compared to when you were younger?

.YES .NO

7. Do you think, watching T.V when you were younger created an impact on your learning?

.YES .NO

8.Do you think, children watching T.V concentrate less in studies?

.YES .NO

9.How much hour your children spend on the following activity?

a. Watching TV--______ b.playing sports-_______

c.playing game in computer-___ d.reading books-______

10.Do your children watch Cartoon program

.YES .NO

11.Do you think children imitate after watching that character

.YES .NO

12.Do your children have any health issue because of watching tv?

.YES .NO

13.Do you observed any behavioral changes in your children?

.YES .NO

14.Which is your children favorites channel?

15.Do your children have any attention problem? . YES .NO

16.Do your children gets less marks in exam? .YES .NO

SURVEY:

NO OF SAMPLE:30

ABOUT THE SURVEY: The survey was conducted in a local area were people were not enough educated to give answer for the open ended question so I kept mostly closed ended question. Were they just have to answer yes or no.

FINDING FROM THE SURVEY: From the survey it was clear that children’s are very much into television rather than playing outdoor games, reading books etc.because of which they are facing lots of health related issues, behavioral changes, lack of study etc.Most of the parents thinks that their children are not able to concentrate in studies. They find that Because watching TV their children behavior is also changing. To avoid this kind of effect parents should limit their children from watching TV.

What can parents do to prevent their children from watching TV?

With our busy lives, it's difficult to find the time and energy to always engage our children in active play. Most parents resort to using the TV as a 'babysitter' when we need to get things done around the house or we just need a break. Here are some tips to help you and your values prevail when you turn on the TV: 

1. Limit on-screen entertainment time: For children under age 2, try to avoid TV altogether. For older children, limit total media to one-two hours per day. 

2. Choose what to watch: Select shows that are educational and non-violent. Consider getting a TV with a V-chip to block programs with violence and sex. Tune in to the public TV channel or rent videos for educational programs and no commercials.

Instead of channel surfing, select a show to watch and then turn off the TV afterwards. 

3. Keep TVs out of children's bedrooms: When your child doesn't see the TV, he's less likely to want to watch it. Keep the TV in a family area where it's easier to monitor. 

4. Watch TV together and discuss the messages with your child: Know what your child is seeing to ensure it's appropriate. Discuss the program to understand your child's impressions, to clarify what's real and what's not, and to allay any fears. In particular, discuss the way violence, sex, smoking, alcohol, drugs, and food are portrayed on TV, question the messages, and explain your own values. 

5. Encourage other fun options: Instead of getting into the habit of watching TV, help your child engage in other activities such as playing with adults, children and pets, riding a bike, building with blocks, reading, writing stories, singing and dancing to music, doing art projects, playing games and puzzles together, and helping you cook. 

CONCLUSION:The Research concludes about television is that overall it does not have a

good impact on people. It might be entertaining but nevertheless it all

depends on whom and what their watching.

REFERENCE :

www.google.com

Times of India

Mumbai Mirror

DNA