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Abstract
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VioLit summary:
OBJECTIVE:
This study by Centerwall provided results from studies of television viewing by adolescents as related to levels of violence to show a positive correlation between television viewing and violence in society.
METHODOLOGY:
This study was a comparative review of the literature. The author recapitulated the data findings of several previous studies in Canada, the U.S. and by the television industry itself which addressed and confirmed that increased levels of violence in society were related to television viewing patterns among adolescents. He also included a study he had conducted which compared homicide rates in South Africa before and after the introduction of television in that country.
FINDINGS/DISCUSSION:
The author concluded that television programs consistently portray violence and that there has been, and is, a continuing positive correlation between adolescents viewing this violence and their own violence patterns throughout their lives. He also concluded that television industry profits were based on ratings and ratings increase with programs having heightened levels of violence. He noted that society should not expect help from the television industry to curb such programming (likening it to asking the tobacco industry to cut down on cigarette production for the public good).
AUTHOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS:
In order to protect our children and our society, the author recommended that parents limit their children's television viewing to one or two hours per day; that parents should guide what their children watch and how much; that legislative action be taken to force television set manufacturers include time-channel lock devices on all televisions produced; and that television programs be accompanied by a "violence rating."
(CSPV Abstract - Copyright © 1992-2007 by the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, Institute of Behavioral Science, Regents of the University of Colorado)
Literature Review
Television Viewing
Television Violence
Media Violence Effects
Exposure to Violence
Juvenile Offender
Juvenile Violence
Violence Causes
Language: en |