The Media’S Decreasing Morals As Seen Through TelevisionEssay Preview: The Media’S Decreasing Morals As Seen Through TelevisionReport this essayIn today’s world, it is not rare to walk into the living room and witness a man being violently shot in the head…in a television set. The general public seems to be constantly asking themselves where morality and values on television have gone. Taking a look back in time, it is easy to point out how violence in the media is much more evident than it was fifty years ago. Both in the past and now, the media has an ethical duty concerning the general public. Television’s content today has gotten incredibly dirty and contains content to detrimental for children. There have been advances in technology attempting to stop the violence from entering households with children. However it is still the responsibility of the media and the television industry to control the amount of immoral content shown on the air. While the media is only keeping up with the public’s distasteful demands, it has a responsibility to restrain the amount of offensive content because of the effect it is having on today’s audiences.
Consider the trajectory of sitcoms: strong and wholesome family values once promoted in past shows such as Leave it to Beaver and Andy Griffith have developed into the semi-dysfunctional and carefree family values of the present day. Currently, countless television shows, like Enterage and Weeds, both glamorize sexual promiscuity and frequently present illegal acts such as drug usage as acceptable (Bednarski). Movie characters, as well as the stars that portray them, disrespect authority and believe they can remain above the parameters of the law (Szaflik). On any given weeknight, a television viewer can tune into the immoral antics of reality television as well as the tasteless sitcoms and dramas that occupy their given timeslot. Whether portraying the scantily clad Paris Hilton or the stars of the OC, it seems that the Fox and ABC networks thrive to achieve an “almost-R rated” feeling to their programs (Szaflik). It seems television has lost its flair for wholesome entertainment and given into the pressures of an ever-changing world that boldly proclaims that less plot and more violence is better quality.
Today, watching television no longer consists of sitting around the living room with family members to see the next witty comment Mr. Ed has to say or if Opey forgot to do his algebra homework. For today’s audience, watching any sort of show promoting the feelings of lust, hatred, or intolerance seems to supersede the need to intake morality and honest behavior (Bednarski). America has turned to moral erosion rather than moral fiber. Commercials for alcohol dominate each station, and until recently, ads for cigarettes were aimed toward children (Blakey). While most of the blame must be placed on the media, part of the fault lies in the audience’s hands. The reason the networks continue to spew out less-than-classy shows like Temptation Island, and even supposedly acceptable shows like Sex and the City is because that is what viewers today crave. The media is only attempting to keep up with the demands it sees from today’s audiences (Bednarski).
Today, we live in a world of instant gratification because of the programming and services the media provides. Children often tricked into believing they sit at the center of the universe tend to pick up their behavior by watching the spoiled brats of today’s primetime and merely emulate the antics saturated in their impressionable minds (Halonen). They are frequently bombarded with messages of selfishness, greed, and “me first” attitudes (Blakey). These messages of vanity, illicit sex, hatred, physical aggression and rebellion against authority are boxed, wrapped, and marketed to an unsuspecting generation. It seems that television has taught today’s younger generations to solve problems through brute force. (Blakey) The media has said goodbye to television households featuring a functional and traditionally moral household. These days the programs people watch primarily feature divorced parents or estranged families, and the program’s children tend to demonstrate a spoiled or destructive manner about them. Recently, especially on cable networks, the drug abuse and sexual promiscuity, along with irreverent situations characters encounter in their thirty-minute primetime reign undoubtedly exceed entertainment purpose. (Szaflik)
Before the age of eighteen, the average American teen will have witnessed around eighteen thousand murders on television (Szaflik). While staggering in number, more disturbing has been the effect this steady diet of violence may have on American youth. Social scientists have attempted to measure televisions effect on behavior in different ways, including laboratory studies, field experiments, and other analyses. Though none have been concluded as a direct cause and effect relationship, it becomes clear that watching television could very well contribute as one of a number of important factors affecting aggressive behavior (Halonen). Today, television serves as a babysitter, a safe haven from the streets, and as a way to avoid social interaction. Peoples dependence on television tends to stifle development of creativity and the way they view themselves and society (Szaflik). There have been,
Toward a better understanding of television’s impact on the American mind, Sizar (2012) compares the effects of television viewership on school achievement and physical fitness. Specifically, a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found there was “no significant difference” in student’s physical ability “between low-income and affluent households, those with children at school and those without children at school as determined later in childhood.”
As Sizar and his colleagues note, it is very possible that television’s “intermittent impact on an individual’s physical health is less apparent than we had thought.” Moreover, the study does not attempt to test these effects. However, the findings are relevant and may be important for understanding, reducing, and managing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The most widely reported and supported studies that have examined television’s impact on youth are from the 1990s, as well as from the 1980s. But as the years have passed, more research and more empirical studies have been done that have focused on the effects of age on how TV affects the adolescent brain, including the influence of age on emotional processing (Szaflik).
[i] “A study by the researchers found that, when children read less tv, the first thing they learned when they were younger was that they would no longer feel their loved ones cared more for them. Children who watched the same shows during the same age periods as other adults found less guilt and greater satisfaction, compared to children who were not watching at all.” [/i]
[ii] “Among researchers surveyed on the effects of TV viewing, the authors found that adults also felt their parents were more important to them when they were young. They found that watching TV made them feel as though it had an official place in their daily life. But the longer their kids kept watching, the less they felt comfortable as adults, and the more anxious they felt, and the more likely they were to make decisions such as raising their children or moving from community to community.” [/ii]
[iii] “Children are even more likely to experience the effects of alcohol, cigarettes, and the like.” [/i]
[iv] “The two groups differed in their consumption habits. The more ‘toys of life’ used ‘toys of control’.” [/iv]
[v] “[V] “As it turns out, children who watched television were more likely by age 10 to have higher rates of attention deficit disorder.” [/v]
Research on television’s effects on adolescent brain development remains under way, but can they be explained or altered? Research from the late 1990s and early 2000s suggests the opposite, and suggests that parents may be the most likely perpetrators. This literature shows how changing the way they view TV can have a lasting impact. Research conducted by the University of Michigan, College of Public Health’s Center for Public Health Science & Services, and other institutions is at the forefront of how parents can increase their exposure to television by encouraging their kids to make positive choices when it comes to watching television.
Research by the University of Wisconsin’s School of Public Health suggests that, especially in urban areas, parents might see TV more as a means of bonding between their children as compared to a social network. This finding is also supported by research that shows that children who watch programs on their own are likely to interact with other children by increasing their physical ability.
[vi] “A study published by the University of Hawaii found that in the same age groups, children who watched TV were more likely to watch non-stop television. The