More fondly known as the ‘idiot box’, television has become a necessary evil in today’s world. It has become an indispensable household commodity. This makes television accessible to children since a very tender age. Though television is a potent medium of mass communication, it has not only good, but also bad effects on children. This implies that parents should make the facility available to their child judiciously. Given below are some vitals points on how TV affects your child.
Television Effects on Children
Good Effects
- Television gives exposure to children on different cultural experiences.
- Television also keeps children aware of current events and news related items.
- Quality shows on television can also impart knowledge and important values and lessons.
- Television helps in a child in spending time with family members, when all of them are watching the same show.
Bad Effects
- Excessive television viewing is seen to trigger violence or aggression in children.
- Sitting in front of the television, for long hours, has been linked with obesity, as physical activity gets diminished considerably.
- Children become influenced towards eating junk food, as there is a lot of promotion on the television regarding the same.
- Devoting more time towards watching television leads to poor academic performance, as the child neglects studies.
- Television watching also promotes lack of creativity and enhances passivity. The child shies away from mental and physical workout.
- Apart from this, television viewing creates the concept of gender-role and racial stereotypes in children.
