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Some children spend many hours a day in front of the television. Because these young people are still in their formative years, television watching is believed to have a great deal of influence on their development. Research studies have been conducted to understand the effects of various programs on children; for example, on cognition and personality. The results show that television is indeed a powerful influence, with many negative impacts.
For example, there are adverse effects when children view programs containing violence and sexual content. Movies shown on television, like their counterparts on the big screen, contain violent behavior, including fist-fights, guns and rude language. Some children imitate this behavior, consciously and unconsciously. Other children have nightmares, worrying about terrorist bombs.
Another negative impact of television on children comes from commercials. The constant advertisements that show children eating unhealthy food and playing with expensive toys make young viewers want these food and toys. They often pressure their parents to buy these things, even when they are harmful.
Perhaps the most regrettable influence is the time wasted when children mindlessly sit in front of the screen. When they do this, they are not getting any exercise, nor are they engaged in meaningful activities such as homework or club projects.
Of course, there are some programs which exert a positive influence on children. Examples are Sesame Street and the science programs found on the Discovery Channel. From these, children can acquire practical skills, develop cognitive abilities and gain basic facts about nature, general science and culture. Even programs that target broad audiences can be beneficial to children if parents discuss the content with children in an appropriate way. For example, parents might sit with children to watch a news program and explain what is happening.
Interestingly, studies have shown that children's intellectual abilities are positively correlated to the number of hours of television watched, up to a certain point. On the other hand, excessive television deprives young children from physical exercise, leading to obesity, and violent content clearly influences behavior in harmful ways.