Television and Effect on Children Research Paper

Television and Effect on Children - Research Paper Example Constant television viewing by children comes with physical, mental, and emotional ramifications that have been proven to have lasting effects on children if ongoing television viewing is not put to an end. The consequences will be revealed throughout this paper, as well as ways to prevent the consequences from taking place. Physical Ramifications Obesity has become one of the greatest health concerns among children in this day and age, and it has been directly connected to children spending more time in front of the television than outside being active. A massive lack of physical exercise and the need to be eating while watching television has caused children to weigh more now than they have in previous years. The longer that these two activities exist together, the more, and the quicker, that a child’s health is capable of failing. Television is not what it used to be. When the television was first introduced in homes, there were only a handful of television stations and a s imilar number of television shows, most of which were news channels. Nowadays, there are over one hundred easily accessed television channels and almost four times the amount of television shows, many of which are directed at the younger audiences (Liebert et al, 1988) and are usually available roughly around the time that most children are released from school. The television studios know exactly what they are doing when they air certain shows at certain time. As such, children have found it possible to sit in front of the television and watch show after show without even a hint of a break at times that are most convenient for them: when they are most likely to be at home. This ability to be constantly watching television has caused an increase in the amount of time that children spend in front of the television and, similarly, a decrease in the amount of time spent engaging in physical activities, such as sports or simply running around with their friends. This also causes childre n to begin to associate television with good activities and exercise as more of a chore. It is common for people to want to eat while they watch television and movies, and when children sit in front of the television as often as they do, they enjoy many unhealthy snacks and meals while enjoying their television shows. This holds especially true when they come home from school; they crave both something to eat and something to allow themselves to unwind after a long day of school. Excessive eating and a lack of physical activity can cause children to gain great amounts of weight over short amounts of time. The diets of children is another area of concern; most children are not being fed the proper types of food, so they often go for the greasy, fatty snacks while they are watching television. Again, after school snacks often consist of unhealthy snacks in large quantities. Even if their meals throughout the day are healthy, constant snacking of fattening foods can only build up in th e bodies of these children, and if they are not exercising, they are not getting rid of that unhealthy weight. In essence, the longer that children sit in front of the television, the more unhealthy food they are likely to eat. The consequence of the two aforementioned issues is that children gain