SEX ON TV & CHILDREN.   Term Paper ID:21186 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Psychological, emotional & behavioral impact of sexual themes & situations. Regulation, programming, theory, commercials, cable.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Psychological, emotional & behavioral impact of sexual themes & situations. Regulation, programming, theory, commercials, cable. Paper Introduction: In the early 1970s, studies reported that, since 1945, 99 percent of the homes in the United States had acquired at least one television set (Mander, 1978, p. 24). Television has now become the leading vehicle for disseminating information to Americans. Although many people place little importance on television's implantation of the images in their brains, research has shown that humans slowly turn into whatever images they carry in their minds. The images they see on television are conveyed to their brains by light; and the proof that these images are ingrained in their brains is demonstrated by the fact that they often have vivid memories of the things which they see on television. For instance, many children recall seeing their first romantic kiss on television. And the images which children see on television become the mirror against which they later Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. So any child whowatches MTV will be bombarded with sexual images. Sight and SoundWinter: p. .. Children hadbegun committing serious acts, like murder and rape. One articleexamined governmental rules affecting children's television and discussedproposed regulations (Roman, 198 , pp. Television and American culture. 62-64). National Review: pp. Roman, James. References Berns, Walter, and Ernest van den Haag. The children in this generation, and the next, will probably beaffected by the multitude of sexual images that they have seen ontelevision every day. 2). In a recent interview given while Congress was fighting theproblem of violence on television, Chris McClean, aide to Senator Exon,commented on the days when the Hayes Commission set standards: "Ed Sullivandidn't show Elvis from the waist down. Some researchers now believe that peoplebecome what they see; in other words, they evolve into the images whichthey see on television. Schools and the power of television. Predictably, the effects of too much sex on television have appeared instudies of juvenile offenders. Also, if children view people kissing passionately on television or ayoung virgin girl being presented as a present to a much older man, such asin the movie Pretty Baby (when it was shown on television), those childrenmay later emulate that behavior. The problem with pornographic programming is that, since children areprobably television's most frequent users, more often than not adultprogramming is viewed by children as well as adults. 66. Going one step ogle the line?Newsweek 14: p. (1978). (1979, Winter). New York: William Morrow. Television has now become the leading vehicle fordisseminating information to Americans. moreover it has also been established that the younger the child, themore likely he or she is to believe the commercials, to confuse them withprogramming fare" (Lowe, 1981, p. Despite outcries from parents, both network and cabletelevision stations continue to carry programming which depicts sexual andsexually violent acts. For example, in one of her recent music videos, Madonnakisses another woman and wears chains and black leather. In contrast, MTV features videos which showyoung people dancing in suggestive positions. While poverty and family pathology did notappear for the first time in American society in the 195 s through 197 s, afrightening new type of juvenile criminal did. For instance, many childrenrecall seeing their first romantic kiss on television. Moreover, availabledata suggest that children spend more time watching adult programs thanwatching children's programs (Robins, 198 , p. In the early 197 s, studies reported that, since 1945, 99 percent ofthe homes in the United States had acquired at least one television set(Mander, 1978, p. Author Carl Lowe writes, "It has now beenestablished that children will imitate behavior they see on television . For example,the Playboy Channel shows programming which can be characterized as "soft"pornography. Yet those young children may not actuallybe emotionally mature enough to handle the consequences of a sexualrelationship. And no parent can ever be completely sure that his or heryoung child will not see this type of programming because, even if achild's parents do not subscribe to the Playboy Channel, there is alwaysthe possibility that a neighbor child's parents do subscribe to cablestations which feature nudity or other types of adult subject matter. These young criminals mostoften came from poverty, neglect, scholastic failure, degradation, brokenfamilies, "and heavy television viewing" (Winn, 1977, p. The producers: Congress fightsTV violence. However,Baywatch's producer has intentionally hired writers to depict beautifulyoung women romping half-naked on the beach during every week's showbecause depicting sex increases ratings. (198 , Sept. In that article, JamesRoman, an assistant professor of communications at Hunter College of theCity University of New York, found merit in a proposal to "cluster"commercials and make them appear together instead of in the shows (Roman,198 , pp. And some entertainerspurposely create images in their videos which are designed to shock even anadult audience. Wilson Company. And these sexual imagesappear on television whether the viewer wants to see them or not. Theproblem of too much sex on television has been furthered by the increase incable television viewers, since many of the Federal CommunicationsCommission standards for what type of programming a television station ispermitted to air are not as stringent for cable programmers. And the sexual subject matter is not limited to actualprogramming; now sex is often used in commercials as well. (1981). Rosen, Hanna. Thus, the subject of sex andtelevision and its potential effect on children has been a source of greatcontroversy. And the imageswhich children see on television become the mirror against which they latercompare their own behavior. Monaco, James. Despite studies which suggestthat, "if the programme is the problem, change the programme," researchersalso acknowledge that this channel-switching approach is at best reformistand does not treat the root of the problem itself (Monaco, 1979, p. 73). 118). And the increase of television footage which detailssexual activity without also educating the viewer could lead to a rise inteenage pregnancy rates, a rise in the number of young people with AIDS, anincrease in the divorce rate, and an increase in the number of Americanswho are raised in poverty without two married parents to serve as properrole models. And, whilewomen have been historically portrayed in television commercials as sexobjects by manufacturers who sought to sell products ranging fromautomobiles to cologne, a recent article noted that corporate sponsors havenow increased their portrayal of sex objects to include men (Ingrassia,1994, p. Mass media. Robins, Maria. Ingrassia, Michele. Learning tolive with sex and violence. The problem with this newform of reverse sexism that is being promoted by advertisers is that youngpeople may identify with the commercials and begin to follow the roles thattelevision has suggested to them. 48. 48). The common factorcharacterizing this new breed of "kids who kill" was a complete absence ofnormal feelings such as guilt or remorse. Although many people place littleimportance on television's implantation of the images in their brains,research has shown that humans slowly turn into whatever images they carryin their minds. Four arguments for the elimination oftelevision. 46). 62-64. 62-64). The plug-in drug: Television, children, andthe family. Yet, in the 195 s and 196 s,television was censored more than it is today, and shows like I Love Lucywere careful to have a married couple sleep in separate beds so that theprogram would not suggest that any sexual activity occurred between marriedcouples. Yet, according to several Republicans, the main problem on televisionis not violence at all: "It's sex," says Senator James Exon, who suggests areturn to the golden age of television: Jack Benny, Desi and Lucy, MiltonBerle, Edward R. 12-14. Now women are shown on television acting in a sexist mannerwhich had previously been attributed only to men. 19).The only way a person living in America can avoid seeing graphic sexualimages which are often accompanied by violence is to not watch televisionat all. 14). Mander,Jerry. Winn believes that the problemis not that children learn about sex by watching television but thatviewing explicit or violent acts on television conditions children to dealwith people as if they were on a television screen (Winn, 1977, pp. (1993, December 13). 12). But, even if a cluster method of grouping commercials together wereused by some stations, the problem would not be solved since mostadvertisers are now using sexual images to sell their products. Author Winn sets forth one theory: all the hoursthat disturbed children spend involved in a television experience dull theboundaries between the real and the unreal (Winn, 1977, p. For example, in a newcommercial for diet Coke, several professional-looking women ogle ashirtless construction worker from their office window. Similarly, recent prime-time television series like Baywatch havebeen criticized for programming which is too sexual in nature. Murrow and Arturo Toscanini" (Rosen, 1993, p. New York: H.W. Lowe, Carl. New Republic: pp. The images they see on television are conveyed to theirbrains by light; and the proof that these images are ingrained in theirbrains is demonstrated by the fact that they often have vivid memories ofthe things which they see on television. 24). 73-74). Consequently manyparents are now becoming concerned that there is too much sex on televisionand that children viewing sex on television are growing up with distortedviews of sexuality. There is obviously too much sex on television today. Yet with the rise in demand forcable programming and home movie channels, the number of programs depictingsexual acts has dramatically increased. 19. Likewise, although the FCC used to be very strict about censoring thetype of programming which appeared on network television, a Washingtonfederal appeals court recently struck down new FCC rules that would haverestricted the broadcast of indecent television and radio programs to thehours between midnight and 6: . She thinksthat the act of watching television requires viewing projections of humanimages and the illusion of human feelings while requiring no human responsefrom the viewer, and thus television encourages the viewer to detach fromhis or her acts--including antisocial acts. He believes that this plan would give parents morecontrol over what their children are watching. Thus, sometelevision ads are now encouraging reverse sexism. 74). (1994, March). For example, if children view sexual promiscuity ontelevision, they may be inclined to think that such behavior is not onlynormal, but also expected of them. 66). This new wave ofreverse sexism is explained by Adweek media critic Barbara Lippert: "Themore de-babed we get, the more men have to become the babes because we needbabes in advertising" (Ingrassia, 1994, p. One researcher noted that a child's television experience, or theamount of time a child spends watching television, has some effects on hisor her brain development (Winn, 1977, p. (1977). Rob and Laura slept in separatebeds" (Rosen, 1993, p. 56-6 . New York: Viking Press.----------------------- 8 The court also rejected indecency rulesfor cable television (Berns, 1993, p. So one problem with the portrayal ofsexual acts on television is that many programs which are intended foradults are viewed by children; and yet the children do not understand thatthere may now be life-threatening repercussions; specifically, a teenagercould contract AIDS by engaging in sexual activity. Today'sEducation: p. The TV plexus. 56). (1993, Nov. 66). USA Today: pp. Winn, Marie. 1). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.