Adolescent Criminal Behavior — Is TV Violence One of the Culprits?

Abstract

Recent debate in the media have reawakened society's concern regarding the possible dangerous and/or negative effects of television violence on children. The author presents an investigation into the effects, positive and negative, of television programming on young viewers in today's violent social climate. He agrees with other authors that it is not the programming per se that creates violence, but that the violent programs may influence negatively those individuals who are already violence-prone, or children during vulnerable periods of their development. He stresses that it is the responsibility of parents or parent substitutes to supervise their children's TV viewing habits.