Junk TV affecting our children

[blazey]

As one comedian once said, can't remember who, it is a joke that violence is caused by television. You don't see comedy being re-enacted on the streets, or drama like Casualty.

It's all a bit too easy to blame tv for the faults of children these days, when most of the problem is down to what the children are pre-occupied with. If they're engaged in activities they won't need to hang around and be influenced by the wrong things.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by blazey

As one comedian once said, can't remember who, it is a joke that violence is caused by television. You don't see comedy being re-enacted on the streets, or drama like Casualty.

It's all a bit too easy to blame tv for the faults of children these days, when most of the problem is down to what the children are pre-occupied with. If they're engaged in activities they won't need to hang around and be influenced by the wrong things.

When I was young, which is a long time ago, we didn't have half the things kids have today, we made our own entertainment without causing trouble for others, the thing being that if we did cause problems those problems would come right back at us, in the form of a good clout round the ear and we'd be grounded

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by blazey

It's all a bit too easy to blame tv for the faults of children these days, when most of the problem is down to what the children are pre-occupied with. If they're engaged in activities they won't need to hang around and be influenced by the wrong things.

So then, by that reasoning, if children are pre-occupied with inappropriate stuff on TV......this will be a problem? Or have I got the gist of your post wrong?(again)
If children are engaged in activites, then of course they won't be influenced by the TV that they aren't watching....unless of course they are engaged in inappropriate activies that they have seen on inappropriate TV programs.

[blazey]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

So then, by that reasoning, if children are pre-occupied with inappropriate stuff on TV......this will be a problem? Or have I got the gist of your post wrong?(again)
If children are engaged in activites, then of course they won't be influenced by the TV that they aren't watching....unless of course they are engaged in inappropriate activies that they have seen on inappropriate TV programs.

I watched plenty of tv as a child, you can learn a lot from it. But I also balanced this with reading a lot, playing outside a lot and using my imagination.

Most children seem to get influenced by negative things the moment they walk outside the door these days, before they've even had chance to use their imaginations.

Some of the things I heard from people when I was at school was atrocious. I think a lot of it comes down to what sort of area you live in as well. And the parents.

TV isn't to blame for anything. There are far more violent books out there that you can buy in your local waterstones if you wanted. It's like people blaming Marilyan Manson and stuff for kids going AWOL. I know some really intelligent people at university who have got them into trouble over their beliefs, and this is from reading. One of my friends hates the government, hates the police and incites riots at protests. It'd be stupid to blame tv for that.

In fact come to think of it, they seem to blame anything we enjoy. I wonder if I might compose a score for a film tomorrow just because I excessively listen to Yann Tiersen. I play Wagner every morning, it gets me ready for my climax.

Take that as you want

[Margaret Pilkington]

That wasn't the question.

If children don't read then the violent books are not an issue.....and there is evidence in Educational studies that children read less now than they did 20 or 30years ago....although the Harry Potter books did some good in reversing this trend.
Children mimic what they see, they copy.......and if they watch inappropriate things on TV, then they may be influenced by what they have seen...especially if they do not have adequate role models in the home.
I don't really blame TV, or the internet.......parents are the arbiters of good reading, good watching, and the sensible use of other media forms.

[blazey]

I'm not the right person to ask, I always just enjoyed reading without my parents guiding me. I never mimicked anything I've seen on television that I knew wasn't the right thing to do, and intuition comes naturally I think. Very few people do bad things not realising they are bad.

I think society as a whole should take responsibility for the good and bad aspects of society. We're all a product of each other.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

And isn't there a parental control thing on internet access?...or is that something I have dreamed up?

Yes it is something that you dreamed up. Filtering internet content is very hard

[Margaret Pilkington]

Oh well, Neil when I dream of how to do it in the practical sense....I guess it would make a lot of money

[Margaret Pilkington]

I find it hard to believe that you never mimicked anything that you saw on TV......you never played Cowboys and Indians then.......? Or any other game that was the product of your imagination being stimulated by televisual images?
You must have been a very unique child.

[jaysay]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I find it hard to believe that you never mimicked anything that you saw on TV......you never played Cowboys and Indians then.......? Or any other game that was the product of your imagination being stimulated by televisual images?
You must have been a very unique child.

Margaret tht was a daft statemen blazey was the Golden Child

[blazey]

I liked walking in streams when I was outside and I had a very active imagination. I enjoyed writing my own stories and poems, my best subject at primary school was English. And I sang in the choir so I sang a lot. I didn't watch anything that was worth mimicking.