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Show Review - Thursday Aueust 23. 1984 - Page 8 How much T.V. do you watch? and will it hurt you? i If F U i You wouldn't allow your child to eat garbage, would you? Why then, let him put it in his head? Parents can avoid using TV as a baby-sitte- and they can watch with their children making certain that incidents of violence or sex never go without comment. Parents can encourage children to identify and watch programs of educational and social value. They should not hesitate to change channels or turn off the set. What everyone can do In legal theory, "the airwaves 'belong to the people," and the nation's 1067 television stations enjoy their federally awarded monopoly only in return for programming "in the public interest." In general, the government cannot deny any corporation the right to advertise on any program it chooses. But the viewer has a right to declare that he is not going to help pay for those programs by buying the advertised products. Both the American Medical Association and the National PTA have urged their members to bring public pressure against advertisers on high-violenc- e programs. The National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV), formed by psychiatrists, pediatricians and educators, carefully grades network prime-tim- e and weekend children's programs. Each quarter it publishes lists of the companies and products that sponsor the most mayhem, and also companies that allot the largest portion of their television budgets to violent programming, (The NCTV's address: P.O. Box 2157, Champaign, 111. 61820.) It promotes legislative action and urges school, church and parent groups to publish its lists and to complain to advertisers. Some companies need little prompting. Kodak has always shunned violent programming and consistently ranks low in NCTV monitoring lists. Kraft, Inc., also has a long-standin- g policy against programming that depicts excessive violence. Other companies that rate well with NCTV include Hallmark Cards, Schering-Ploug- h and Campbell Soup. Too much TV watching and violent programming in general-c- an indeed be harmful to viewers' health. Says NCTV's chairman, Dr. Thomas Radecki, a psychiatry professor at Southern Illinois University, "Each of us bears a responsibility in stopping this ubiquitous teacher of rage and hate. Each of us must live in the world it is destroying." A few students may have jumped forlT7-- i this sign Saturday at PGHS. It was th ySii pranksters, however. ork available to over-balanc- e whatever violence they have learned. Children from less successful homes, the types of homes most criminals and many emotionally disturbed people come from, do not. Basing its case on approximately 2,500 studies published since 1970, the NIMH concluded that leaves a lasting not just a temporary imprint on young minds. "What's important here," says Peggy Charren, President of the Crusading Action for Children's Television is that it reinforces what common sense knew all along you learn from what you see. What parents can do First of all, they can help by realizing that '"their own TV viewing affects the quality of family life. Until recently most adults worried that violent programming might be harmful to children, but assumed they could gorge themselves with whatever programs caught their fancy. Not so. In one study, U.C.LA. researchers Roderic Gorney and David Loye divided 183 husbands, ages 20 to 70, into five comparable groups. The groups were assigned 21 hours of varied TV fare at home during a single week, and each man kept a diary of his "moods." Wives, without knowing which TV diet the husbands watched, recorded "hurtful" and "helpful" behaviors. The result husbands who watched violent programming recorded a significantly higher level of aggressive moods. Furthermore, their wives noted about more daily incidents of hurtful behavior than did wives whose husbands watched "prosocial" programming. "The important lesson of our experiment is that adults, by their own programming choices, may actually reduce aggressive moods and hurtful behavior," says Gorney. "In a home the climate generated by parental moods and conduct is surely as crucial as what children see on TV in determining the family's mental health." Further, parents can curtail the total time children watch By PAM BOBINSON Television has become America's third most time-consumi-activity, following sleep and work, according to "Newsweek" magazine. More Americans have TV than have refrigerators or indoor plumbing. The culture is so saturated with television that to assess its net impact on society is impossible. But there have been results of numerous studies and reports released as evidence that support that there is an effect on the behavior of people who watch too much TV and violent programming. How much violence is really on television? The facts discovered by researchers preparing a report for the National Commission show that: a) violence occurs in eight out of 10 programs on TV; b) violence occurs in 93.5 percent of all cartoons directed at children; c) more than 50 percent of all major characters are violent; d) the "good guys" commit as much violence as the bad guys; e) almost half of the killers suffered no consequences from their acts; f) the pain and suffering accompaning violence are rarely shown. Is this too much violence? What effect do these statistics have on you and your family? Could this much violence be harmful? After reviewing 25 years of hard data, including the 50 most comprehensive studies dealing with 10,000 children from every possible background, Michael Rothenberg, a child psychologist at the University of Washington, concluded "viewing violence tends to produce aggressive behavior among the young." In Denver, Colorado: 'The Deer Hunter" is telecast and a kills himself with a revolver, acting out the movie's climactic game of Russian Roulette. He is the 25th viewer in two years to kill himself that way after watching the drama on TV. In Decatur, Illinois: A overdoses on sleeping pills after her mother forbids her to date a boy. "What gave you the idea of suicide?" an investigating psychiatrist asks. The answer A little girl tried it on a TV show, was quickly revived and welcomed back by her parents with open arms. Of course, there are those who disagree that TV violence really has an effect on people enough to make them be more aggressive or violent But proving that not everyone will be violent after watching violence on television or in a film does not prove that no one 'will. " Chances are that children in good homes will have enough counter-modelin- g examples television. Investigators find that parents are consistently unaware of how long their children are watching, and under-estimat- e how much violence they see and how much it disturbs them. Experts agree that three hours a day should be an absolute maximum for subteen children and far less than that of actual drama, cartoons and other violence-packe- d program-ming. Advises' syndicated columnist Ann Landers: "Be firm. NUTRA-MAR-T tVS "Being on the American Forkf, VA Department, felt itwasr,, : 1'fv; to get in shape. It sure was erer SV go from a size 42 to a 38 ;;f'W'.- - -. .1 such a short time at Deameul. Js'-"- ' rli losing 45 lbs'' enjoy '.Vf '' ""W; ; ' ' .' basketball a lot more too!" " ; ' -- Ronfc. Summer Hours: Mrjrnings only 30 12 30. Other hours by ippi. Call for FREE consultation 756-599- 0 76 S. Center, American Fork . Public welcome to shop at our NutraliT Laiiey's l Save 1 MDMOR ONLY NEXT 4 DAYS Junior and Ladies Sportswear Junior and Ladies Dresses Junior and Ladies Sweaters REFRIGERATED AIR CONDITIONING rear of store " ill P' for Laney's LxJ IJJ M customers. 1 ' of Lehi ) Van Camp's Sun Tree Lemon Juice Pork & Beans 25 oz 31 oz. 1 GOc QQC Carl Buddig Lynn sandwich Wilson meats Burritos T-- V. Dole pepSi & 1 Yogurt Pineapple 7-- Up g oz 20 oz. can Qt. Bottles j 3$g 1 w 3,a SItippy KL w' i Custom Grinding Wild & Domestic Game Prices Custom Cutting Full Service Effective Meat Counter Aug. 23-2- 8 PTA membership drive underway Local schools will be starting their membership drives during the first few weeks of school. Local merchants are supporting the drive by offering discounts and gifts to PTA card holders. Also several fast food chains have provided food coupons for those joining their school's PTA. The Pleasant Grove PTA Council is hoping the Pleasant Grove area residents will join PTA this year to lend the support our schools need. Last Week's Temperatures Now that summer is almost over we got the air conditioner installed in the window. That is typical of us all. The rains and thunder came, but blue skies look great again. Bate High Low Precip. Aug. 14 84 62 .26 Aug. 15 87 66 T ,' Aug. 16 82 65 .01 Aug. 17 84 59 Aug. 18 83 62 . Aug. 19 82 62 .02 Aug. 20 80 56 .40 Aug. 21 85 56 |
