Blog Recommendations

Hi everyone!

I have visited some very interesting blogs concerning contemporary issues dealing with problems in society we live in, and I would like to invite you to have a look at them.

Margarita Fatina’s blog deals with stereotyping of teenagers and its negative effects. More concretely, she makes a point that teenagers are stereotyped as users of drugs and alcohol, and she also discuss the issue of teen pregnancy. Rita claims that these stereotypes influence and further support such behavior among teens. She shows her point on examples from realty shows that majority of teenagers watch. Have a look!

http://stereotypingus.blogspot.com/

Assel Biyeva’s blog similarly concentrates on the topic of stereotyping women as sexual objects. She explores how women should look like according to media images, how it negatively influences children, and how it promotes teenage sex and pregnancy. Assel is in favor of setting strict limits to avoid such stereotyping of women.

http://estoysilencio.wordpress.com/

Barbora Netolicka’s blog criticizes political advertising and points out negative aspects of it. She also provides a lot of examples form real political campaigns, which support her argument that political advertising should be limited. It is worth looking at.

http://advertisinglimited.blogspot.com/

Marita Gurchiani’s blog is very similar to mine and discuss the issue of media and violence. She precisely explored violence in music videos, news media and internet. Marita concentrates on how violence as entertainment negatively influences children, and supports limitation and censorship of violent scenes or images in media.

http://maritagurcciani.livejournal.com/

Beatrice Jahodova’s blog explores the body image of women in media with connection to unrealistic image of beauty, which leads to developing health problems and eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia. It is very serious issue in society and young women need to know about the risks to prevent them. I think every teenager or young women should be educated about this problem, and to look at this blog is a good start.

http://portrayalsofwomen.wordpress.com/

Why is it important?

We now live in the society classified as the information era, which is an idea that people have ability to access and distribute information and knowledge freely through mass media. It is easier than ever to get what you are looking for, but on the other hand, it overwhelms us with unsolicited materials as well. People often do not realize that the exposure to mass media has any negative effects, but it does, and it usually affects the weakest members of our society, children. Mass media such as television negatively effects the psychological development of children and adolescents reproduced in criminal and aggressive behavior. Children try to imitate adult’s behavior observed on television, but they are unable to distinguish real life from fiction. As consequences, children and adolescents engage in aggressive behavior, bullying in schools, and even more serious crimes such as homicides. To prevent this extremely serious impact on children, it is important to be informed about the issue, to know the risks connected to television exposure, and to know possible solutions to this problem.

Is there a connection between media and real life violence?

Let’s look at some examples of how movies inspired violent behavior of children and adolescents. One would say that violence is portrayed only in thrillers, horrors, action movies or dramas, but it is not quite true. Even comedies may portray criminal and aggressive behavior, but people often do not realize that just because it is funny. An example of that is a comedy called Wedding Crashers. Olga Louniakova tried to poison her teacher by putting Visine eye drops into the bottle of water of an instructor because she has seen it in Wedding Crashers. An actor, Owen Wilson, demonstrated this prank in the movie, and caused diarrhea to his friend. But it is just a myth associated with this medicine. Olga was not aware of the real consequences, which lower body temperatures to dangerous levels, make breathing difficult, and bring on nausea, vomiting, blurred vision, seizures and even coma. Olga was found guilty of endangerment and was sentenced to two years prohibition. This incident shows that Olga simply imitated behavior observed in the movie, and could not critically distinguish real life consequences. 
http://www.wfsb.com/news/15563298/detail.html

Another striking example happened in Winchester. Only 13-year old girls got inspired by series of horror movies called Saw, and left a message on Beverly Dickson’s phone: "Hello, Beverly. I want to play a game. You need to decide if life is worth living for. We have one of your friends hidden in your house. You must find them within 10 minutes and get the key out of their heart. Get out of your house because there are vents and there is toxic gas that will be fogged out in 10 minutes. It will kill you in half a minute, so you decide, it's your game. Do you want to live or die?" The trouble was that Beverly was in a funeral procession when she got the message and it caused the stroke, and was rushed to hospital. Two girls were charged with phone harassment. One may say that it was just a fun, but consequences of this fun could have been fatal. Girls reproduced violent behavior from movie and did not realize the risk of the situation. 

http://www.wsmv.com/news/11345969/detail.html


Have a look at next to links which provide even more examples of real life crimes inspired by movies. The only conclusion we can make is that movies are not the best sources to look for  information and inspiration.
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/movies_made_me_kill/1_index.html
http://mydoubts.net/movies-inspired-real-life-crimes/

What scholars have to say?

Department of Psychology at the University of Toledo released the study with the purpose to examine relationships among violence exposure in the media and in real-life and desensitization as reflected in empathy and attitudes toward violence. As anticipated, exposure to video game violence was associated with lower empathy and stronger proviolence attitudes. This finding provides further support for concern about children’s exposure to video game violence, particularly if granted that lower empathy and stronger proviolence attitudes indicate desensitization to violence. In violent video games empathy is not adaptive, moral evaluation is often non-existent, but proviolence attitudes and behaviors are repeatedly rewarded (Funk, 2004). Such study proves that there is a relationship between media violence and desensitization of children.
http://docs.google.com/viewer?

a=v&q=cache:qoKdSLlBZJQJ:www.lionlamb.org/research_articles/study%25202.pdf+http://www.lionlamb.org/research_articles/study%25202.pdf&hl=sk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjkoe_DdpBIqE9ZHw9RZ6tFhMt_K9OADPuhNoWEUT7DQ8bRSUKdR4J9_TYdbkpMJy5RKb4c8wm2AydJsmzdEzoE6Gh6cydoFUyTQk27jt6JjARYGR6HNv2WUS2RjJLz23Xut8g-&sig=AHIEtbS8Qg0Np7_Aa3IfCg5l_n6Eu6wPTQ

The study called “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” conducted the research on violent television and films, video games, and music, which reveals evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both immediate and long-term contexts. The findings claim that short-term exposure increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions, and large-scale longitudinal studies provide converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with aggression later in life, including physical assaults and spouse abuse (Anderson, 2003). This research supports the arguments that exposure to media violence influence children and adolescents in a negative way. 

http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:S_-8PLrPXJcJ:www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi43.pdf+the+influence+of+media+violence+on+youth&hl=sk&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgfh46XlGeTLUB9daZtCZC2fL7PtEn3qxgHVOr1fdJqY_nJv2fJpTnXe2ixhFom8uWB7Co4JtJElJ3TOXzdz2HpTdocfTNha4UFY5D5ExnewySP_vY9PqlncKiEPoUEsylfXiaC&sig=AHIEtbQLlxiycETBW90xSWcP_Bd7d-1ChQ

References

Anderson, Craig A., Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnernstein, Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella. "The Influence Of Media Violence On Youth." Psychological Science In The Public Interest 4 (2003). Print. 

Funk, Jeanne B., Heidi Baldacci, Tracie Pasold, and Jennifer Baumgardner. "Violence Exposure in Real-life, Video Games, Television, Movies, and the Internet: Is There Desensitization?" Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004). Print.

Where should I look for more information?

As the title: “Adults and Children Together Against Violence” indicates, this web site’s mission is to mobilize communities and educate families to minimize the risks connected to children’s exposure to media violence and its consequences. Emphasize is put on patents and teachers, who should be aware of the importance of the issue, and should spread the awareness. This web site lists concrete advises, which help adults to protect their children, and some of them are: monitor what children watch, teach children how to analyze the media and become educated media consumers, show by their own behavior how to be good media consumers, share their rules about exposure to media with other adults in the family or neighborhood. The web site also encourages parents to talk to their children and teach them an important lesson such as: violence in the media is make-believe, not real; real-life violence hurts people; guns, bullets, knives, and other weapons on TV are fake; real weapons hurt or kill people.

All adults and mainly parents should visit this web site because they will find there concrete examples how to prevent children from negative effects of media exposure, and if they are interested, it navigates them how to get actively involved in their community as well. 

http://actagainstviolence.apa.org/mediaviolence/index.html

"The Encyclopedia of Death and Dying" web site concentrates on the children and media violence by providing many researches connecting to it, and try to stress the importance of the facts and results.  It provides the analysis of television programing and answers important questions such as: Is the aggressive behavior on the screen rewarded or punished? Is the violence gratuitous or justified? Does it have consequences? Does the child identify with the aggressor or the victim? Does the child see television violence as realistic? Answers to these questions point to the negative perception of children about media violence. It is important for public to know what effects media violence has on children, and at the same time, how to prevent them. The website encourages parents to be informed, to set limits, and to use mediation and intervention. 

http://www.deathreference.com/Ce-Da/Children-and-Media-Violence.html

“Turn Off Your TV” web site analyzed changes in the level of violence in television programming. Three common themes with respect to TV violence were observed: violence drives the storyline, violence has no consequences, and TV is a world of good and bad. Three-year comparison showed that the number of violent programs increased, anti-violent themes decreased, number of bad characters who go unpunished increased, and programs with violence in realistic settings increased as well. All of these findings show that children are exposed to violence more and more during the years, which negatively affect them. The web site also brings to attention that violent behavior is learned trait among children, and children who watch a lot of television become aggressive adults. This findings are supported by concrete examples from television programs which should help parents to realize that content of shows aired on TV is not suitable for children, and they need to make steps to protect safe environment for children. 

http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/violencechildren/violencechildren.html

Media Violence and Child Development

Technology such as television brings progress and makes everyday life easier, but on the other hand, there are also negative effects which cause major problems to society, which people often do not realize. There have been thousands of studies done searching for a connection between television violence and real-life violence. At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing[1] on Neurobiological Research and the Impact of Media on Children, Dr. Michael Rich, Director of the Center on Media and Children’s Health at the Children’s Hospital of Boston testified

The correlation between violent media and aggressive behavior is stronger than that of calcium intake and bone mass, lead ingestion and lower IQ, condom non-use and sexually acquired HIV, and environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer, all associations that clinicians accept as fact, and on which preventive medicine is based without question.[2]

According to Jeffrey McIntyre, legislative and federal affairs officer for the American

Psychological Association, “To argue against it is like arguing against gravity,”[3] which means that the connection between TV violence and negative child development is expressly evident.  

In order to understand the research completely, key terms and definitions have to be explained. It is necessary to establish what is meant by terms such as ‘violence’, ‘aggression’, ‘child’, ‘adolescent’, ‘psychological development’, ‘v-chip’ and ‘rating system’. Violence is then described as an evident depiction of credible threat of physical force or the actual use of such force intended to cause physical harm. Aggression is hostile or destructive behavior or action. A child is a person between birth and puberty, while adolescent is a person between puberty and adulthood; it is a time of rapid emotional and intellectual growth. Psychological development is defined as a development of cognitive, emotional, intellectual, and social capabilities and functioning over the course of one’s life.[4] The V-chip blocks programs from the television based upon the rating selected by the parent and rating system is displayed on the television screen for the first 15 seconds of rated programming and, in conjunction with the V-Chip, permit parents to block programming with a certain rating from coming into their home.[5]

Many legitimate professionals might disagree with the assertion that there is a connection between television violence and negative child development. However, the position presented in this research is that television violence has a negative effect on the psychological development of children and adolescents because of the aggressive and violent acts observed on TV, which are reproduced in the behavior of children.

The statistics concerning TV exposure in children and adolescent (as well as the display of aggressive and violent acts) are rather moving. According to American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the average child or adolescent watches nearly three hours of television per day, which does not include other media such as video games with the inclusion of which that would be over six hours per day. By the age of seventy, total TV viewing represents between seven and ten years spent watching television.[6] These numbers suggest that people have become more dependent on television either as a source of knowledge or entertainment. The American Academy of Pedestrians further supports this claim by providing evidence that more than 37 percent of two to seven-year-olds and 65 percent of eight to eighteen-year-olds have television sets in their bedrooms.[7] It might be interesting to speculate upon how productive and active children could become without television. What connection exists, if any, between watching three hours of television per day and violence?

According to the Parents Television Council State of the Industry Report, it is estimated that by the time a child leaves elementary school, 8,000 murders and over 10,000 other acts of violence will be witnessed[8]. These numbers increase when children become adolescents. The National Television Violence Study found that two out of three television programs contain some violence, averaging six violent acts per hour.[9] The enormous amount of aggressive behavior and violence on television may well be suspected of having an impact on children’s behavior in real-life. According to American Academy of Pediatrics, as much as ten to twenty percent of television violence is attributed to real-life violence.[10] It is true that children and adolescent spend more time watching television, but on the other hand, the major broadcast television networks also increased violence in every time period over the years. David Grossman, author of “Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill” explains

Violence is like the nicotine in cigarettes. The reason why the media has to pump even more violence into us is because we have built up a tolerance. In order to get the same high, we need even higher levels…the television industry has gained its market share through an addictive and toxic ingredient.[11]

The Parents Television Council State of Television Industry Report examined programming from the first two weeks of November in 1998, 2000 and 2002 on the six major broadcast networks in America. The results showed that in 2002, depictions of violence were 41 percent more frequent during family hour at eight o’clock, and 134 percent more frequent during nine o’clock in the evening than in 1998.[12] Broadcasters will most likely continue in this escalating trend as long and as far as people let them. Another report from The National Television violence study provides similar outcomes. This study was accomplished earlier, from 1994 to 1997, where the number of programs with violence increased from 53 to 67 percent on broadcast television.[13] It is evident that more aggression and violence occur on television and children’s programming is not an exception.

Iowa State University’s article compares the number of violent acts in programs for adults and in children’s programming. As mentioned before, an average number of violent acts every hour on television is six, while children’s programming has an average of 26 violent acts every hour.[14] This number is not final because only ten percent of children’s viewing time is spent watching programs appropriate for them; the other 90 percent is spent watching programs designed for adults.[15] Parents often do not realize that movies and shows for children contain even more violence than other programs.

While it is true that that not every child who is exposed to a lot of television violence is going to become violent and aggressive, “every exposure to violence increases the chances that some day a child will most likely behave more violently than otherwise would,”[16] according to Dr. Rowell Huesmann of University of Michigan. However, The National Institute if Mental Health identified three major effects of seeing violence on television. Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others; may be more fearful of the world around them and children may also be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others.[17]

First of all, it is important to realize that child’s cognitive development starts right from the birth. “What a child learns about violence, a child learns for life,”[18] states Against Violence Organization and breaks down the early years of television viewing development of children. Infants from birth to 18 months are interested in television because the light and sound attracts them. Toddlers from 18 to 36 months are able to get meaning from programs and react equally to animated violence and real violence because the link between fantasy and reality is not developed. Pre-schoolers from three to five years pay attention to the most violent scenes on the television. Last, but not least, elementary school age children from six to eleven believe that television reflects real life.[19] It is therefore expected that this violent behavior is a learned habit, which originates from an extremely early age.

The Organization “Adults and Children Together Against Violence” also explains that “child’s psychological development is extremely important. Young infants can imitate live models as well as what they see on television without full understanding of their actions; they learn by watching and imitating others.”[20] If it is considered that a child learn aggressive and violent behavior in such an early age, than it has to have some effect in their later life.

The effect that occurs when watching violence on television is mimesis. This is particularly likely to occur with young children who are unaware of behavior that is correct and behavior that is wrong. Albert Bandura[21] tested this theory of mimesis using a laboratory experiment with a Bobo doll[22]. The children were all asked to watch a video of adults playing with a Bobo doll. The first group saw the adults hitting the doll, the second saw them hitting the doll and being rewarded for it and the final group saw them hit the doll and then be punished for it. The children were then one by one placed in a room with toys including the Bobo doll and a hammer. They were left for ten minutes and their actions were observed throughout this time. It was found that groups one and two imitated some of the actions of the adults using the Bobo doll, with those from group three did not show signs of violence towards the toys. It appears that the punishment they had observed with the adults had directly affected the way they responded to the toys. It could be said that the punishment the adults encountered conditioned them to realize that this behavior was wrong and therefore they did not imitate it.[23]

A real example of this is notorious Jamie Bulger case where a toddler was killed. It is believed that the two youngsters that killed him had been watching the film called “Child’s Play 3” and had then imitated the violence they had seen in the film.[24] If this theory is correct, it appears that imitating violence from television has harmful effects.

Moreover, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that proving the negative effects of television violence on children. In 1973, there was a small Canadian town named Notel[25], where people did not have television due to problems with signal reception. Investigators examined the impact on this community by using two control groups of similar communities that already had television. Rates of physical aggression did not change significantly among children in the two control groups, but two years after the introduction of television in Notel, rates had increased by 160 percent.[26]

One of the effects of such learned behavior is bullying in schools: the National Television Violence Study demonstrated a relationship between children’s bullying and their exposure to television violence. Third, fourth and fifth graders who were indentified by other classmates as being the ones spreading rumors, excluding and insulting peers and behaving in ways that hurt others, were more likely to view violence than nonaggressive children.[27] It is also supported by Frederic Zimmerman’s[28] article published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, where the conclusion shows that bullying at schools is connected to exposure to television.[29] This violent and aggressive behavior does not stop at school, but is later reproduced in the adult life.

Another effect of television violence is that children who watch television frequently become aggressive adults. The most influential research from the University of Michigan released and published findings from 15-year longitudinal study of 329 youths. Results showed that men who were high television violence viewers as children were significantly more likely to have been convicted of a crime and to have committed a moving traffic violation. Similarly, women who were high television violence viewers as well were more likely to commit a criminal act or reported having punched, beaten or choked another adult.[30]

More serious crimes such as homicides were also connected to television viewing. The Journal of American Medical Association also emphasizes that following the introduction of television into the United States, the annual homicide rate increased by 93 percent, from three homicides per 100,000 population in 1945 to 5.8 per 100,000 in 1974. As with US, following the introduction of television into Canada the Canadian homicide rate increased by 92 percent, from 1.3 homicides per 100,000 population in 1945 to 2.5 per 100,000 population in 1974. For both Canada and the United States, there was a lag of 10 to 15 years between the introduction of television and the subsequent doubling of the homicide rate. Given that homicide is primarily an adult crime, if television exerts its behavior modifying effects primarily on children, the initial television generation[31] would have had to age 10 to 15 years before they would have been old enough to affect the homicide rate. If this were so, it would be expected that, as the initial television generation grew up, rates of serious violence would first begin to rise among children, then several years later it would begin to rise among adolescents, then still later among young adults, and so on, and that is what is observed.[32]

Even though there are clear negative aspects of viewing television, there are some solutions to the problematic. As Jane Brandy from Delaware’s Department of Justice advocates, parents have the power to stop television violence by setting clear limits. Children have to accept rules and daily limits of viewing television should be one or two hours.[33] The Journal of American Medical Association also adds that Children's exposure to television and television violence should become part of the public health agenda, along with safety seats, bicycle helmets, immunizations, and good nutrition because one-time campaigns are of little value.[34] Parents are often unable to watch children constantly, that is the reason why technologies are needed.

Federal Communication Commission introduced the new television rating system and the V-chip, which are tools that help protect children from potentially harmful content without constant participation of parents. From 1999, all new television sets in America with a screen measuring over 33 centimeters should contain v-chip that enables parents to program television to block out any shows that are inappropriate for children. To block out television shows, parents must use the television rating system, which has age and content description for violence, sexual situations, suggestive dialogue and adult language. Ratings should be applied uniformly and listed in television guides, newspapers and journals so parents know what they mean.[35]

However, this requirement of installing the V-chip into television sets does not apply to video transmissions delivered over the Internet or via computer networks³⁵. It also does not include new generation mobile phones which include TV monitor. On the other hand, it is responsibility of each parent to decide whether to give a child such phone and also at what age. It is impossible to protect children from viewing TV violence completely because it may also have negative effect in response. The more restrictions, the more children try to rebel and act on their own.

To say that childhood exposure to television violence is the only factor behind violent acts would be wrong. Manifestly, every violent act is the result of an array of forces coming together such as poverty, crime, alcohol and drug abuse or stress. On the other hand, it is evident that viewing of violent behavior has a significant effect on a child’s psychological development. It is difficult to change the fact that television broadcasters include violence in the programming (nor should they), but there are some possibilities how to protect children and adolescents from negative aspects of television, which are parental control among with v-chip and rating system.

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[1] The Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Neurobiological Research and the Impact of Media on Children was held on March 10^th, 2003 in Los Angeles, California; and it was 108^th Cong., 1^st session.

[2] Allen, Steve. "TV Bloodbath: Violence on Prime Time Broadcast TV." A PTC State of the Television Industry Report. Print.

[3] Allen, p.3

[4] Dictionary.com | Find the Meaning and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. http://dictionary.reference.com/. 

[5] "FCC V-Chip." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fcc.gov/vchip/>.

[6] Committee on Public Education. "Children, Adolescents, and Television." American Academy of Pediatrics Vol. 107.No. 2 (February, 2001). Print.

[7] Committee on Public Education.

[8] Allen, p.4

[9] Kaiser, Henry J. "Key Facts: TV Violence." (2003). Print.

[10] Committee on Public Education.

[11] Allen, p.4

[12] Allen, p.1

[13] Kaiser.

[14] Iowa State University. "Getting Along: Taming the TV." (October, 1999). Print.

[15] Iowa State University.

[16] Allen, p.4

[17] Kaufman, Ron. Filling Their Minds with Death: TV Violence and Children." 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/violencechildren/ violencechildren.html>.

[18] Kaufman.

[19] Kaufman.

[20] Kaufman.

[21]Albert Bandura is a psychologist and the David Starr Jordan Professor Emeritus of Social Science in Psychology at Stanford University.

[22] An inflatable plastic doll used in the research of aggression.

[23] Oatey.

[24] Oatey, Alison. "Television Viewing and Violent Behavior." 30 Nov. 1998. Web. 06 May 2010. <http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/aeo9701.html>.

[25] A small Canadian town called “Notel” by the investigators.

[26] Centerwall, Brandon S. "Television and Violence The Scale of the Problem and Where to Go From Here." Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 267.No. 22 (1992). Print.

[27] Kaiser.

[28]Frederic Zimmerman  is Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services in Los Angeles, California.

[29] Zimmerman, Frederick J., Gwen M. Glew, Dimitri A. Christakis, and Wayne Katon. "Early Cognitive Stimulation, Emotional Support, and Television Watching as Predictors of Subsequent Bullying Among Grade-School Children." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Mdicine Vol. 159.No. 4 (2005): 159:384-388. Apr. 2005. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. <http://archpedi.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/4/384>.

[30] Kaufman.

[31] The initial television generation consists of people who television was introduced to for the first time.

[32] Centerwall.

[33] Brady, Jane M., and State of Delaware, Department of Justice. "10 Tips for Parents to Stop Media Violence." Print.

[34] Centerwall.

[35] Committee on Public Education.

References

Allen, Steve. "TV Bloodbath: Violence on Prime Time Broadcast TV." A PTC State of the Television Industry Report. Print.

Brady, Jane M., and State of Delaware, Department of Justice. "10 Tips for Parents to Stop Media Violence." Print.

Centerwall, Brandon S. "Television and Violence The Scale of the Problem and Where to Go From Here." Journal of the American Medical Association Vol 267.No. 22 (1992). Print.

"Commission Finds Industry Video Programming Rating System Acceptable; Adopts Technical Requirements to Enable Blocking of Video Programming (the "V-Chip")." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page. 12 Mar. 1998. Web. 06 May 2010. <http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/1998/nrcb8003.html>.

Committee on Public Education. "Children, Adolescents, and Television." American Academy of Pediatrics Vol. 107.No. 2 (February, 2001). Print.

Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/>.

"FCC V-Chip." Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page. Web. 19 Apr. 2010. <http://www.fcc.gov/vchip/>.

Iowa State University. "Getting Along: Taming the TV." (October, 1999). Print.

Jones, Steve. "Negative Effects of Technology." Lecture. Web. 15 Apr. 2010. <http://www.ehow.com/video_4765923_negative-effects-technology.html>.

Kaiser, Henry J. "Key Facts: TV Violence." (2003). Print.

Kaufman, Ron. "Filling Their Minds with Death: TV Violence and Children." 2004. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. <http://www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/violencechildren/

violencechildren.html>.

Oatey, Alison. "Television Viewing and Violent Behaviour." 30 Nov. 1998. Web. 06 May 2010. <http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/aeo9701.html>.

Zimmerman, Frederick J., Gwen M. Glew, Dimitri A. Christakis, and Wayne Katon. "Early Cognitive Stimulation, Emotional Support, and Television Watching as Predictors of Subsequent Bullying Among Grade-School Children." Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Mdicine Vol. 159.No. 4 (2005): 159:384-388. Apr. 2005. Web. 1 Mar. 2010. <http://archpedi.highwire.org/cgi/content/abstract/159/4/384>.