The Senate Gets in a Huff Over Bad Television

Last week, the Senate held hearings about the influence of violence and inappropriate sexual content on children. Investigating purulent content in one medium or another has been a top priority of the Bush administration and their adjuncts in congress.

To date, there have been no Senate hearings on the perversions of the 24 hour news cycle and the miserable state of broadcast and print journalism, rife with lies, dysinformation, spin, propaganda and partisan tiddle tattle. I know of no scientific studies on the deliterious effect on children who grow up in society surrounded by lies and confusion and whose democratic underpinnings are badly eroded. We do know that the legislation that has been allowed to pass out of Congress when the pubic is bamboozled by the media has diminished our childrens hopes and propects for a brighter future. It some cases it endangers their very lives.

I personally don't know of any studies regarding the effects on children of watching simulated sex on TV. Someone must have looked this issue. In poorer societies, people all sleep in the same room and sexual activity is not the family secret it is in our culture of four bedroom homes.
My generation didn't have the option of seeing actors recreate steamy trysts in our living rooms. The straight laced society in which I came of age levied enormous social penalites for out of wedlock pregnancies and gave little access to information or birth control. The social controls seemed to act more effectively on speaking openly about sexual activity than preventing young people from participating.

I do not know of any society that has been well served by censorship. With the caliber of leadership we presently enjoy, it is certain to be an unmitigated disaster. Any sort of limiting of speech or expression, in the name of protecting our children, is sure to be abused force social compliance, to curtail dissent and to punish opposition.

We have known almost as long as we have had violence on television that too much ain't good.
There were studies done in the 1960's that indicated that violence observed on television found its way directly into the play of even very young children. Children are not fully competent to separate fantasy from reality or to realize the consequences of violent activity. Adolescent males seem to be particularly vulnerable to confusion.

Watching a lot of violent entertainment has some surprising effects on adults.
It made them fearful, (easier to control?) more tolerant of violence within the society and unlikely to intervene in a violent situation they witness.

In more than half a century, our society and our legislative bodies have been unable and unwilling to address this issue either at its source, the television networks and producers or in limiting the effects of the end user, limiting access to firearms, addressing undiagosed and untreated mental illness and teaching non violent ways of coping with anger and frustration.
The figures for undiagnosed and untreated mental illness may be as high as 25%.

When very young children watch too much of any sort of television, research indicates surprising consequence that deserves more attention.
It inhibits socialization among the very young. As a child reacts to the faces and activity on the screen and the television fails to respond to the child, it discourages them from attempting future social interactions. The result is less success in social situations and feelings of isolation. If this persists, feelings of isolation can translate into depression and anti-social behavior.

The issue of media and children is broader than just "sex and violins". The real solution to these problems happens to be the same as the solution for our crippled and highly distorted news and information resources that more directly affects adults. We need less consolidation, more diversity, public accountability, and more public access.

Carol DW