Reality+of+TV

** More Than A Show ** The Alliance for Childhood is a nonprofit organization who continues to fight on the behalf of children. Today's society is filled with images of sex, drugs, and violence that are undoubtledly influencing children and their behavior. " According to a 2003 poll by Common Sense Media, 9 out of 10 parents believe that exposure to the media is contributing to children becoming too materialistic, using more coarse and vulgar language, engaging in sexual activity at younger ages,experiencing a loss of innocence too soon, and behaving in anti-social or even violent ways" (Alliance for Childhood, 2004, p. 29). Numerous studies have and continue to be conducted which show a strong corrolation between exposure to violence and physical violence displayed in children  " (Alliance for Childhood, 2004, p.26).

Heavy exposure to violence in televison and video games have resulted in tragedy throughout the United States in both High Schools and universities as young adults have taken what they have seen on the screen and have carried the same violence into their real world. Perhaps no more evident of this is the tragic Columbine High School schooting that took place in 1999. "The American Academy of Pediatrics has called the negative influence of mass media on children a major public health concern. After the shooting at Columbine High School, Les Moonves, the presidentof CBS, pretty much agreed. You would have to be “an idiot,” he said, to deny that the media had something to do with it" (Alliance for Childhood, 2004, p. 26).

Created by: Austin Monheit and Valerie Laranko

Alliance for Childhood. (2004). Tech Tonic:Towards a New Literacy of Technology College Park, MD: Alliance For Childhood. --