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Behind a Punch and Judy show
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A seemingly innocuous television programme may prove harmful to young minds. These programmes need careful monitoring, says DR. C. P. SOMASUNDARAM
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CHILDREN MAKE good copycats, especially when they have a visual exposure. So T.V, beaming at times, uncensored violence and sex can confuse, disturb and trouble their little minds. On celluloid, if good characters are justified in their portrayals of violence and aggression, it will have a negative effect on young minds. More children now watch television programmes, particularly the ones in which `good' characters perpetrate violence, and then go on to behave aggressively as adults.
It is not always that terrifying or gory violence, that has the most powerful effects on children, but it is the sanitised violence, portrayed in a positive light, as justified or rewarded, that produces problems in children. Problems like aggression or antisocial behaviour.
"Heavy media violence watching" may contribute to aggressive or many other such maladapted behaviours. They maintain poor interpersonal relationship with others. They are seen pushing, grabbing or coaxing their friends to watch the dreadful scenes that bring about negative consequences.
"Heavy violence viewers" in childhood are more likely to abuse, beat or rebuke their parents in their lives than the non-viewers. The social status, intelligence, etc. of the children are evinced as no exception to this rule. Even, if the parents note how unrealistic a programme is, a bad one will have a drastic impact on the viewer. For example, even if it happens to be a `Punch-and Judy Show' (puppet show in which a little hook-nosed hump back quarrels ludicrously with his wife Judy), if watched by innocent children, may produce unfavourable responses in them.
Some children, who are prone to television addiction, show poor performances in their academics, in their social lives and sleep patterns. Children stay up late at night to watch frightful scenes and feel more distressed than feeling better in the morning. Many television shows contain sexual contents that corrupt their minds.
The present day advertisements too affect the mental health of children. Adult visuals, if seen by children on T.V. may be so crippling, compelling and shocking, whatever be the rationalisations of the makers.
Young minds work in subtle ways and the bad visuals exploit their minds to imitate, to experiment or to enjoy. An advertisement to stop drug abuse or unhealthy eating may sometimes turn out to be bad stimulants for curious young brains to experiment it.
The consequences are quite obvious. A television advertisement with a boy seeing smiling girls as he skateboards, when the sound is turned off and an obscene scene, when the sound is on, will just shock and confuse the child. Children usually see things that are easy on their eyes and on their mind.
Special online classes and expert information about services on campus can protect children from television pornography. Topics can scan from career services, partying behaviours, inter-group relations, children's health, hazards of watching bad television shows, academic counselling, interschool sports and athletics. Humans are born with an innate capacity to imitate. So it is not surprising that children can encode violence, sports, honesty or love viewed in television. This can have a long lasting influence in their adult life.
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
Visakhapatnam
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