Seeing Violence
The average American child will witness 200,000 violent
acts on television by age 18. Many violent acts are caused by the "good guys," whom
kids are taught to admire. In fact, in video games the hero often succeeds by fighting
with or killing the enemy.
This can lead to confusion when kids try to understand
the difference between right and wrong. Young kids are particularly frightened by
scary and violent images. Simply telling kids that those images aren't real won't
make them feel better, because they can't yet tell the difference between fantasy
and reality. Behavior problems, nightmares,
and difficulty sleeping may follow exposure to such violence.
Older kids can be frightened by violent images too. Reasoning
with kids this age will help them, so it's important to provide reassuring and honest
information to help ease fears. But it's even better to not let your kids view programs
or play games that they find frightening.
Watching Risky Behaviors
TV and video games are full of content that depicts risky behaviors (such as drinking alcohol, doing drugs, smoking cigarettes, and having sex
at a young age) as cool, fun, and exciting.
Studies have shown that teens who watch lots of sexual content on TV are more likely
to initiate intercourse or participate in other sexual activities earlier than peers
who don't watch sexually explicit shows.
While cigarette and e-cigarette ads
are banned on television, kids can still see plenty of people smoking in TV shows.
This makes behaviors like smoking and drinking alcohol seem acceptable and might lead
to substance abuse problems.
The Obesity Link
Health experts have long linked too much screen time to obesity
— a significant health problem today. When they're staring at screens, kids
are inactive and tend to snack. They're also bombarded with ads that encourage them
to eat unhealthy foods like potato chips and drink empty-calorie soft drinks that
often become favorite snack foods.
Studies have shown that decreasing the amount of TV kids watched led to less weight
gain and lower body mass index
(BMI). Replacing video game time with outdoor game time is another good way to
help kids maintain a healthy weight.