The Impact of Television Usage on Emerging Adolescents

Plato's ancient concern has once again reared its head. A brief overview of the type of television programming commonly viewed by emerging adolescents can cause an adult to conclude that the wrong ideas are being infused into the minds of our youth. Articles in magazines and newspapers frequently reinforce this notion. The reasoning goes like this. The typical American youth will view approximately 15,000 hours (this figure may vary depending on the whims of the writer) of TV between the ages of 5 to 18. Most programming that young people view is riddled with violence and sexual innuendos. Therefore, television is an evil force a technical innovation that has opened up a Pandora's Box of wicked images. These images subtly subvert our youth into patterns of antisocial behavior and passivity.