There are a number of television programs that include violent and aggressive scenes in their content. The WWE, for example, is a program that is viewed by an increasing number of young children and adolescents alongside their parents. There have been reported cases of young children harming or killing their peers using the styles they watch from the WWE. On the other hand, most network news is increasingly including gross murders, kidnappings, traffic accidents or war scenes to their coverage.
It is common to see a good guy killing a number of bad guys using dangerous weapons. A research by the public health community has concluded that viewing entertainment violence can lead to increase in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, mostly in children. Dr. Rowell of the University of Michigan also confirms that, each exposure to violence will increase the chances that a child will one day behave more violently than normally expected. The researches also suggest that, over some time, violent programs will increases the likelihood of a disposition towards aggressive behaviour amongst children and young adults. According to the MD, the Kaiser Family Foundation, Mary Gavin, nearly two-thirds of infants or toddlers watches TV an average of 2 hours a day. Those under six years watch TV for about two hours a day. Also teenagers spend nearly six hours a day in front of a TV and a computer screen.
According to Eugene Beresin, the Director of Child Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training at Massachusetts General Hospital, an average American child witnesses over two hundred thousand violent acts on television by their eighteenth birthday. This figure is alarming and will eventually affect their behavior. It is also intriguing to note that television violence seem to become more graphic over time than before. Most of these programs are being aired during family hours. That is, the time when children are still awake, and the parents are not working. Short-term exposure to violent television programs will increase the likelihood of physical and aggressive behavior (Jeffrey 247). Recent studies have provided evidence that link frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with aggression or violence later in life, for example, physical assaults and spouse abuse.