Some paper Justin wrote about TV?

TV and Such

I have a brother who is about your age. He probably also likes the same things that you do, too. He likes video games and television. He likes to read and is pretty good at math. He tries to get out of doing his homework, and plays with his friends next door. We do not mind that he tries to get out of homework, or disappears for hours (although it does annoy us to stay up with him when he does get around to his homework) but the television and video games do bother the entire family.

We do not have cable, and I was not allowed to buy a game system until I was twelve, but he still finds ways to watch all the wrong shows at friends' houses. The shows he watches change him from a cute kid to a little monster. He does not want to turn the television off when he is done. He becomes violent and ready to fight to keep the set on. After it is off, he plays different games, preferring to hit his siblings with sticks over his usual choices. With video games, he is even worse. The reason this happens is obvious; TV and video are polluting kids' minds.

Not too long ago, I discovered that violence happens 20-25 times an hour; six to seven times more often on Saturday morning cartoons than on prime time adult shows. That staggered me. I did not realize that so many people could be exposed to so much in such a short time. That is serious. When you throw in the fact that the average eighteen-year-old has seen 16,000 murders and that 21.069% of all statistics are made up on the spot, that is even more serious.

All kidding aside with the last of those statistics, the truth is that television is not the only form of media that promotes such actions, but video games do so, too. I was sad to see that the latest of the sonic series, a video game series that I have liked for some time, contained language and some questionable violence. Unfortunately, it was not until I had plugged the game into the TV and my brother ad entered the room to watch me that I realized that, and so it taught him some language that was…colorful, to say the least. Other games, like Grand Theft Auto, Halo 2, and more, are violent, yet bestsellers, and 70% of restricted video games still find their way to underage people. I have been told of many accounts online of children who could not be older than ten playing 'M' rated video games. Video games came from TV, and the violence that is shown on games will often mark what is soon to be shown on television.

If you young people could please find other ways to entertain yourselves, then maybe we could send a different message to the media industry. If we could watch tamer shows, or play different games, electronic or otherwise, then we could turn our society around. Who's with me?