TV and Violence

Another interesting aspect of Dr. Richard Restak’s lecture was the correlation between hours spent watching television and the propensity of aggressive (violent) behavior.

He spoke of a study that followed 777 families in upstate New York over a period of 25 years. Here’s the breakdown according to daily viewing patterns:

about 3 hours – 18% prone to violent behavior

5 or more hours – 25% prone to violent behavior

less than 1 hour- 5.7% prone to violent behavior

And although violence wasn’t necessarily being watched, well over half the programs on tv depict some kind of violence (often with graphic images).

And after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, another study was released focusing on the effects of the media coverage. There was a direct correlation in patients diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and the amount of time spent watching the coverage of the airplanes slamming into the World Trade Towers followed by their collapse.

Just something to think about.

How much time do you spend watching tv? And what do you watch?