The Bad Effect of Watching Too Much TV in Children

      Nowadays, television is electronic media able to spread the news fast and own the ability to take in a huge amount of many TV programs in the equal time. The variants of TV programs are able to entertain the viewers and make them addicted to always watch the television. For example: In life of children, TV has become a part which can’t be separated from daily routine and it also has become the virus. Watching too much TV can cause bad effects in physical, moral, and cognitive development for children.

      Physical growth is relatively slow and unbalanced when the children spend most of their time on television. Children are often sitting down in front of TV after school and not doing other activities. Research has shown that television has replaced many outdoor activities. That’s why watching television too much will influence the physical development, like: obesity and myopic disease. In earlier period, children usually play in the garden or in the park, but lately, kids huddle around television screen and they are taking little or no exercise. Moreover, children usually like snacking. It is worsen situation to prevent overweight.  Then, the visibility factor which is not appropriate and the radiation from the TV can cause eye disease, such as: myopia and hypermetropia.  

      By watching too much television, children can acquire bad effect in moral development. For example: it can lead imitative behavior, reduces the spirit of learning, encourages children to be consumptive, and loosens the relationship in family. It can lead imitative behavior because children usually imitate what they see and apply it in their life. Not only the children imitate what they see, but also they will get several negative impacts, such as: it can be exposed to violent and angry behavior. Afterward, spending more time in TV can reduce the spirit of learning. We know that television language is simple, interesting, and addictive, so that it is likely the children become lazy to study. Next, it can encourage children to be consumptive. Children are prominent target of advertisement. A variety of advertisement in TV is really easy to obsess the children’s mind. Children tend to desire to have products which are advertised. Furthermore, it also can loosen the relationship in family. Children who watch too much television tend to have fewer real interpersonal relationships and interactions. Because most children are watching TV more than 4 hours a day, so the time to chat with family is usually cut or lost.

            In cognitive development, children thinking develop gradually. On early age/ nonage, capacity of children thinking is still imaginative and egocentric then it continually develops become more concrete, rational, and objective.  But if the children spend many hours on television, they will get bad effects of TV like: less creativity, lower academic performance, and passive. It can cause less creativity, due to TV has made the children are seldom to play with their friends, so the children will be individualistic and lazy to do anything. When the children feel bored, they frequently just press remote control button of TV for entertaining. This way certainly will make children are not creative at all. Moreover, TV can make the children get the lower academic performance because children are too often watching TV and never read. Those bad activities can influence the children become a simple thinking, less critical, and ultimately, they will get impact with their imagination, intellectual, creative, and cognitive development.  Thus, children will gain some difficulties to learn or read, to keep their attention focus, to get speaking skill, and to do well in school. Thereafter, spending too often on television can make the children become passive. Children will be more incommunicative, seldom play, cannot create of creativity, and even they cannot think clearly.

      In conclusion, after we talk about the bad impact of TV in physical development, moral development, and cognitive development we become more realized that TV is not good for children. Hence, children shouldn’t watch too much television because TV will give bad influences in brain development. Then it also just waste time, children can use the time in more beneficial activities. The best way that can avoid these negative effects is limit the children in watching television for less than two hours per day.

Reference:

Yolandaaabbb. “PENGARUH NEGATIF MENONTON TELEVISI PADA ANAK USIA DINI TERHADAP AKHLAK DAN PERILAKU SEHARI-HARI”, http://www.scribd.com/doc/34637358/PENGARUH-NEGATIF-MENONTON-TELEVISI-PADA-ANAK-USIA-DINI-TERHADAP-AKHLAK-DAN-PERILAKU-SEHARI-HARI

 

Ahira, Anne. “Dampak Nonton TV pada Anak”, http://www.anneahira.com/nonton-tv.htm

Oktaviana, Mira. “Televisi dan Dampaknya terhadap Anak-Anak dan Remaja”, http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CDMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fkk.mercubuana.ac.id%2Ffiles%2F94019-10-814713085642.doc&ei=30TiUIsohausB6PvgegM&usg=AFQjCNF7mUPH4fQvl1Ta9_SsijMFyAEpqw

Maria Ulfa / class E