Violent children's programming became very popular in the eighties and nineties with shows like G. I. JOE, Transformers, Voltron, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, just to name a few. The issue of television violence and its effects on children has been debated over for many years. Some say that it causes deviant behavior in young children. But others say that there is no concrete evidence to prove that deviant behavior can be linked to violence on television. Critics against television violence respond in this way.
American children watch an average of three to fours hours of television everyday.
Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and shaping behavior for young children. Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is violent. Experts in the field of children's programming have pondered this question. Most experts agree that violent programming should not be shown while children are in the audience. One expert, George Gerbner , from the University of Pennsylvania says that Children who watch a lot of television think the world is a more dangerous and violent place than children who don't watch so much television.