It was a question posed by Socrates to his student Plato in Plato's Republic. It concerns me deeply what the media consider appropriate material for children and even more so what parents allow their children to watch. Violence on television and in the movies is damaging to children. The average child watches four hours of television a day and I am tired of media moguls and others with agendas that always lead to their bank accounts trying to suggest that what we watch on TV and in the movies has no significant effect on us. If they were right, advertisers would not spend thousands of dollars to get their products spotlighted in movie clips and millions of dollars for commercials.
People are much too complicated for such assertions to be made.
However, the cumulative effect of the daily doses of violence, promiscuity, immorality, thoughtlessness, prejudice, and stereotyping create callous, desensitized individuals. As Levine states, there is nothing to argue about. The effects are clear. Levine states that the media, especially commercial television, have as their primary agenda to round up the largest and most affluent audience they can and deliver that audience to an advertiser. They are not concerned with the welfare of our families nor are they concerned about the welfare of our children.