Between 1967 and 1979, violence on children's programming occurred at a rate of 18.6 acts of violence per hour. After l980, however, the rate of violent action increased to 26.4 times per hour. These programs have roughly five times as many violent actions as those in prime time. Television sets in the average American home are turned on for seven hours each day, Signorielli said. In addition, children are exposed to more than 20 acts of violence during each hour of viewing on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Television violence is antiseptic with few real consequences, little pain and even less blood.
Dramatic violence is a quick and easy solution to any number of problems, all of which are solved, usually to everyone's satisfaction and often happily, typically within an hour. Today, when violence occurs, those on-scene are more likely to run to find their camcorders and start videotaping than to offer assistance or run to the telephone to find help. Studies have demonstrated that exposure to violent programming may desensitize and lead to imitation of certain violent actions. Studies have also found that children who watch violent programming may behave in aggressive ways. Rather, we have to examine the global marketing strategies that may be at the root of the problem.