They can show the long range effects of televised violence. Leonard Eron, Ph.D., as well as his associates from the University of Illinois, found that children who watched many hours of televised violence during their elementary years also have shown a higher level of aggression as they became teens. By observe these children until they were thirty years old, Dr Eron found that the ones that have been watching violent TV shows since they were little kids, were more likely to have been arrested and prosecuted as adults. These are shocking results. In spite of the accumulating evidence, scientists and broadcasters continue to debate the link between the viewing of violence on TV and children's aggressive behavior.
Some broadcasters say the evidence is unsubstantial and inconclusive.
They feel that TV violence is not harmful to young minds. But, scientists that have studied this issue have tried to prove otherwise. They say that there is a definite link between the violence on TV and the violence caused by it in real life. In 1992, the American Psychological Association's Task Force on Television and Society published a report that confirms this view. A new study, presented at the APA Annual Convention, looks instead at the effects of the environment as well as television as the major contributor to bullying behavior.