The Safety Issues behind Media “Monkey-see is monkey-do” in so many words, when it comes down to safety and the “oh so glorious” television. On average how many hours does the average person watch television per week, or per day? There are hundreds of shows that capture the attention of children today such as, comedy, love, and reality TV to name a few; but violence in today’s society is a very real and common issue struggled with still to this day. Instead of becoming active in communities or just even deciding to go out with friends on a whim, the invention of the television has provided the answer to violence and destruction in communities, and in the people who you care about. Excessive television watching for children over the years has become an epidemic in regards to safety. Figure1 Television in this day and age has definitely changed for children since the 90’s in those years’ shows such as The Bill Cosby Show, Family Matters, 7th Heaven, Saved by the bell and many more shows. Now, the media has quietly added violence to what once where wholesome shows and also have geared most of their shows to violence. Figure1 is a prime example of how children today conceive what they see is right, they might not think anything of it, but in all reality what they see on television is what they will try to do in real life and that is not at all ok. The “Monkey-see Monkey do” term is widely used over the internet, it basically means what someone see’s and experiences they in turn will do that as well whether it is right or wrong. “Television programming as of 2010 is all about showing reality without censorship, meaning that child watchers are inundated with shows depicting physical and sexual violence, as well as the use of illegal substances and harsh language” (http://www.livestrong.com). Given this statement children are brining what they see on television into schools, and their homes creating havoc and violence. Almost every day in this day and age the news reports of shootings, and random acts of violence in schools and neighborhoods making the everyday commute for children and parents very nerve racking. Referring back to figure1 a lot of parents can take charge in making schools and their own homes a better place if they would monitor what their children watch on television. “Shootem’ up” games, such as “Duck Hunt” which is an older game of course, “Grand Theft Auto” and plenty of other games that are sold to minors, or given to minors from adults are teaching violence and that it is ok to be violent. Violence on TV has ruined so many innocence lives throughout the years in February of 1996 in Moses Lake, Washington a couple of students were and a teacher were killed when a student walked into his algebra class and started shooting. Around two years later a teacher decided it was ok to take the lives of 2 students at James W. Parker Middle School, and as recently as last year a student shoots and kills a math teacher but not only did he shoot the math teacher he then turned the gun on himself (http://www.infoplease.com). Of course there are many others that can be named who have died due to violence, but these are just a few to look back on to see how far this problem as come from and to show that the problem still does exist. A couple of reasons for the aggression in schools would be the “Fear of being the victim of violence is a strong motivation for some young people to carry a weapon, to be more aggressive,” states the American Academy of Pediatrics website and only 18% in statistics have shown that there is a positive outcome between TV and violence. (http://www.livestrong.com). If you think about the cause and effect violence is happening with children it is so heartbreaking. Many children wind up behind bars, or worse six feet under because of what they portray on television to be ok to do. Parents need to definitely be care of what they allow their children to do, as well as adults. Many of these kids who watch violence on television do not even know the slightest idea of how they will react to something when given the opportunity to do so. If parents allow their children to constantly watch violence on a daily basis it will leave little room for what is right and what is wrong, and how to exactly “cope” with unfairness. Bullying for one is very common in schools today and the appropriate way to address it would not be pulling out a gun because a super-hero did the same thing on “Power Rangers” because the enemy was picking on them. Violence is never the answer to any problem or set back a child may have, and to alleviate that issue violence needs to take a “backseat” when it comes to children and the adults that supervise them. Parents and guardians need to make sure kids know right from wrong and how to cope with setbacks, and bullying in schools.