Studies have shown that a wide variety of US educational programmes for

children like Between the Lions , The Electric Company and Cyberchase can
enhance childrens skills and knowledge in language, literacy science,
technology and current affairs. British researchers have also established that
children can learn from science broadcasts, which may enhance their ability to
recall scientific facts and their comprehension.

(10 s) Many studies have found no effect of television viewing on viewers. For
example a recent long-term outcome study of youth found no long-term
relationship between watching violent television and youth violence or bullying .

(1)There is a disagreement regarding the effect of television viewing such as

aggression. Trials have found no change in aggressive behavior after television
viewing. Potts et al showed pairs of preschool boys (ages 36 years) animated
and live television programs that varied in violent content (high or low) and
action level (high or low). The 73 boys post viewing social behavior was then
observed as they engaged in free play with each other. Neither high violence
nor high action had a significant effect on behavior. Geist and Gibson showed
62 children aged 4 to 5 years either an episode of Mister Rogers or an episode of
Power Rangers. A control group watched no television, instead playing with
instructional materials. After the treatment period, the children were observed
during free play; again, no significant differences were observed between
groups. Huston-Stein also did not observe any statistically significant differences
in aggressive behavior after the viewing of high-action cartoons.

(10 s)Recent work by Laurence Steinbrerg and Kathryn Monahan has found
that, using propensity score matching to control for other variables, television
viewing of sexual media had no impact on teen and children sexual behavior in
a longitudinal analysis.

(15 s)Researchers are disagreeing whether television viewing is an important

contributor to attention problems in children. A recent study found no significant
relationship between amount of television viewing at age five and attentional
problems at age six.

(73 s)There is a disagreement regarding the effect of television viewing such as

obesity. Dr. Michael Gard and Prof Jan Wright say no scientific study has shown
a clear link between children's weight and the amount of television they watch
.In the book, The Obesity Epidemic published on December 10, 2004, Dr. Gard and
Prof Wright reviewed 250 international scientific studies on obesity published
over the last four years. They report that much of what was said, particularly
about childhood obesity, was based on weak or contradictory evidence that
ignored basic research standards.

(1m)Current research is discovering that individuals suffering from social isolation

can employ television to create what is termed a parasocial or faux relationship
with characters from their favorite television shows and movies as a way of
deflecting feelings of loneliness and social deprivation.]. Jaye Derrick and Shira
Gabriel of the University of Buffalo, and Kurt Hugenberg of Miami University
found that when an individual is not able to participate in interactions with real
people, they are less likely to indicate feelings of loneliness when watching their
favorite TV show.

They refer to this finding as the Social Surrogacy Hypothesis. Watching a favorite
TV show was able to create a cushion and prevent the individual from
experiencing reduced self-esteem and feelings of inadequacy that can often
accompany the perceived threat. By providing a temporary substitute for
acceptance and belonging that is experienced through social relationships, TV
helps to relieve feelings of depression and loneliness when those relationships
are not available.

television addiction" is not a diagnoseable condition according to the

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

(30s )Not all commercials are designed to sell products . Commercials contain
public service messages aimed at educating the public or changing certain
behaviours that can affect children as well.The study was based on 14,437
commercials airing between 7 AM and 10 PM (both on weekends and
weekdays) on 15 channels. Overall, commercials rated as having positive
content made up 20.2 per cent of the total while negative content was found in
13.7 per cent of commercials.