Dear Dick
articles about wide ranging psychological issues
from "The Local Bulletin" (Brisbane Australia)
by Dick Rigby
©all articles are copyright 2006

September 2006
Our beloved editor Barry wrote to me the other day and asked that I write an article on the effects that images of war have on children.  We continue to see distressing pictures of people being injured and killed in the Millde East war.  Barry said how distressing he finds these images.  I agree, and find myself turning away from the TV images of injured people and grieving loved ones.
There have been hundreds of studies on the effects that  watching TV has on children.  The common wisdom is that TV has quite an effect.  If it didn’t, the fast food chains would not waste their money on advertising.
Images of people with injuries would have a profound effect on some children.  It would lead to some children having nightmares.  Barry pointed out that the images on Arabic TV are even more graphic.  He wondered if this might have a role to play in promoting extremism.  I am quite sure that he is right.
The media is between a rock and a hard place.  On the one hand they don’t want to make the images beamed into your living room too distressing.  On the other hand, violence sells.  The more sensational the images, the more likely people are to watch them - up to a certain limit.
I do not believe that the tabloid media has any morality about the amount of violence shown on there programs.  Their only morality is public reaction.  They want to keep their ratings high.
There are three things that we can do to protect our children from the damage that violent images can cause.  The first is to attempt to limit what the children see (a very difficult task at prime time TV) .  The second is to talk to our children to help them make sense of what they see.  The third is to write to the TV station and to complain about how offended you are about the content of what they broadcast at times when children would be watching.
 

Impact of TV (2)

October 2006
I received two emails in response to last month “Dear Dick” which are worth passing on to you. 
The first one from John reads:   “I read your recent article on "distressing images" on TV and your suggestions for preventing children being exposed to such virtual reality.  I think you may have missed the most important thing people can do. This is to remove support from governments that promote wars and violence (apart from national survival which has not been a factor in the case of Australia for over 60 years)”.
“In this case, we might achieve the removal of the real reality and not just the virtual reality. If people are prepared to support and condone governments that go to war for reasons other than national survival then it is inconsistent at best and I would argue quite hypocritical to then try to shield themselves and children from the consequences of that support.”
John makes a point that I agree with. Most of the wars we get involved in can be prevented.  We should put more effort into preventing war by dealing with the issues that lead to war (and terrorism).
The second email came from Cherrie Bottger (Children's Television, Ten Network).  It reads:   “I would like to draw your attention to a program we currently telecast on Tuesday's at 11.10am and from Tuesday 3rd October from 11.30 called The Total News.”   “This program is aimed at late primary and early secondary year students and explains the main news stories of the week in a format they can relate to, and we go behind those stories linking the topics through to related or broader subject matter.”   “The aim is to both enhance students' understanding of current issues and to alleviate the fear that may be associated with viewing and hearing stories from the main current affairs and news bulletins.”   “Network Ten agrees that children deserve news and other programs that are made especially for them, and takes pride in the quality of the programs we offer to young audiences.” Thanks Cherrie.  I haven’t seen the program yet, but it’s good to see a branch of the media doing something about providing positive news for children.