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The average child in the United States watches twenty-eight hours of television a week. Twenty-eight hours is equal to 1680 minutes. In a year the average child has seen 20,000 commercials. As many people know it has been proven that children are highly susceptible to advertisements.

The television stations broadcast shows that get the most viewers because of this children are exposed to endless amount of violence and sex. When a child is finishing elementary school it is likely they will of seen 8,000 murders on television. Murders is just one of the many violent acts that children are being desensitized to every day.

When children sit in of the television they are not being active. A child that is not active daily will become obese. It is also more likely a child will become obese if they snack or have meals in front of the television.

Children that watch adult programs are exposed to countless acts of sex and violence. Over six billion children under the age of twelve were watching the Super Bowl half time show in 2004 when Janet Jackson's breast was exposed. More than twenty percent of the audience for the 2003 Billboards music awards, they forgot to bleep out the profanity.

Only fifteen percent of parents use the v-chip, which is a device that allows parents to block out programs based on their rating. The v-chip is now required to be in every television over the size of thirteen inches. Any television thirteen inches or larger made after January 2000 will have a v-chip. The majority of parents that have used the v-chip find it very useful.

The average American teenager spends six hundred more hours in a year watching television than they spend in school. Television has became like a drug. Many teenagers and adults can be classified as addicted to television. Children that watch hours of television a day will become addicted to it.

Teenagers who are exposed to sex on television are more likely to have sexual intercourse. The more sex a teenager watches on television the more likely they are to initiate sexual intercourse. Almost half of American teenagers are sexually active. Of sexually active teenagers one in four will contract an STD. One out of seven programs gives the impression that a sexual act is taking place.

Children that watch to much television are exposed to large amounts of violence and sex. Children are likely to become obese if they watch television for hours a week because they are inactive while watching television. When children become teenagers they are at an increased risk of becoming sexually active if they watch large amount of television. Children should not watch large amounts of television, they should be protected from the sex and violence on television.

Learn more about this author, Franchesca Bisignano.
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