How To Eat Your Television and other Fables
F.R.R. Mallory
May 7, 2006

Ron Kaufman in his essay "Filling Their Minds with Death: TV Violence and Children" asks us to believe that children who watch violent television are "significantly more likely to have pushed, grabbed, or shoved their spouses, to have responded to an insult by shoving a person, to have been convicted of a crime and to have committed a moving traffic violation" (Kaufman 700). The study to which he refers, a fifteen-year longitudinal study, is considered the most influential research released to date.

It makes sense doesn't it? If a person watches violent television programming for fifteen years then it sounds logical to state that the cause of subsequent behavior problems is sourced in this exposure to violent television. To make this kind of statement I would expect to see a direct relationship between increasing violent television programming and the rate of behavior problems of the people who were examined. The Parents Television Council reports an increase of "41% to 134.4%" (Kaufman 694). of violence during prime viewing time. Did the demonstrable violent behavior of the subjects go up by these extraordinary figures? The answer is, No! Kaufman doesn't actually include the statistic in his essay. Why? Maximizing their results the researchers stated that 'heavy viewers' showed increased aggressive behavior from "17% for women to 22% for men" (Dittmann 13). While these numbers are still high, these are the high-end statistics, not the general statistics or what the average viewers percentage of difference amounted to. It is true that it is easier to grab a headline by quoting extreme results but do these results offer a clear picture of the topic or do they do a disservice to the interested reader?

Like I said, it's easy to believe that violent television programming and violent films have a strong measured effect on people who watch them regularly. But if we are looking for answers to violent behaviors in children and adults can we look at a study like this without asking further questions? I wanted to know what the experts in human violence think about the underlying causes of violent behavior. After all, this issue is studied in many ways by many researchers in an effort to gain a clearer perspective on the nature of human violence.

There is a consensus opinion among many different disciplines such as "chemists, medical professionals, sociologists and other professionals" (C&EN). that the primary cause of violent behavior can be traced to: "Flawed brain chemistry, brain damage, genetic defects, an unhealthy psychological environment." (C&EN). The one to really pay attention to here is the first one, flawed brain chemistry. What do they mean? Well, if I puree down the data for you it comes down to nutrition. The two main neuro-transmitters in the brain that are under the most intense scrutiny these days for having the most significant effect on violent behavior are lowered levels of serotonin and higher levels of vasopressin. Serotonin levels are directly related to sugars in the body and vasopressin escalates when you intake salt. A food like pizza will spike the glycemic index, giving you a temporary serotonin high while spiking the vasopressin. However, the high doesn't hang around - this is the sugar rush of candy bars and soda pop, it gives you that fast uplift, followed by an equally rapid slide. If you overload on sugars then your system tries to put you to sleep. These types of sugars in the body do not allow the body to reach homeostasis or balance and what you end up with is low serotonin levels (higher rates of violence, diabetes and depression) and high vasopressin levels (increased high blood pressure and heart disease) or the underlying MEAL that creates and sustains violent behaviors.

The research that Kaufman clings to in his essay doesn't factor in the high sugar, high salt diet of nearly every person who watches television. Why doesn't he mention it? Bad diet is not nearly so newsworthy as violence on television. What we haven't heard is an expert speaking comprehensively about how diet is transforming the behavior landscape of the entire world. In countries where food is hard to come by and nutrition an impossible fantasy of the wealthy, is there any question people will rise up after being subjected to everything from acute malnutrition to widespread depression and disease, early death and hopelessness? In countries were food is abundant and nutrition is not, is it any surprise that these unnatural and imbalanced food choices are creating widespread effects? Homeostasis doesn't simply occur inside the human body, it is a worldwide phenomenon too. In a culture that favors gorging by calling it shopping and rewards the 'good consumer' for being a good American, is it any surprise that the majority of the population is bloated and ill? Perhaps if we began to sue McDonalds for the murder on 4th street, then we might gain visibility of how unpopular truths of the marketplace become disguised by pointing the finger in the opposite direction. Remember the twinkie defense? Turns out, it wasn't far wrong.

Violence in media has been present for as long as humankind has told stories. If you want a full view of our history of violent media start with fairy tales where children are put into cooking pots, poisoned or eaten by wolves. There is undoubtedly a balance that needs to be reached in violent media and entertainment, just as this balance needs to exist in all of life but you cannot adjust any single piece and make a difference. If you want your little Johnny not to punch the girl in school, balance his diet and expose him to adults who are not violent in their own home. If he feels good by eating well, he will want to go out and play anyway, not vegetate in front of the television.

Works Cited

Berk, Helene, M.Ed., R.D., Healthy People.com
http://www.healthypeople.com/low_glycemic.htm

Chemical and Engineering News, Latest research on possible causes of violent behavior explored in C&EN article http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-06/acs-lro060203.php
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/8122/8122sci1page1.htm

Dittman, M., Childhood exposure to televised violence may predict aggressive
behavior in adults, American Psychological Association, Volume 34, No. 5
May 2003 Garneau, R.D., Diabetes - The Digestive & Metabolism Process http://www.agt.net/public/dgarneau/health2a.htm

Kaufman, Ron, Filling Their Minds with Death: TV Violence and
Children, Elements of Argument, A Text and Reader, 8th ed.,
Annette T. Rottenbert, Donna Haisty Winchell., Bedford/St. Martins, Boston 2006. 693-706

Serotonin: The Chemistry of Wellbeing
http://www.angelfire.com/hi/TheSeer/seratonin.html

Ron Kaufman

What happens when speakers wag the truth?

My essay examines this phenomenon a little bit and hopefully invites to you ask more questions when an accomplished public speaker like Ron Kaufman speaks with apparent authority on a topic you find important.

My tip is to suggest that if you find a topic important make every effort to locate quality source information from as many different places as possible. The more you listen to one voice for your information the greater the probability that your information will be skewed which reduces your ability to form a quality, well-informed opinion. The problem with news sources and speakers is that they are in the business of selling something - they have a pitch. Their position is not so much to convey a wholeness but to sell product. In the case of Ron Kaufman, he sells books and he sells himself. In the case of mainstream media the newsperson is selling the products featured in their commercials. The manufacturers of those products then have authority to control or shape the content chosen for inclusion by the speaker of the program.

If you are really concerned about the violence you see in your child then take a few minutes to take a deeper look. If a newsbite sounds shocking or dramatic - be suspicious. The more conclusive or dramatic the news is, the more likely it is to be fundamentally flawed in its conclusions.

As noted in the essay, take a look at your child's diet and your conditioning of your child to their environment - look for violent cues in your behavior or rhetoric. Children tend to mimic what they experience the most and within their most important relationships. Often the violence seen in children is a pattern learned at home, not on the television but in how all persons in the family are behaving with each other. Start there first. Be very suspicious about assigning blame outward.

HOME | MALLORY'S WORKS | COOL STUFF | JOURNAL | TRUNK | ABOUT MALLORY

© 2007 F.R.R. Mallory