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<title> Television - Good or Bad for Children? </title>
When we talk about television and its influence on our society today, people often have different opinions. Some feel that they are totally dependent on it, while others say that they can manage without television. In this essay I am going to discuss how much television means for our children, in which way it affects them and their apprehension of society when they are watching violent, but also educational programs. 
	 If we look back twenty years in time, it is rather obvious that television has a more important role in our children's lives now than it had before. It is actually not that strange, because if we look at our society today we can see that it has become more dependent on technical gadgets for its survival. Children have a different apprehension of violence and therefore they cannot separate the reality from fiction as well as adults can. When children are watching a film, they do not only see violence, but they also learn how to be violent. Children have such an imagination and believe that they can do the same thing as those people in the film, however that is not at all true. Many people believe that this is one of the reasons why violence has increased so much as it has in our society. Incidents involving children and violence at schools have become more common. We have frightening examples from schools in the USA where children have acted violent against friends at school. Many children in the USA are carrying guns to school, and soon it will happen in Sweden too, if we do not do something to prevent it. I believe that people are more aware of it now and that it is a major problem that needs to be solved. Therefore many films have now a certain age (usually fifteen) that you have to reach, to be allowed to see a film. Many violent films can only be seen late at night, which makes it almost impossible for children to see them. Parents have an important role to play in this situation. They need to know what their children are watching, and if it is good for their well-being. Violent films have more affect on children than we believe; therefore it is important that we try to decrease violent films. A film that was produced a few years ago, Fire on the Amazon with Sandra Bullock was not allowed to be shown at first because of the violent scenes. There was too much fighting and killing, which was not accepted. This shows that we actually have a highest limit for what can be seen by our children, and that is something positive. 
	 When it comes to television it can also be used as an educational purpose at school, and there are many teachers today that prefer this method to educate students. Somehow children find it more fun to watch a program about a school subject, rather than listening to a teacher standing in front of the class talking. In my school we often watched different educational programs on television and I have to admit that it was actually a lot more interesting. You listened more carefully, and therefore you learned so much more. It is amazing how much power the television has over our children. If television is used correctly, then it can be a great contribution to our society. At home the children normally have a free choice in what they want to see, and unfortunately they often choose to see a film or a sitcom. When children do not have any classes to attend, it is all of a sudden boring to watch a program where they can learn something new. Today, there are many interesting documentaries to watch, where their aim is to educate the viewers. Unfortunately these kinds of programs are more noticed by adults, because children find them too complicated to understand. Maybe we should make the documentaries more suited for children. 
	 Moreover, television has a special power over us and it is important that we use it in the right way, especially when it involves children. I believe we need television very much. However, we must then think of our children and what are most suited for them to see. Children often imitate adults, and if adults behave bad most likely the children will too.
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