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Effects of television viewing on child developmentARTICLE from the Encyclop?dia BritannicaEffects of television viewing on child development, highly contested topic within /EBchecked/topic/111044/child-developmentchild development and /EBchecked/topic/481700/psychologypsychology involving the consequences for children from the content of and the duration of their exposure to television (TV) programming. The effects of television viewing on child development have aroused a range of reactions from researchers, parents, and politicians that has fueled a debate that extends back to the medium’s inception in the 1940s.It is difficult to argue that youths are not affected by what is broadcast on television. However, it is equally difficult to pinpoint particular shows or genres of programming as causing specific behaviours in children without considering the innumerable amount of alternate influences that may have an effect on their actions. Some have argued that television clearly has negative effects on youths—such as violent programming resulting in children who are more fearful, more aggressive, or more insensitive to the suffering of others—whereas others believe that such effects are, at best, ambiguous. Although it is uncertain which perspective is right or wrong, it is quite certain that the debate continues to galvanize social scientists, parents, and politicians in the United States and elsewhere.Early findingsAs commercial television began to flourish in the United States in the 1940s, television’s effects on the first generation of individuals raised alongside the new medium became a topic of interest. In 1949 the /EBchecked/topic/100876/CBS-CorporationColumbia Broadcasting System (CBS) sponsored a study conducted by /EBchecked/topic/514186/Rutgers-The-State-University-of-New-JerseyRutgers University that found that television increased /EBchecked/topic/201237/familyfamily unity and cohesion, did not promote viewer passivity, and did not replace other valued d