Children hang themselves
In separate incidents, three children have hanged themselves after watching TV coverage of Saddam’s execution. It’s tragic, it goes without saying, but I’m torn as to my thoughts on the consequences. I believe we should have uncensored, liberal media and allow adults to watch what they want. The problem is controlling what children see… It’s comparatively easy to resrict access to hardcore porn or violent films, generally regarded as unsuitable. However, children’s access to the news is important, and so coverage must balance giving the real story with broadcasting before the watershed.
The ABC News article is here.
Posted
Saturday, January 6th, 2007 @ 8:20 pm
Filed in community and social, politics
Full Permalink | Shortened URL | Trackback URL
Comments on this post
Share post on 
Delicious | 
Facebook | 
Reddit
Twitter | 
StumbleUpon | 
Digg
Further reading
These posts may be related to the one above:
Add to browser search bar
January 6th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
The other side of the coin is that unfortunately children as young as 10 or 15 DO commit suicide. I’m unconvinced at the link between cause and effect here — what seems more likely to me is that the media is noticing because it’s a bit of a sensational story if they link child suicides and Saddam’s hanging.
January 7th, 2007 at 1:09 am
Yeah, I did have the same thought.
One of the reasons I’m for adults being allowed to watch whatever they want is that I don’t really buy this “TV can adversely affect people” stuff – if someone goes out and kills someone after watching a violent movie, there was something really wrong with them in the first place that made them predisposed to commit murder.
With kids, I reckon they are easier to influence, but at the same time I think most 10- or 15-year-olds understand that sticking their head in a noose isn’t a great plan. The same predisposition/naivety argument as above works for these kids.
Anyway, my point was that whatever the causes (and I don’t reckon the majority of blame, if any, lies with the news networks) the news is in a particularly tricky spot when it comes to things like this – it’s stuck between showing the grim realities of death, war, etc. and trying to keep it safe for viewing before the watershed and when children are watching.