Nowadays, children watch a lot of TV and play video games. However, some people think that these activities are not good for a child’s development. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

In today's modern life, children tend to be more exposed to TV or video games. That has caused
controversy that watching too much TV or playing video games will negatively affect a child's
development. However, many people think that is very good for later cognitive development.
However, in my opinion, I totally agree that spending too much time on TV screens or video games
will negatively affect the development of children. It has an impact on health, performance. learning
as well as children's behavior. This article will discuss more about the negative effects of watching
too much TV and playing video games.
Excessive exposure to television and video games has a negative impact on children's health. Myopia
and obesity are diseases that are directly related to this sendatary lifestyle. Many studies have
shown that exposure to blue light from electronic screens is the main cause of myopia. As Zhang
(2012) points out, up to 90% of Asian children are nearsighted. That's a very large number compared
to 20-30% of children with visual impairments in the United States. Zhang pointed out the cause of
this problem, partly due to genetics and largely due to the use of excessive time spent on screens or
books. In addition, spending more time before TV or video games also contributes to overweight and
obesity. Many experts indicated that physical activities such as running and jumping have a great
effect on the physical development of children. This process of activity helps burn calories, increase
metabolism as well as decide to lose weight and maintain weight. Meanwhile,children used most of
the time sitting in front of a TV or video game will not have the opportunity to create movement.
That means no calories burned and energy consumption. Hence, obesity will be inevitable.
On the other hand, using a lot of time in front of TV and video games are also associated with poorer
academic performance. As W. Dolan( 2019) states, Watching TV and playing games to replace
activities such as physical activity, social interaction, study, sleep can affect school activities. In
addition, video games related to social and emotional health, causing psychological and behavioral
problems, also have an impact on children's academic performance. Moreover, when children watch
TV too much, they tend to forget to do homework and forget to submit it. As a result, they will have
less skill and information, and being sleepy due to watching TV a lot in the classroom will affect their
results ( Tumbokon, 2019).
Additionally, TV and video game addiction also has a negative effect on children's behavior. Many
studies show that what children watch will create an impression in their heads. Therefore, while
children are exposed to TV shows and commercials that contain violent content, drug and sexual
use, and alcohol, they tend to behave similarly. As Welch (2015) concludes, television watching
habits will influence children's social interaction and every hour of watching TV plays a role in the
risk of anti-social behavior and manners of crime. In addition. According to a report based on the
study of 11,000 children in UK, 5-year-olds who watch TV more than 3 hours a day are likely to
engage in bad activities such as fighting anh stealing when they are 7 years old. Not only TV but
video games also tend to be similar negative. In fact, most video games often contain violent
experiences such as: freaking, killing, slashing each other. Children tend to be aggressive and when
they fail, their emotions will be affected. It entails depression and anxiety afterwards.
Those who support that watching more television will be good for early cognitive development in
children helps them have better performance in school. At the same time, playing video games also
helps them stimulate thinking and intelligence. I understand that. However, they have not
mentioned a situation: in today's modern world, most parents are busy and do not have time to

manage what their children see often. And most likely their parents will not know if their children
have ever been exposed to movies or violent games. Obviously, without parental supervision, too
much exposure to TV and video games as well as negative content exposure is undeniable.
In conclusion, using too much time playing games or watching TV will adversely affect the child's
future development. It affects the health, learning and behavior of children. Despite the idea that
watching TV or playing video games is necessary for a child's development. However, it must be
under the control of a parent or instructor to avoid excessive exposure as well as exposure to
negative content.