Long Hours of TV-Viewing Turns Children into Anti-social, Criminal Adults

Allowing children to watch TV for long hours can have a negative impact on their behavior. A new study published in Pediatrics found that excess TV time during childhood turns children and teens into anti-social, criminal adults.

For the study, researchers looked at 1,000 children from New Zealand. All the participants, born between 1972 and 1973, provided information about the length of time they watched TV, every two years, between the ages 5 and 15.

At the end of the study, researchers found the risk of receiving a criminal conviction in adulthood going up by 30 percent with every additional TV hour in childhood. Apart from that, researchers also found excessive TV time increasing the risks of experiencing antisocial personality disorder or displaying aggressive and antisocial behavior in adulthood.

"Rather, children who watched a lot of television were likely to go on to manifest antisocial behaviour and personality traits," co-author of the study Lindsay Robertson said in a news release.

"Antisocial behaviour is a major problem for society," another co-author of the study, associate professor Bob Hancox said. "While we're not saying that television causes all antisocial behaviour, our findings do suggest that reducing TV viewing could go some way towards reducing rates of antisocial behaviour in society."

Earlier studies have linked excessive TV viewing with having a negative impact on children's basic motor skills and physical activity. Apart from that, kids addicted to TV were found eating junk food and avoiding healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, putting them at higher risks of childhood obesity.

Studies have also highlighted children glued to TV for long hours experiencing problems with language development and behavior. Such children were also found at higher risks of trying cigarettes.

Concerned with the risks, health experts from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest for parents not to allow children under 2 years to watch TV, and keep their elder children's TV time to less than two hours a day.