For over 30 years, hundreds of studies have been conducted to determine the effects of violent television on children. The American Academy of Family Physicians, American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychological Association released a joint statement in July 2000. Their conclusion was that "viewing entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, particularly in children."
By the time a child leaves elementary school, researchers estimate he will have witnessed 8,000 murders and another 100,000 acts of violence. These numbers double by the time the child is 18 years old. These numbers also increase if the child has access to cable television or a video player.
In 1998, researchers found that around 60 percent of all television programs contain some sort of violence. This, of course, excludes comic violence, such as a cartoon character falling off a cliff. From 2004 to 2009, researchers found that violence depicted on television increased by 2 percent.
Film critic Michael Medved surveyed network television and found that around 350 characters appear each night on prime-time television. Of those characters, an average of 7, or 2 percent, are murdered. If 2 percent of the United States population were murdered in an evening, that would be more than 6 million people.
From 2004 to 2009, there was a 120 percent increase in the depictions of violence against women on television. There was also a 400 percent increase in the depictions of violence against teenage girls during this time. This violence included beatings, torture, rape, shootings and stabbings. Women died in 19 percent of these cases. Violence against women is also graphically depicted in 92 percent of instances.