80% of people watch television every day or almost. (Lecture Notes, Chapter 3) Since watching television is such a popular pastime, we may not think about the negative effects that watching television has on us. We don't even realize it, but by watching television our perception of reality begins to change, this is also known as cultivation. Cultivation is a stable system of messages and images that shapes our conception of the world and of life, of society, of power, and of ourselves. (Video) Researchers have found that people who watch television for more than four hours a day have a greater sense of insecurity and are more likely to think of the world as a dangerous place. (Video) How does this affect our children? Most people start watching television at an early age. 2-3 year olds watch 4.4 hours of television a day. (Lecture Notes, Chapter 3) Along with watching TV comes watching violence. By the end of primary school children will have witnessed 8,000 murders and will have witnessed 200,000 acts by the time they are 18. (Video) These are scary facts, but what's even more terrifying is seeing kids act out things in real life because they saw it live. TV. If you asked a random person on the street if they felt safe in their environment, what do you think they would say? Local news is the primary source of news for two-thirds of Americans. (Lecture Notes, Chapter 3) If local news consistently reproduces and describes stories of violence and crime