Violence on primetime TV has increased 75 percent since 1998 according to a study by the Parents Television Council (PTC).
The PTC highlighted the fall 2005 viewing season as one of the most violent ever. ABC registered a 309 percent overall increase in violent acts. Violence between 8 and 9 p.m. -- the "family hour" -- increased by 45 percent.
Melissa Caldwell, the PTC's senior director of programs, said the nation has become desensitized.
"TV producers have to keep pushing the envelope or upping the ante to get the same reaction from viewers," she said.
PTC President Tim Winter called the V-Chip, which has been touted by the industry, ineffective at protecting children because the ratings it uses are inconsistent, rendering the chip useless.
"We need a better solution," he said. "Parents must be more aware and involved with their family media consumption. And it is up to the program creators, the networks, the sponsors and our public servants to institute sweeping changes to the current system which clearly does not go far enough to protect children."
Jeff McIntyre, a spokesman for the American Psychological Association, said the resulting programs may lead some children to learn hostility as a way of life.
"That means they will become less sympathetic to victims of violent acts or to counter it," he told Family News in Focus. "It's also possible they may develop unrealistic fears about becoming a victim of violence."
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Click here to read the full PTC report.
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