Do TV shows affect a person's moral values?

Yes, many people especially kids get affected by watching to many tv shows that in the long run; "They will likely be like procrastinators putting off assignments and possibly turning them in late." Time spent watching tv shows is time which could be spent doing other things like reading and learning.

Yes they affect. not only TV shows everything someone encounters influence his life.

yah, i beleive that there are some tv shows that affect morals. i've even quit watching some of them. the bible says that we need to be careful what we eat and drink, and that means stuff that can affect us morally.

If they don't, advertisers are wasting billions of dollars trying to modify people's other values.

Should TV affect a persons moral values?

Everything and anything can. Why should tv be so different.

For many people - yes.

Some of the absolute trash on TV integrates into the persona of the viewer.

Sadly, people just "eat up" what they see (no matter how ridiculous).

Sex is generally glorified, as well as the physical imagery of one that is deemed "sexy".

Also, what is generally glorified (despite how stupid it is) is also cause for an immense amount of angst and insecurity in the population.

For example;

"I'm too fat"
"I'm too skinny"
"I wish I was like that"
"He / she won't like me looking like this"

Welcome to the social conditioning of mentality.

No. If you truely have morals, then outside influences will not effect them. Unfortunately, most people that consider themselves moral, are not.

I think TV and pop culture in general does...

TV and pop culture fill our environment and influence what people perceive being normal and average.

People's moral values are formed in part by what they consider "normal". Things that people consider "normal" and "moral" today might have seemed outrageous a hundred years ago. Morals are created in the context we live in, which is not the same for everyone.

(For example, there are those that consider viewing porn "normal", and there are those who don't. I imagine you could find those who consider stripping no big deal, a harmless diversion enjoyed by "normal" men, and you will no doubt find people who find strip clubs immoral. There are those who think it is moral to fudge their taxes- they think most everyone does it, and some think it is wrong)

What "moral-values"..?

Humans do what ever the hell they think they can get away with without getting caught and punished.. that's their so called "moral values"...
Religion teaches us that we are gods, is why we feel we have the right to to anything we want to do...

I think more so today than it ever has. It used to be people would dream of becoming a star, but would realize there was still work to be done as an actor/actress. In this age of realty TV, we are innundated with "stars" who did nothing to get famous except get selected from a waiting list. Now that fame is more accessible to the common person, people are far more likely to do whatever it takes to get on TV.

Also, it was easier to not fully be affected by a actor portraying low morals, because in the end you knew they were only acting. Reality TV shows puts real people on display which can lead people to think "if REAL people are allowed to act that way than why can't I?"

By all means, yes.
BBC had a feature story of the effect of television on the youngsters of Bhutan, a third world Buddhist country where the religiosity of the young were affected because of the influnces of TV shows, changing their religious values into something different from the traditional Buddhists way of life they had before the advent of TV shows in that country. A lot of youngsters turned to smoking, some drugs, and their values changed differently as a result of western influence

Yes, TV is used for Citizen Corruption.
TV is creating moral crap, thus, Keeping United States TV viewers in the dark and feed them garbage.
Today's TV programming: glorifies:
crime, violence, sex, deceitfulness, greed, it glorifies
the police state, gangsters, scams, swindles, dysfunctional society, dysfunctional families, money worship, and views moreover the constant chase down of crime, and murder as if only these awful things are what the TV viewer wants.

Yes, for the most part. Every example of immorality is present on TV 24/7/365. I am especially disgusted by those that mouth profanities one word after another. I change the channel. I'd like to have a device that would understand profanity before it is uttered and bleep it out. Then perhaps I could watch some of the presentations that run without commercials on special channels. Unfortunately, those without commercials or immoral sexual content are few and far between. If they were waiting on me to watch, strike three!

not all of them. But it effects little bit.

Not of all of them but may be reality shows affect little bit.

I've always heard..... garbage in, garbage out as far as what you choose to watch, read, or otherwise be influenced by. Although I would think that if a TV show was distasteful to you in the first place you wouldn't watch it. Then again TV is a very addicting habit to a majority of people. You can sit there and watch one show and pretty soon your watching another. Probably one you didn't plan on watching. Some people believe that TV reflects society. Others believe that as a society we reflect what we're exposed to. I personally think it's probably a little of both.

It's more likely that the causal relationship is reversed - a person is more likely to watch programming that is suited to their preexisting interests.

Firstly, why would someone raised with "wholesome family values" and all that crap even watch programming that conflicts with those values? More than likely, they wouldn't. If they do, this would imply that they are not as "wholesome" as people assumed.

Secondly, if people really believe that TV can fundamentally alter a child's moral outlook, why don't people report instances of violent and abrasive children being rendered sweet and docile, by watching more positive programming? Why do people instead think children should stop watching TV altogether?

As with most cases of moral panic, people will look to blame virtually any simple target - television, movies, music, video games - rather than examining how (A) they themselves may be failing as role models, and (B) the environment in which the children are being brought up may be psychologically harmful.

I think the sort of entertainment that a person chooses is indeed a reflection on their character - and their character is in part based upon their moral values.

Can a certain type of program actually change a persons value system? Perhaps....books and speeches can have a profound affect on some people - so why not television viewing?

Look at it this way, that old liar satan is constantly looking to influence your beliefs. He is constantly looking for a way into your head and heart, constantly seeking to make you think that selfishness (sin) is normal and acceptable and you shouldn't trouble your little head about it. He is constantly trying to make you question God. His favorite tactic is to ask you, "Did God really say that?" whether by asking you directly as he did to Eve in the garden (which I accept may be allegorical but it really doesn't change anything if it is) or by getting you to question the validity of the Bible (Jesus project anyone?).

So the wise Christian learns to ask if there are any of those messages or questions in TV. And yes, there are so many you almost can't count them all. So the short answer is yes, TV does affect your moral values at the very deepest core. It makes you question whether your morals and values are worth having simply by constantly questioning their worth, constantly questioning whether they are moral. And by affecting them in that manner, you accept it without question. It is so subtle that you don't even notice it is happening. I mean, the very existence of this debate here is proof that it does, because TV has taught you that there has to be scientific proof that it is affecting your morals whereas you would have known without proof that it was in times past, simply because you would have recognized the constant questioning of your values and the constant attack they were under.

If that isn't enough to convince you, then look at the TV programs themselves. TV producers keep pushing the envelope in the direction of sin, but slowly enough that you accept that drift. Fifty years ago, you didn't swear on TV. You didn't show couple sleeping in the same bed or a pregnant woman, not because a married couple sharing a bed or a pregnant woman is morally wrong, but because children deserved to be innocent and families deserved to be allowed when and how they wanted to tell their children about sex. That discussion was not to be forced upon a family at the wrong time by a television program. You certainly didn't push something more adult upon a family's children than sharing a bed or pregnancy. Over the last fifty years the envelope has been pushed until the graphic sexual discussion that is Two and a Half Men is allowed on TV. Now we have to discuss graphic sex with our young children, or turn the TV off. Can you guess which I've done?

Now, is all TV inherently evil? Of course not. There are things on TV that are quite useful. I love all the how-to programs on public TV. There are news shows that contain information that a citizen has a responsibility to know. Television has a great ability to educate. But you have to be careful even there. Whether the person creating the show intends evil or not, satan can still use them. Fifty years ago, there are many projects on This Old House that would not have been done, not because the house wasn't interesting and didn't allow a vehicle for teaching, but because producers would not have allowed viewers to see an unmarried couple sharing a bedroom. And lets not forget the sanitization of various people or romanticization of others. We all villify Hitler and Stalin. But most TV shows treat George Bernard Shaw as a literary genius. Most treat Woodrow Wilson as a respected president. And Che Guevera is everywhere. Until Glenn Beck's special I didn't know what horrible men these were. Like everyone else, I'd seen the sanitized version on TV. But now that I've heard about the real Che, the real Shaw and the real Wilson, the material that exposes them is EVERYWHERE. It isn't hard to find at all. It is just ignored. And so we are taught to accept as moral, men who were patently evil. And does that affect our morals? Of course it does. But don't forget that it was a man on TV who exposed that evil as well.

You don't even have to search hard to find hundreds of pages of this stuff on men we've been taught to accept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDK1ND9f0KM
http://www.therealcuba.com/MurderedbyChe.htm
http://www.cubaarchive.org/downloads/CA08.pdf
http://www.brookesnews.com/093011guevara.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQvsf2MUKRQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvNqZ_PZWZE

yes, especially children...

TV show (or movies for that matter) can effect someone's moral values, but everyone is different. Some people may be deeply effected by a very emotional movie while others won't be moved at all.

Would someone turn into a con man because they've constantly watched shows about con men? It's possible but it depends on the quality of their character. I love movies like 'The Sting', 'Paper Moon, or 'Catch Me If You Can' due to the sheer audacity of the shenanigans portrayed but they've never effected my ethics in dealing with others.

Violence in movies has continued to escalate over the years. I'm a fan of old movies and it's obvious how they've changed over the years. Do watching violent movies change a persons morals? I'm not sure, but I am sure watching a lot of violent movies inure one to seeing more violence. I have some younger friends who watch quite a few violent movies and play first person shooter games; and it's entertaining to them but it would sicken me. Did it make them violent? No, but it did make them resistant to the kind of gore that I reject.

What you watch and what you listen to, what you are exposed to in your life, certainly has an effect on your personality. It may effect your morals if you are susceptible or unprepared but it's highly dependent on the individual.

I really don't think that's completely true. My opinion is children under the age of 12 yes. It may affect their values. They don't know any better and as a parent that's when it's time to teach them right from wrong. If your an adult and your letting TV influence your behavior there must be something wrong with you or your just very weak minded. If you know right from wrong and common sense TV will not deteriorate moral your moral values. At the end of the day it all falls back on you, you choose your decisions. You can go out and murder someone and think you can blame it on the TV show. People in general should be blamed for their own uncivil acts.

depends who writes them and their weight in the media

TV shows can affect a persons moral values for both good and bad, as not all shows are of a low moral standard.

However I am sure via the medium of TV many allow their morals to be tested.

NO, religion does this more...

Mostly the unwashed masses