Srinagar, Nov 13: In a tragic incident a minor died, while imitating a scene of a TV serial, here police said on Sunday.
Arsalan Bashir, 9, of Narwara Eidgah, according to his family, “strangulated” himself while imitating action sequence of a famous crime based show CID telecast on a New Delhi based channel.
“We became victims of media violence. He was very much inspired by the CID serial. He used to imitate each and every scene of the show,” Arsalan’s cousin, Aashiq Hussain told Greater Kashmir.
He said he was imitating a ‘suicide scene’ in an abandoned room. “He accidentally strangulated himself,” Hussain said. “We want these serials showing violence should be banned.”
Arsalan was rushed to SMHS Hospital by his parents, where doctors declared him brought dead. Pall of gloom descended over Narwara area as residents were shell shocked.
According to psychiatrists the trend of kids imitating TV serials is on rise in the Valley. “The serials showing violence are on rise and minors cannot differentiate between real life and reel life so they imitate certain violent scenes which sometime cause them injury,” they said.
Valley’s well known psychiatrist Dr Arshad Hussain believes the “positive parenting” can prove helpful for children. “Parents should limit the exposure of their children to violent acts,” he said.
He advised parents to exercise discretionary powers to limit the exposure of children to violence shown on media channels.
The popular researches term it as ‘media induced aggressive behaviour’ that leads to the psychological abnormalities in a child.
A report ‘The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children’ said the violence, unfortunately, was one of the most popular forms of rent. It said the children who view media violence were more likely to have ‘increased feelings of hostility decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation’. “It desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe that the world is a meaner and scarier place than it is.”
Dr Sadaqat, a Psychiatrist stressed on the need to have a ‘check and balance’ on TV programs. “We shouldn’t let children watch everything. We should keep them under supervision,” she added.

Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST