A preliminary investigation was carried out in which South African preschoolers' spontaneous play was related to their television viewing habits, a year after its full scale introduction of television in South Africa. It appears that the limited and relatively benign nature of the television service has no adverse effect reflected in play, such as increases in the overt expression of aggression and anxiety. If anything the television programmes currently broadcast in South Africa have the effect of stimulating imaginative play in white middle class preschoolers.
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