Does Media Violence Cause Aggression in Children?

It is a matter of great importance how much of media content children are exposed to and what exactly they are viewing on media. The issue of violence is not a new phenomenon among children and keeps increasing with time and change in technology and information technology. The causes of violence in children are seen to be multifactorial and exposure of children to media violence is said to be an important factor when it comes to the etiology of behaviors that are violent among children.

When it comes to the topic of violent media, some of us would readily agree it’s a controversial subject as to whether kids should or shouldn’t be exposed to it. This is because many children who view violent media react negatively rather than not being affected at all. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what effects does it have on children. Whereas some are convinced that it is a healthy alternative for kids to express themselves, others maintain that it causes kids to become more aggressive and contributes to juvenile crimes.

In Brad Bushman’s and Rowell Huesmann’s Article Short-term and Long-term Effects of Violent Media on Aggression in Children and Adults from the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine journal, they believe the violent media in video games, tv shows, music, and movies, are affecting behavior in children and adults. Bushman and Huesmann believe that all the violence that has made a more popular appearance in today’s culture is causing for adults and children to be more prone to aggression. They hypothesized that the long-term effects would be greater in children and the short-term effects would be greater in adults, and discovered their hypotheses to be correct. Other articles, such as Beth Stein’s If Violent Video Games are Harmless Fun,

The results of the study were that it was possible to predict aggression based on media exposure and that it significantly increased aggression. The study suggests that the more educational media exposure there is to children the more aggression is shown.

video games can be beneficial. Whether it helps your brain, stress, aging, or help dyslexic kids.

I found that this review examined just how aggression and aggressive behavior is depicted in the media and how this impacts society’s perspectives and thoughts when it comes to aggression behavior. There was a review of the literature by the authors, in which they analyzed the relational and physical aspects of aggression in many media aspects (film, broadcast television, music, books, and video games). Findings across media types, the evidence finds that both physical and relational aggression are portrayed often and in ways that may contribute to continued aggression. Also, although there are studies finding no impact of exposure to media aggression, the results discovered that watching relational and physical aggression in the media contributes to aggressive conduct. Important media aggression beliefs are assessed and some of those beliefs are administered to relational aggression media effects Coyne, S. M., Stockdale, L., & Nelson, D. A. (2012).

In discussions of violent media on children, one controversial issue has been that violent media effects children in a negative way. On the one hand violent media causes children to build up aggression, and are at risk to be more criminally active as adults. My own view, is some people blame violent media for children’s aggression, but media provides knowledge of what the content contains, to caution viewers from violent action. Violet media can also be beneficial to children, it causes them to express built up emotion and there is no direct connection between violent media and children being violent.

With the evolving of the technology, children easy access to the variety of these different media forms, many of which have high levels of violent content. Nowadays, just by clicking on the screen, children observe tons of news regarding to murders, beatings and sexual assaults. Eron and his colleagues conducted the research show that before finishing the elementary school, the child would have witnessed 8000 murders (Eron, 1993). Other media such as movies, video game, the Internet seems to be effective methods of informal observational learning and also correlate with youth exposed to violence. Violence in the media is going to be considered if it fires violence in the real world. Yet, there are many investigations concluding that the relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior is strong (Anderson et al., 2008; Dubow et al., 2010; Fanti et a., 2009).

While many argue that film violence has little or no influence on actual behaviour, this essay will argue that media violence has a direct influence on actual behaviour in adolescence and adults. The main ideas I will put forward are. How Media Violence Increases Children’s tolerance of Real-Life Aggression, Violence Exposure in real-life, Violent Film Characters and their portrayal of violent acts, the effects of violence in emerging adults, film violence and subsequent aggressive tendencies. I will also show that people that were angered when they started watching Violent Films or TV were more angered afterwards which resulted in violent behaviour.

The potential relationship between media violence and actual aggression comes to the forefront of public discussion, but unfortunately this discussion rarely takes into account the science related to the relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior. In particular, there is a widespread assumption that media violence directly causes aggression and aggressive behavior, and this assumption has become so common that even secondary scholarly discussions of the evidence have taken to relying on it despite the fact that there is no evidence for a causal relationship between the consumption of media violence and aggressive behavior. While there is evidence suggesting a link between the two, correlation does not equal causation, and examining this evidence in detail will help make the case that there is no direct cause and effect relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior while simultaneously demonstrating the fallacy inherent in the counter arguments that have been proposed.

Almost every family has televisions and smart phones, which makes children have greater access to media nowadays. Although TV is a great tool for education and entertainment, it is adverse to children’s development in some ways. There are greater numbers of violent scenes in TVs and films that are viewed by children. Some parents may probably think those TV programs and movies are just for entertainment and will not cause any bad consequence. However, it is worthy of attention that children’s minds are not well developed and will be easily affected by things they are exposed to. So, the impact of media violence on children should not be neglected any more. Violence in the media actually exerts a subtle influence on children’s behavioural and emotional problems.

Other significant studies have expressed their interest in the topic regarding the media’s influence on violence. The study “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” examines whether violent videogames increases the probability of individuals engaging in violent activities such as uttering threats and physical assaults (Anderson et al., 2003). The research involves participants such as children because they are more likely to be associated with violent media such as videogames (Anderson et al., 2003).

            In recent times, the news media has cried out against violent media, painting it as the leading cause for youth violence. Following events such as the Columbine massacre, news sources have vilified violent media, claiming that it is a primary cause of violent behavior in youths. This analysis provides firm research on the subject from the opposing and supporting sources, giving a thorough definition to the term “violent media” and  brings forth evidence that other psychological effects and environmental factors are more significant causes of increased youth aggression than violent media.

As evidence has shown, children view many violent scenes while watching television, movies, or playing video games, but the question still remains: What psychological effect does violence in the media have on children? Research over the past 10 years has consistently shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life aggression (Strasburger 129). Violence in the media can lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the various programs. Of course, not all children who watch television, or movies, or play video games develop aggressive behavior. However, there is a strong correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior. A study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, examined how children's television viewing practices are related to aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that children who reported watching greater amounts of television per day had higher levels of violent behavior than children who reported lesser amounts of television viewing (Singer 1041). Witnessing violence is an important determining factor in violent behavior. The media serves as a means for children to witness violence. According to Bandura's Social Learning Theory, children imitate behavior that they see on television, especially if the person performing the behavior is attractive or if the

In the book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.