Kick Ass Summary

THESIS STATEMENT: The world’s media today seem to have more violence than ever. Video games have vivid depictions of accident catastrophes, fighting and murder. Television news programs generally lead with a violent story in order to gain an audience. This is free society people can stay what they want. ‘’ Media violence has many negative effect on youth today to commit crimes in society.’’

The media has the potential to yield many negative effects in the development of a child. Media violence can lead to aggression in children. As mentioned earlier, an average person has viewed approximately 15,000 hours of television by the time they graduate high school. In that time, it is said that almost 18,000 acts of violence including murders, robbery, beating, bombing, and assault will be viewed. With the extent of this data, there is a definite correlation between the media and aggression in youth. The more violence students watch on television or are exposed to from different media sources, the more prone they are to be violent and aggressive as they get older, especially during adulthood. Studies have shown that even small exposure

Violence in movies can lead to tragic, barbaric events in real life because it can lead to aggressive attitudes and desensitization for victims of cruelty and abuse. The author mentions that “ The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18 … [as well as] exposure to media violence leads to aggression, desensitization toward violence and lack of sympathy for victims of violence, particularly in children.” (PG 1. Paragraph 1) Also violence in movies can teach children that it’s an acceptable way to solve problems and according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2011, students ages 12-18 were victims of 597,500

The majority of violence results from social injustice prevalent in our society. Among the significant contributors are poverty, racism, unemployment, and substance abuse. There is also an issue of a proliferation of guns, inadequate or abusive parenting practices, real-life adult models of violent problem-solving behavior, as well as frequent exposure to violence through the media. Consequently, these facts lead to further conjecture such as; has the media desensitized

Violent media is a prominent part of America's culture. America is the home to dozens of multimillion dollar industries that specialize in making violent media. This media usually has a rating label on it, categorizing it as being made for young children, teens, or adults. The purpose of this is to protect children from the disturbing and/or violent scenes depicted in the media. Yet, millions of children under the age of 17 still have free access to violent media. However, even though children have access, the overall effects of violence on children are not negative.

Before proceeding, it is important to define two terms clearly: media violence and violent behavior. Different people have used different definitions of these terms at different times, but for this research paper, media violence is defined as visual portrayals of acts of physical aggression by one human against another. This definition has evolved as theories about the effects of media violence have evolved and represents an attempt to describe the kind of violent media presentation that is most likely to teach the viewer to be more violent. Violence happens frequently in America and people die because of the lack of ethical training. The problem is not necessarily the one that appears as a clear and present danger because it masquerades itself as a just the cultural shift into a new era of insensitivity. Americans see violence every day in their media and so it has almost lost the potent

Television, movies, and video games are a big part of children’s lives in today’s technologically advanced society. However, there is a big controversy questioning the effects of these media outlets on children. Much of society claims to have proof for the belief that media violence affects children negatively. However, I am skeptical of the evidence that is stated to prove that claim. I feel that society has placed the blame on these mediums for the violent acts, however serious or trivial, that children commit way too easily, before they even begin to examine the parenting of today’s society.

In places where violence in the community is not a threat, children are still bathed with violent images at every turn, simply at the click of a button. Now more than ever the media has been flooded with aggressive acts ranging from the punches and kicks of the newest videogame, to the gruesome murders of the last big-screen thriller. It has also been estimated that by the time a child turns 18, he or she will have viewed at least 200,000 acts of violence on television (1). Even if the child has grown up with a solid, emotional and social background, he is still vulnerable to these overwhelming displays of media violence and is often left with a greater tendency towards aggressive and antisocial behavior (1). For those who do experience violence in the household, watching these powerful acts on television serves to reinforce the cultural values they see modeled in their everyday lifestyles (1).

Media violence is one of the most debated public issues society faces today. Television screens are loaded with the glamorization of weapon carrying. Violence constitute as amusing and trivialized. Needless portrayals of interpersonal violence spread across the television screens like wild fire. Televisions spew the disturbing events such as children being assaulted, husbands inflicting domestic abuse on their wives and children succumbing to abuse by their parents. Scenes of betrayal, anguish, infiltrate the television screen. Unfortunately, a child becomes subjected to media violence. Everything a child sees or hears in the media affects them in some way or another. The precise effects of media violence on children are

In everyday life, we are exposed to violence through the media, in one form or another. The ways we are exposed to it could be either through watching movies, TV-Shows or playing infamous computer games. For years the effects of violence in the media has been a provocative topic of debate. While some argue that violence in the media has no repercussions, others argue that it has a long lasting effect on people.

Do behavioral issues caused by violence in the media manifest American society? Mass media researcher, Cecilia von Feilitzen (Stockholm University, Sweden), cautions against distorting a complex problem. Feilitzen believes, “there has been too much focus on the causal relations between media exposure and violence in society, with a failure to differentiate among different kinds of influences” (McLellan). People are quick to blame television violence for behavioral activities that children demonstrate, without realizing that there are other important factors that also play a role in such behavior, for example, violence in the real world. For the most part, while some people contemplate that the news for instance, is full of violence, Times Mirror, a nationwide survey found that (of 1,516 Americans conducted February 20-23) that comparing today’s generation with those of the 1980’s believe that the news amplifies the expanse of violence in America (Pew Research Center). Violence is seen throughout society, not just in the media. The problem with society is that they think that by impeding children from watching certain things, it will be less likely for them to follow in the same footsteps. Even so, if that was completely true, why is it that some of those exact children end up with a worst criminal background than those who actually grew up watching TV violence as a child? What children watch, may have some impact on their adulthood, but that is beside the point. It does not

On average an American is exposed to approximately 200,000 violent acts before the age of eighteen. However, these exposures do not influence an individual to exhibit violence. Concerns regarding whether television and video game violence has a negative effect on society by promoting violence, dates back to the 1950’s and is still prevalent today. Studies and research conducted on the issue are unable to prove that the two variables have any correlation to each other. In fact, statistics demonstrate how the amount of violent crimes has decreased significantly throughout time despite growing video game popularity. Lastly, in society people look for anything to transfer the blame, especially in regards to a situation that may threaten an individual’s society. As a matter of fact, by reviewing the extensive research the conclusion was drawn stating exposure has no effect on violence. Therefore, television and video game violence does not have a negative effect on society.

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.

            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