The Effects Of Media Violence On Children

The media is generally seen by people as a way of conveying the truth. If something is seen on TV, has been heard on the radio or something has been read in the newspapers then it is perceived as being the truth. Throughout history the media has been used as a tool to convey different messages to people. The issue of the behavior of children when exposed to violence on media has been an issue to be debated upon and studied for a very long time. There are many devices that children have access to of late which include video games, iPods, iPads, DVDs, computers and so on. Children are often said to be impressionable, this means that they do not see the world in the same way as adults do. Children tend to see things the way they are. They take things literally as they do not posses the sensibilities that are sophisticated to make a distinction between reality and fiction (Limit TV, 2010).

There is a strong agreement among American society that violence in the country is on the rise. It is easy to see why this is a strong argument among the American people, especially because of the rising popularity of violent video games and television programs. However, as these violent video games and television shows are creating their own place in our society, the reports of violence among children are escalating. This correlation has been studied extensively in the scientific community in an attempt to discover whether media violence does negatively impact children but there has yet to be a consensus. There is a split between those that believe that children are becoming more violent because they are exposed to violent media and

Television is the mainstream of our culture. Violence on television has been a topic of conflict since before 1950. There have been repeated debates on how to protect children from the harmful effects of violence on television. Television is one form of modern media that influences the everyday lives of people. Televised violence has a major effect on how children perceive the world and how they behave. "American television has become the most violent in the world. It is for this reason why researchers have focused their attention toward television violence" (Cantor & Hoffner 424-4-25). Children enjoy watching television and now with the increased technology of cable and movie

How innocent are those cartoons that children are watching from day to day? It is no secret that the violence seen in media is growing in popularity and it is effecting children more and more each day. When children are exposed to media violence from day to day it starts to have a negative influence on them. It effects them by making them less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, they become more fearful of the world, and they are more likely to behave in harmful or aggressive ways.

The influence of mass media has progressively increased in American society, but can the media have effects beyond mere entertainment and impartial information? American culture has become saturated with online news reports, social media, and media entertainment. Technology has become a major factor in America’s social environment. Much of the information gained from digital sources involves or portrays violence, and many social scientists have concluded that exposure to these portrayals may influence some individuals to behave violently. There is evidence that consistent exposure to violence can lead audience members to accept violence as normative, and adopt the behavior into their own lives (Surette, 2013, p. 393). However, researchers have also shown that the media is only one factor in behavior, and that it may not be the cause of violence (Black et al., 2016, p. 197). Other researchers support the theory that the benefit of using the media to fight violence outweighs any negative effect from it (Flexon, 2009, p. 608). Understanding violence is a complex, multi-faceted process, and all of these viewpoints must be acknowledged in order to understand the relationship between violent behavior in the media and violent behavior in individuals.

Pretend you are a parent. You are at home and you see your child acting in a hostile and aggressive manner. You ask him where he picked up on this behavior. He replies, “I saw it on Television.” Television violence had a role in the child's behavior. Media violence can have a lasting impression on children, teenagers and adults not only through television, but also through video games. In the past two decades, there has been a significant increase in violent behavior in the United States (Merino 1). This is the result of exposure to violence. More than half of television programs and video games contain some type of violence. Perez Daly says, “’... children are likely to see 8,000 murders and at least 100,000 other acts of violence prior

With the growth in popularity in films, media has been a major influence in people’s lives. In recent years we see movies and tv shows impacting the way we talk, move, and even think. In recent events, theories on violent behavior have emerged with the belief that media is causing it. The issue becomes even more serious when“...watching violence in the media becomes enjoyable and does not result in the anxious arousal that would be expected from seeing such imagery.” ("Violence in the Media."). A lack of anxiety leads to apathy in people when it comes to doing violent crimes themselves. People become so used to watching violence and crime that it becomes apart of their lives and could influence them into behaving the same way as a character in a movie or tv show that they watch. This is especially true for children because they are watching these types of shows and movies while their minds are still developing. Violence in media is a serious issue because as media influence grows, the bigger the chance that crime rates will go up do to the impact it has on children in such an early stage of their life, and parents of these children need to get involved to stop the promotion of violent behavior.

Many video games, television programs, adverts, films and music lyrics depict different forms of violence. Some people feel that there is too much violence exposed in the media. Many studies have made the claim that the media is responsible for much of the violence seen in the world we live in (List and Wolfgang). However, people have choices and responsibilities we cannot allow ourselves to blame it on other things such as the media. The violence seen in our media has an impact on both adults and children. Since children are also exposed to various forms of media, there has been additional concern for how they process and think about the violence they see, read or hear. Excessive exposure to media violence can also affect people in many ways as they can become disturbed and develop serious fears of being victimized in real life. Nevertheless, the entertainment industry and those in favor of the media argue that censoring these images or music will not solve the problems of a society, which is already violent.

In an article entitled “Violence and Suffering in Television News: Toward a Broader Conception of Harmful Television Content for Children” found on the Pediatrics Journal website, Dr. Walma Van Der Molan writes, “Pediatricians are in good position to inform parents, educators, policy makers, and broadcasters of the potential harmful effects of violent news and to suggest ways to enhance children’s understanding of such news information. Pediatricians could take action within their own practice, for example by including news consumption in the assessment of children’s media histories and by preventing children from watching violent news during their stay in the hospital. However, they could also engage awareness of the negative consequences of violent news within other domains”(1773).

Media plays a significant role in the United States. What first started as limited information on paper has now transformed into endless amounts of news, data, and entertainment that we can easily reach out of our pockets. Media has evolved into two forms: print media which consists of magazines and newspapers, and there are broadcast media which consists of television, radio, etc. Broadcasting media is now considered the most prominent media outlet out of these two because it is used more frequently, and it is more accessible than ever. Radio media, which started in 1920 with the invention of the radio channels and broadcasts, has now evolved into many different forms like television, movies, video games, and the internet. A very controversial and worrying topic for parents and guardians nowadays is the amount of violence that is now being used and broadcasted in media. Many people believe that violent media is the main reason why there is youth violence in America. Violent media doesn’t precisely contribute to violent youth behavior because research shows that even though the amount of violence in media has increased over the past years, the number of youth homicides and violent events have decreased. There are also broader factors that contribute to youth violence rather than violent media, like a history of violent victimization, low parent involvement, and even living in socially disorganized neighborhoods. And although violent media seems like a bad thing to be

“Children aged five to 16 spend an average of six and a half hours a day in front of a screen… ”(Wakefield). But unfortunately, much of the television today is full of violence. Scientists believe that the effects of TV violence on children and teenagers may cause them to become immune to the consequence of violence, terror or horror, cause them to be unable to handle their problems in a healthy form and cause them to copy, imitate, the violent behavior they see on the television. Therefore, there needs to be a removal of violence from cartoons such as the ones on Boomerang, as it is negatively affecting children.

Violence has been around since the beginning of mankind, and it is not going away anytime soon. Ever since the era of cavemen, we have relied on violence to provide us with the basic necessities to survive; such as food and clothing, in harsh and barren environments. Fast forward several thousand years and these basic necessities for survival are now abundant and readily available for a large majority of the population. Unfortunately, this hasn’t decreased the presence of violence in our society. Today’s entertainment and media mostly focuses on these violent examples because they know that it will garner the most attention. The question on everyone’s mind is if these violent images shown throughout our multiple media outlets have a direct correlation with violent behavior. Research shows us that violent images can directly trigger violent behavior.

Communications technology is expanding through the entire global community (Dyson 2). Children everywhere are being born into a world of images and messages, which are largely separated from their home, school and spiritual lives (Dyson 2). In society today storytellers are seldom parents, grandparents, teachers or the clergy; instead they are the handful of distant forces with something to sell (Dyson 2). What is unique about the media industry is that in global and corporate domination they have become part of our culture as well as our identity (Dyson 3). Social scientists and child advocates have been exploring the effects of media for decades, yet it is only recently that

            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.

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.