How Does Media Portray Violence?

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.

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

John Leo’s “When Life Imitates Video” is a persuasive work against violent media with children. Many of Leo’s points are first person with reaching correlations between violent media and life violence. Leo states that many of school shootings are related to video games. One of facts, he states is that because of shooters aiming for heads means they received that from videogames. Even if that was true, the way he states it may not have been the correct way. Leo’s stretch of the correlation between both real-life violence and media violence was unsupported. Leo’s work was supported by personal opinions on each issue at hand. If he could add statistic into the work, then he could have appealed with the ethos and pathos of the work. His major point to consider is that violent media is an opening for real life violence. As media violence creates a sense of violence being an acceptable thing in society, and it must be stopped at the source. While the need to stop violent media to prevent major massacres or school shootings is important, it’s also equally important to understand that it isn’t the only thing to create these incidents. Many factors contribute to these incidents for the future.

In “Violence Media is Good for Kids”, Gerald Jones described how violence is not always bad for kids, but can have a positive impact for them. Children learn from violent media how to solve problems in a different way. Violent media shows children that every obstacle they face is not the end of the world. By exploring the pages of violent media and exposing the children to violence it prepared the child for experiences in the future.

One way individuals learn criminal behaviors by the way violence is portrayed in the media. Whenever the media creates a positive image of aggressiveness, it's influence is the greatest. For example, when actors are portrayed in a way that indicates no punishment, with realistic violence, rewarded for their actions, or their actions shown as justified. (Conklin, p 185).

At first, one would not realize the pervasiveness of violence. However, after having discussed this topic over the semester, violence has come to be referred to as an epidemic. After just a few lectures, we began analyzing different texts and learned how society has normalized the use of violence by transforming violent acts into forms of entertainment through various media outlets; in turn, causing desensitization to violence. Through media exposure and awareness of existing societal roles, I have come to realize that violence is a bigger issue than initially thought. Moreover, the opinions that I originally held at the beginning of this course have come to change after viewing topics through an enlightened outlook.

Today 's children are bombarded with images of violence in cartoons, news reports, television shows, computer games, movies, and other media. In growing numbers, they are also exposed to real-life violence in their own homes and communities--as witnesses, victims, and, increasingly, perpetrators. Too often, children learn that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict. Yet even

-Violence is often used in several movies and video games. It is often said that there could be a viable link between violence in the media and violence acted out in society. My mother is an instructional assistant at Spring Creek Elementary, and sees the effects of violent media daily. Several of the boys act out violent games during recess, using their hands as guns to shoot each other. The children have the perception that such violence is okay in certain settings; however, in the realities of today, a school is no place to imitate violence, especially through the use of guns. Most adults are mature enough to handle such violence in the media and appreciate the sense of reality it creates. It best brings certain aspects to life. However it is important that

In the world one is currently living in, there has been an increase in the acts of violence occurring. Violent media has become a greatly discussed topic where there is always two sides to this argument, one side says they are just games and the other can agree that they have a greater impact. Parents usually chose a side and stick to it but the reality is that they don't look carefully what both sides have to say. Gerald Jones states that violent media is good for kids because it helps them develop their personality but the truth is that children should not be exposed to violent media since it affect their emotional stability, creates a hostile attitude, and affects their health.

According to the Media Education Foundation, once a child reaches eighteen years of age, they have witnessed around 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders (jacksonkatz.com). Our society loves entertainment and a grand portion of this entertainment contains violence. Children constantly consume violent visuals, due to their prevalence. Majority of our society is uninterested in the effects of media violence since its effects do not show immediately. Misinformation is our greatest enemy in the battle against media violence. Children under the age of eight do not easily differentiate fiction and the real world (Media Education Foundation). Young children are vulnerable, and their inability to accurately distinguish reality from fiction is one of the main culprits in why fictionalized violence being shown to children is dangerous. As members of families and communities, we must make an impact ourselves through leadership. Violence is widespread and easily available through media outlets, causing our children mental harm. We are active caretakers and we can easily protect our youth by the usage of parental controls on television set, mobile devices, and computers.

The media is a part of everyday life in American kids. Children are surrounded by technology, entertainment, and other media that is full of violence. Newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet all contain violence. Today's media has a negative influence on children. The media does have an influence on them, but does it really influence them to act out even though they know it's wrong? Mass media, and its components, are very powerful and can influence one's mind, as well as their behavior. Children that imitate characters who use violence in the media and display aggressive behavior, tend to give them reason to believe that violence can happen without consequence. For children who grow up with poor adult examples or an

Violence has actually decreased over the decades even though media has more violence than ever before. According to a report done by Lawrence W Reed with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “by the age of 18 an American child will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.” These are astounding figures yet crime has hit a “nine-year low” (Frieden). Because of these statistics media is not causing more crime in America. The actual correlation between being exposed to media violence and actually acting violently are not conclusive. According to Jonathan L. Freedman of the University of Toronto, “The Surgeon General’s Report on Youth Violence concluded that exposure to television violence causes a short-term increase in aggression, but when on to say that television violence has little or no role in causing real violence.” Again this is showing that there might be a little aggressive behavior caused by media violence but the long-term effects are not what is causing

Children are exposed to violence everywhere. They see fights at school, they see it on the news at home, they even see it on social media. Some children see it while their countries are at war and some see it with groups fighting and killing in their neighborhood. James Garbarnio researched the effects of violence on children. He has researched what the negative impacts are, and if children are becoming more violent themselves due to the increased exposure to violence. While Dr. James Garbarnio did not clearly express opposite viewpoints from his own, he still successfully argued how violence is harmful to children in his article by using logic, evidence, emotion, clarity, and accountability.

Violence and aggression are commonly accepted behavior today. Violence is categorized as an action or emotion that is layered with an unpleasant or destructive force. As stated, there are various ways in which violence can be portrayed. In recent times, much of the violence society is exposed to comes from new media. This can be seen in almost all aspects: news, television, movies, social media, video games, the internet, marketing, and much more. With this over exposure comes a desensitization that cannot be ignored.

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.