Is Media Violence Pernicious?

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.

Everyone is influenced and shaped by society. Society affects our perceptions, our consciousness, and our actions. A majority of the influence, especially on the younger demographic comes through the media; specifically through television. It is important to examine how violence in the media develops a pervasive cultural environment that cultivates a heightened state of insecurity, exaggerated perceptions of risk and danger, and a fear-driven propensity for hard-line political solutions to social problems. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the impact of television and media violence, as well as the human cost of violent media, and the overall effects on society from watching TV.

The article “Violence As Fun” by Randall Sullivan brings up this issue, arguing that parents need to be educated on the dangers of allowing their children to watch violent TV programs. The author supports this with evidence from a report conducted by The American Psychological Association, where they concluded that early substance abuse, access to weapons, isolation, and widespread display of violence in media; the latter being greater, contributes to the violent behaviors in adolescents. He also points out that since the 1950s, aggravated assaults have increased seven times. The passage further emphasizes that many TV outlets know the damaging effects that violence in media has on juveniles, yet only a few acknowledge this fact. Sullivan’s

Violent Media Is Good for Kids Gerard Jones is a man who has lived a life closely tied to violent media, with a successful career in writing comic books and action movies (200). His claims about the effects violent media on children, while fitting for a man with his background, may still come as a surprise to concerned parents. Jones’ article “Violent Media Is Good For Kids” is a successfully thought provoking piece; however, his argument is only marginally effective due to Jones’ failure to properly support his claims with compelling evidence, to clearly define the intentions of his argument, or to fully market himself as a trustworthy voice on the subject. “Violent Media Is Good For Kids” is an exploration into the idea that children need creative violent expression, through entertainment media, for their mental health and wellness (199-203).

Most experts contend that violent television shows, video games, and toys promote aggression and destructive behavior. Rhodes (2000) states, “The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institutes of Mental Health say that there is a link between entertainment and violence. In fact, no direct, causal link between exposure to mock violence in the media and subsequent violent behavior has ever been demonstrated…” (p. 555). While violence in entertainment is pervasive and a real concern; it needs to be understood and addressed rather than blamed as the cause. After all, it is possible seek solutions to minimize violence when you understand the nature of

Numerous studies conducted in the past have clearly demonstrated that exposure to media violence does have a significant influence on violent and aggressive behavior. This is particularly the case amongst children where fictional media violence has been linked to increased aggression both in the short-term and in the long-term. This text highlights the extent to which media violence is related to violent/aggressive behavior.

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.

Academic studies prove what most Americans theorize to be true, providing documented consensus that exposure to media violence is linked to actual violent behavior, “on par with the correlation of exposure to secondhand smoke and the risk of lung cancer.” In a meta-analysis of 217 studies, psychologists

Today the media is more influential than ever. Movies, books, podcasts, tv shows, and other various media outlets have influenced the nation tremendously. Violence has also been a hot topic these past few years. Gun shootings, homicides, and overall crimes are consistently being committed and shared on the news. The topic of violence and the discussion of media influencing that violence is extremely intriguing. In 2008, John Murray, a psychologist, wrote in his published book, “Fifty years of research on the effect of TV violence on children leads to the inescapable conclusion that viewing media violence is related to increases in aggressive attitudes, values, and behaviors” (Murray, 2008, p. 1212). This research shows that there is a correlation

Does entertainment influence society's attitude towards violent behavior? In order to fully answer this question we must first understand what violence is. Violence is the use of one's powers to inflict mental or physical injury upon another, examples of this would be rape or murder. Violence in entertainment reaches the public by way of television, movies, plays, and novels. Through the course of this essay it will be proven that violence in entertainment is a major factor in the escalation of violence in society, once this is proven we will take all of the evidence that has been shown throughout this paper and come to a conclusion as to whether or not violence in entertainment is justified and whether or not it should be censored.

Violence in media is not a recent development. Prior to television, citizens across the country glued themselves to the radio listening to the broadcast of popular crime dramas. Before radio, books and newsprint fulfilled society’s craving for dramatic violence. Prior to the days of technology, live stage performances served to sate man’s desire for thrills. With the recent advent of technology along with an ever-increasing human desire for blood-pumping entertainment, children now are much more exposed to media violence than ever before. Gauthier, Zuromski and Gitter write, “Media coverage of violent killings (e.g., the Columbine High School shooting in 1999) has cited the potential role of violent media exposure in fostering aggressive behavior, especially because some of the perpetrators have a history of violent media consumption” (513). Children spend hours on end watching television shows and movies filled with violence or playing video games where they can play the role of a character and act out the violence themselves. This can lead to children eventually playing out these fantasies in real life or, more likely, not reacting humanely in the face of violence. Overindulged by the violence in media and video games, children are losing the capacity for compassion and developing the capacity to harm others without feeling guilt for their actions. To help curb these harmful effects,

The effects of media consumption on behavioral tendencies have long been the subject of both popular and academic scrutiny. Specifically, it is widely accepted that over-exposure to depictions of violence in media can lead to desensitization to violent content and even short-term aggressive behavior. From a psychological perspective (but not from a sociological one), this is hard to dispute as there are numerous studies which confirm this phenomenon although these studies have also been the victim of sensationalist interpretations and representations. Essentially what has been postulated is a simple cause-and-effect relationship: media exposure leads to a behavioral change. And as of recently, video games, in particular, have been the subject of increased scrutiny in the context of this relationship and once again there is evidence to support such a relationship. However, a review of available data published by the American Psychological Association (Granic, Lobels, & Engels, 2014) has suggested that another, more positive cause-and-effect relationship may be at work with this type of media as it has grown in visibility and mainstream acceptance.

Violence is often poorly represented within the media, as many assume that it causes a negative impact on people, especially the young ones. In some cases, this is correct, with research showing connections between viewing violence on screen causing aggressive behavioural problems later on in life (Psychiatric Times,

In this era of internet connectivity, access to an array of violent media stimuli is readily available. Scientific exploration of the effects of such exposure on real world violent behaviour carries potential ramifications for the safety of global communities. Media violence is understood here as stimuli that includes depictions of violence or calls to violent action and includes image, video, television and gaming. Violent behavior is defined as behavior causing emotional or physical harm expressed verbally or physically. Whilst there remains no causal proof for 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.