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Mass Media and Violence Essay

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Mass Media and Violence Is it hard to believe that just forty years ago only a few privileged American families had televisions in their home? In recent years, it is estimated that a whopping ninety-eight percent of Americans have one or more television sets in their home. Motion pictures, televisions, video games, and the internet are just some forms of mass media that have emerged since the last century. With the rise of mass media, the increase of violent behavior has increased as well. Mass media influences many factors of people’s lives such as moral beliefs, behavior, and values. Violence in mass media is greatly dominating our society and continues to do so. It causes aggression and is a growing epidemic among the youth. Scott …show more content…

He goes on to say that media portrays war as entertainment [in video games]. War is not entertainment and nobody wins in real war while real people are getting killed. This illustrates another problem: can society depict from reality and fantasy? Most of the recent shootings in the United States were committed by the youth. Is it just a coincidence or is it because of the hostility displayed on their television sets? Many people think that violence in media is entirely based on real life. They proclaim that since we live in the real world, the media cannot possibly be more violent than what we already know. Actually, it is impossible for people to know all horrific events that have taken place. Also, some would say that it is up to the individual to decide what to be exposed to.8 That is not true, since you are exposed to cruel media whether you know it or not. Even on the news, “Crimes such as murders, robberies, and abuse are shown as deviant behavior” rather than actual violence. In conclusion, violence in media does affect society. It is a growing wave and teaches aggression. Some solutions could be placing regulations on TV and motion picture producers. If gun makers have regulations on guns they make, why not placing rules on producers? Also, parents should be aware of what their children watch. There is no way to be completely censored of the media but it can be kept at a minimum. Times have changed since the

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