Essay on Media Has a Negative Influence 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).

Additionally, although violent video games might expose children to violent behavior, the amount of violence are not as great as the ones in movies and television. The news is filled with stories of war and murder, and nearly every movie contains some forms of violence. Plus, these two media are different from games in a very important way because they involve real people, not computer-generated characters. One of the social psychological science faculties in

In the article titled Violence Media Is Good for Kids Jones stated that “When we try to protect our children from their own feelings and fantasies, we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood” (Jones 184). This quote embodies how many teenagers have felt throughout time. In addtion, violence has been surrounding us for many years however people seem to blame the influx of violence on media. Further,

As censorship of the American media has broken down over the years, the amount of violence allowed to be shown in movies, on television, and in video games has skyrocketed. From coast to coast in our nation, this saturation of hostility in our media has caused many contentious debates between scholars, parents, students and government officials alike. In this controversy, the central argument revolves around the effects violent media has on our society. The question that most researchers strive to answer is this: does watching or participating in violent media cause violent or other harmful behaviors? There are those who would say yes, it does promote destructive behavior in

No matter where we are or what we do the media is always going to be a factor in how children are brought up. Unfortunately the media is also a source of a lot of violence. We live in a time where violence is literally at every corner and the media just provides another root to seeing that violence. This quote found in a Oxford research paper tells a perfect story about violence in the media: “Unfortunately, the presence of violence in electronic media content is almost as prevalent as the media itself. Violence can be found in music, television shows, video games, and even YouTube videos. Content analyses have shown that nearly all media contain violence, irrespective of age rating”(Busching, Robert, Johnie Allen, and Craig Anderson.). This goes to show that no matter how children are raised, it is impossible to get away from violence when that is exactly what our media is made

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

The media in today’s society is very influential on children. There are many things that children at a very young age are learning, for example violence. Many children learn violent behavior and they become violent and aggressive children because they are exposed to so much mature content. Many parents are not aware of what their children are watching, and without knowing it, their children are raised by the media. Many television shows contain a lot of violence, for example kids fighting each other, kids bullying other kids and kids yelling and disrespecting their parents. Unfortunately, at a very young age children are learning to be aggressive and violent because they are spending more time watching television than spending it

Magazines that are targeted toward adolescent girls focus on the importance of being viewed as sexy by men and focusing on the way your body looks. Studies have shown that adolescents who frequently read fashion magazines are two to three times more likely to diet based on the articles in the magazine.

In today’s society, there are a number of factors that affect a child’s ability to learn. The media, for good and for bad, is the primary teacher of American youth. This environment reflects life itself, sometimes in a corrupt way, including the positive and heinous parts, along with the beautiful and hideous parts, as well as the charitable and violent parts. It is almost impossible to protect American youth from experiences reflecting the adult world when the media invades homes and becomes so much a part of everyday living. “American teenagers spend 31 hours a week watching television, 10 hours a week online, 4 hours a week reading magazines, and 17 hours a week listening to music” (Miss). Even though mass media is a huge part of a

Television is a big part of today’s society. Everybody watches television, including the children. There is a potential problem with letting children watch television. Ask this question, would someone let their own child watch some of the programming that they watch, too? Some of these programs are intended for the adult generation, not young children. Violence has a major role in television these days. Letting children watch this violence could corrupt their minds and eventually lead to bad behavior. There needs to be a limitation on the types of television programming that parents let their children watch, because violence in television can negatively affect children.

The digital generation is taking over and becoming more prevalent in today’s society. As we take a closer look into the effects that media has on children it is clear that there are demographical characteristics that play a role into how much or how little media is used in the everyday life of children. Questions and doubt are raised in regards to media and whether it plays a positive and negative role in a child’s development. Understanding the reasons why media use is so prevalent among different environmental and socio-economic backgrounds will give us an idea of the effects that media can have on a child’s development. Media is ever-changing and is becoming more of our everyday life. The more time goes on the more we begin to understand the effects that media has on the development of children. The articles discussed in this paper address those demographic influences and parental contributions to the length and use of media in the home.

The graphics in games now make the game almost look as if it were real life. That has brought the video game industry a lot more players and part of those new gamers are young children. The issue is when a child is presented with a violent video game that has really good graphics the child has a better understanding of what is going on in that game. Because children can relate what is going in the video game to the real world, that leads children to believe that the actions being done in that video game are accepted in society. If the children believe that its right from them to do violent actions that they learned from the game there attitude starts becoming more aggressive. Anne Harding says “children who watch violence in the media can internalize the message that the world is a hostile place...”.

            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.

The 21st century has been the dawn of electronic media – therefore it has been important to take advantage of these opportunities and use them as tools for education. Educational television programs have completely taken over the homes of new families which has shaped developing minds in different ways than previous years. Programs like Sesame Street, Blue’s Clues and Dora the Explorer have forever changed the way children watch and learn from television by integrating education, entertainment and verbal participation into a 30-minute show. These 21st century productions have altered how the public uses media. However, this period has also suffered from the child obesity epidemic. And because children spend a record-setting amount of time inside watching television, they are missing out on living a healthy and active lifestyle. Combining the two could permanently change the way children learn from television.

Media is also being tied to the increasing violence in US children. “Children are increasing anti-social and aggressive behavior, become less sensitive to violence and those who suffer from violence, children may view the world as violent and mean fearful of being a victim of violence. Children may desire to see more violence in entertainment and real life, and children will view violence as an acceptable way to settle conflicts.”( Buchanan, A.M., Gentile, D.A., Nelson, D.A.,Walsh, D.A., Hensel, J. 2002) Astonishingly, more time is being spent on watching television then homework which differ from child to child. A child’s interpretation of what they watch depends on of their attention spans, the way in