Media Violence Affecting Adolescent's Behavior

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).

Violent video games, movies and television shows have become the subject of large debates that may have lasted since the beginning of media. Everyone knows that people have the ability and desire to imitate what they experience in the media, and given the perceived increase in violence among children in the U.S., the media is seen as a major possible explanation. In the following, we will examine the evidence pertaining to whether the media is becoming more violent over time, how much violence is in the media, and what kind of psychological connection or causal influence there may be between children’s violent behavior and their favorite types of media. It will be argued that the type of media as well as other cultural and environmental factors, are the key variables in determining whether violent behavior was caused by media, focusing specifically on the influence of video games considering they permit children the most realistic and interactive experiences of violence compared to all media.

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

Over the last decade, media has taken over the majority of the world through twenty-four hour coverage, various television shows and movies, and endless advertisements. There is no way to escape the media, especially the younger generations. Because of the constant coverage, some violence may be covered on the news, in video games, or entertainment. Some believe that the violence brainwashes younger generations and causes them to mirror that cruelty. In “Media Violence Does Not Cause Youth Violence,” Karen Sternheimer argues the opposite. Through appeals and strong premises, Sternheimer wrote a sound and valid argument that only has a few minor faults.

violating, damaging, or abusing. Violence on TV has been steadily increasing for the past few years. It’s

I have chosen to discuss the role that media violence plays in aggression in children, specifically as related to Albert Bandura’s experiments. I specifically chose this topic based on Bandura's observations with his famous Bobo doll study (which has been very influential to linking media exposure to violent aggressive behavior in children). In researching this paper, I hope to find an answer to satisfy my curiosity as to whether the media is to blame to the extent that Bandura would have us believe or are there other forces accountable. Is it logical to blame media for the

If a child acted violently towards someone else, like if he or she punched another child, there would be consequences for that child. Perhaps detention or grounding, but then their act of violence is mostly forgotten about. Rarely do the parents or school officials investigate why the child acted violently in the first place. If asked, the adults might say something like “the child probably watches a violent television show, like Powerangers, or he/she plays violent video games, like Grand Theft Auto.” Most people would consider that an acceptable reason. It is the norm to blame “the media” for everything that is wrong with our culture. But the question raised now is why; why does our society claim that violence in the media

Many will make the counter argument that it is the rise of media that has inevitably led to this increase in violent behavior throughout society. Such an argument completely ignores the fact that there has been violence in the media from its inception. After all this time it stands to reason that there would be a much larger amount of violent and aggressive individuals in the world than currently exist. This is most likely explained by the fact that studies have show that over the long term

When it comes to the topic of violent media being beneficial for kids, most of us will readily agree that there is an ongoing debate on whether or not children should be exposed to violence. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whether violent media can help children express their rage and other feelings that they are taught to deny. Whereas some are convinced that exposure to juvenile violence in the media is harmful to children, others maintain that it can help them meet their emotional and developmental needs. In my view, however, I believe that violent media can benefit children in many ways.

Daly, L. A., & Perez, L. M. (2009). Exposure to Media Violence and Other Correlates of

During childhood, children learn behaviors that some may obtain for the rest of their lives. Children are some of the most vulnerable humans when it comes to watching higher figures of their lives doing something, most likely you will find that child doing the same exact thing a day later. Whether they are learning these habits from their parents, older siblings, favorite television show, or a video game; they see these actions as a chance to do something new that is done by one of the things they look up to most. Since children are young, this also means they are not educated enough to know right from wrong, for the most part. In today’s society, parents are very busy and unaware of what their children are doing in their free time. Children spend a lot of their time receiving entertainment from harsh media that can cause a behavioral change. If parents continue not monitoring their children’s sources of entertainment, it can potentially affect our society on a much larger scale later on.

Many Americans feel that the viewing of violence in the media reinforces negative behavior in society, especially among children and young adults. "Three thousand studies have been done since 1955 on the link between television and violence; 2,980 of them found a correlation between the two.  We hear little about that because we get most of our news from television" (Peterson).  With this much research one must acknowledge that there is a problem in America involving sex and violence in the media.  We cannot blame all societal problems on the media and its portrayal of these issues, but we can become educated, ourselves, in order to better facilitate the healthy lives of our children.

With the evolving of the technology, children easy access to the variety of these different media forms, many of which have high levels of violent content. Nowadays, just by clicking on the screen, children observe tons of news regarding to murders, beatings and sexual assaults. Eron and his colleagues conducted the research show that before finishing the elementary school, the child would have witnessed 8000 murders (Eron, 1993). Other media such as movies, video game, the Internet seems to be effective methods of informal observational learning and also correlate with youth exposed to violence. Violence in the media is going to be considered if it fires violence in the real world. Yet, there are many investigations concluding that the relationship between media violence and aggressive behavior is strong (Anderson et al., 2008; Dubow et al., 2010; Fanti et a., 2009).

            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 21st Century Sex and Violence in the media has had a good and bad impact on our society. It is very common around the world that many kids are exposed to violence or some type of sexual activity rather in household or in the media. The media has become a common reason as to why violence occur. Teenagers in the 21st century are exposed to more sexuality and violence than ever. Being exposed to sex and violence has had a bad impact on teens because what they see in the media sometimes have an effect on their behavior. The media plays a huge role in the lives of many teens in everyday life. The amount of violence that the media exposes young teens too has caused controversy and has