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Media's Influence on Crime in Postmodern Society

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How do the Media Influence our understandings about crime in postmodern society? Can they also influence levels of crime?

The media has a huge influence on how crime is presented and perceived. In fact, the media might even have an impact on crime prevalence and type. Reiner (2007) points out that "hard scientific evidence" shows that television viewing affects the ways children behave, and that "children imitate violent images," (Reiner, 2007, p. 302). Based on this information, it is not just the news media that may be to blame for some types of crime rate increases. Violent video games could also be implicated in overall desensitiziation or normalization of violence. Desensitization might cause individuals to perpetrate criminal acts. Alternatively, desensitization from overexposure to media might cause some individuals to condone or under-report crime. Media depicting law enforcement and other social institutions in a negative light could also lead to an antagonistic view of the law, leading to a general sense of anomie.
"It has long been feared that the media is a significant cause of offending," (Reiner, 2007, p. 302). In addition to the desensitization to violent imagery that may occur via exposure to the media, individuals may also be cultivating anomie: the condition of social apathy. The types of violence that are shown in the media, news media and otherwise, also reveal a sick postmodern society. Within this framework, some types of crime might take place more

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