Should The Media Be Exposed To Violent Behavior?

Hundreds of studies have been done to determine whether violent video games will really make juveniles more violent. Randomized experiments were used in several studies to examine the short-term effect of violent video games (Anderson and Berkowitz et al. 90). In these studies, children were randomly assigned to play violent or nonviolent video games and then were observed when given an opportunity to be aggressive. The result was that children who played violent video games usually behaved aggressively.

For example violent video games allow players to unleash any type of anger they have onto the game instead of acting out aggressively in the real world. A peer-reviewed study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that teenagers, especially boys, play video games as a way to control themselves when it comes to their emotions. 61.9% of the boys who were studied said they played to help them relax, ' 47.8% because 'it helped them forget their problems, ' and 45.4%p played because it helped them get their anger out. Teenagers can use these games to experience fantasies of power and fame, to explore what they accept as exciting and realistic environments to work through angry feelings or relieve stress. The games can serve as a substitute for actually rough and aggressive play. Also many studies fail to look for other factors that can contribute to why teenagers are aggressive, such as family history and mental health, plus most studies do not follow children over long periods of time. Video game experiments usually just have people playing a game for a few minutes, which is not how games are played in real life. Most teens end up playing their games for hours. What is not addressed in most studies that are against video game violence is the majority of well-adjusted teenagers who are also playing those same games, and are showing no signs of any kind of aggressive

​ Children who are exposed to violent media may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others. Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others as they deal with killing and cruelty most of the time. All shows and games need the kid to kill his enemy to win, he feels happy after killing or destroying whatever facing him to reach the top. That's why I'm not surprised when they become violent or cruel, they enjoy the surfing of others and this moves with them psychologically from media to reality. This is the moment when the kid starts to change into a monster. Also, children who watch a lot of violent T.V shows are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place. Imagine, when your life is full of fear, running, killing and blood, what will you feel. Of course you will be afraid of living in such world. You will expect harmful actions from outside world all the time and as a result you will be terrified and live in fear from the entire world. Violent shows or video games are really harmful not only for children but for all the family, society and the world as well.

One of the biggest controversial cases among parents and children is, whether to allow them to play violent video games. Many people often assume that these intense games have a direct correlation to becoming a violent person. While many people agree with this, the research is not 100% accurate. This makes it very hard to find proof that a violent video game is one of the leading causes of a violent person. We are often blaming these games for a more internal complex problem.

“Short-term effects of violent media were greater for adults than they were for children but the long-term effects were most compelling in children” (Huesmann & Bushman, 2006). It is well known that the effects of media violence are more potent in children and not as bad for adults. So what reasons are behind adults committing crimes and blaming it on psychological effects? Or even your adults at that. Patton et al (2014) state that homicide is the leading cause of death for young people and they further on add that exposure to media violence has a negative impact on youth mental health, academic performance and relationships. “Unlike most sane, educated adults, many children are increasingly beginning to accept violence as a way to solve problems and are imitating what they see on television” (MegaEssays.com, 2002). With that being said does this mean that media programs and/or gaming containing violence should be banned? Since one is liable to choose what they want to watch and when, what happens when that right is taken away due to a minority group? Will that reduce the violence that is happening around the world? When a child

Violent media comes in all shapes and sizes. Kids and teens are exposed to violence every day of their life. Through music, gaming, tv shows, and the internet. “Prolonged exposure to such media portrayals results in increased acceptance of violence as an appropriate means of solving problems and achieving one's goals”( Media Violence). This proves that violence will be a key to achieving an objective. This is a negative effect on an exposure with violent media, having kids believe that you can get what you want through violence. This also proves that if a child would see themselves as the good guy, everyone that disagrees with this child must be a bad guy, which can cause a problem in an everyday life. “Children in grades 4 through 8 preferentially choose video games that award points for violence against others, and 7 of 10 children in grades 4 through 12 report playing M-rated (mature) games, with 78% of boys reporting owning M-rated games”( Media Violence). With this exposure at hand, and rewarding kids to commit violent acts toward others is a shoddy misuse of the media. This proves that at young minds are shaped towards violence, which can cause problems when they get older.

A huge controversy in today’s society is violent video games and their behavioral effect on the children and adults who play them. Violent video games have been blamed for bullying, school shootings, and even violence towards women. Many have fought that violent video games desensitize players to real-life violence, and that they are teaching the youth that violence is an acceptable conflict-solving strategy. Other sources have stated otherwise. The 2004 Secret Service has stated that only one-eighth of attackers have exhibited interests in video games. Violent Video games do not cause violent behavior or behavior problems because it has not been proven that there is a link between violent video games and behavioral issues, playing video games provide a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings and reduces violence in young children, and violent juvenile crime has actually gone down since the violent video game popularity has increased.

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.

According to Hollingdale and Greitemeyer (2014), Video games that are violent are identified as very popular games that are played by the consumers. There is a concern that violent video games may pose a public health risk due to the levels of aggression due to the effects of the video games. In a cross sectional studies it has been found that there is a positive correlations with real life and video game aggression. Also in longitudinal studies shows that playing violent video games constantly it can predict that there may be later aggression even after controlling for initial levels of aggression. Experimental studies have showed that playing the video game is a factor of an increase level of

Many people still have several questions they want answered, such as, is media violence actually affecting children or are children already prone to violence drawn to media violence? Some experts have shown short and long-term negative effects occur in children from watching violent media; however another group of experts have shown that media violence is only one of many risk factors leading to aggression developed in children. These two groups need to continue more research and go beyond that to find true solutions. Nevertheless, no sources were found to say that media violence has no influence on the increase in modern culture’s violent actions. The key to discovering the true correlation between violence in children and media violence is to continue research until a solution is

Many parents can argue that brutal shows and video games motivate violent behavior. The children of these adults would argue against that. Children should not be allowed to watch brutal shows because they cause bad behavior and should not be allowed to play violent video games because any games create addiction.

In this study, people meticulously studied other articles based on criteria they created for the research question, and conducted a trial themselves to come to a conclusion. “The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive affect and decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and sensitivity to aggression.” They deemed that violent video game usage has a direct and constant relationship with all behavioral activities related to

A study was preformed and written on called Grand Theft Childhood. In this study/book it states that “They found a correlation between boys playing Mature-rated games and certain aggressive acts and other

Violence in the media negatively affects society by promoting violent behavior, and leaving long lasting impacts in adulthood and children such as desensitization and aggression and should be regulated by the United States to be prevented. These effects are caused by viewing an excessive amount of violent media throughout childhood. Typically, the long lasting effects are most noticeable early into adulthood but can be present in children and teens. To prevent these negative impacts that violence in the media is having on American society, the United States should regulate the amount of violence that can be put into the media.

For many years, there have been arguments over violent video games and their harmful effects. The standards for violence in today’s society are different than when video games were first introduced. A person’s personality plays into how they are effected by violence. In an article written for the American Psychological Association, Patrick Markey determined, “certain combinations of personality traits can help predict which young people will be more adversely affected by violent video games.” He also stated “those who are negatively affected have pre-existing dispositions, which make them susceptible to such violent media.” (APA).