The Effects Of Media On Youth Violence

THESIS STATEMENT: The world’s media today seem to have more violence than ever. Video games have vivid depictions of accident catastrophes, fighting and murder. Television news programs generally lead with a violent story in order to gain an audience. This is free society people can stay what they want. ‘’ Media violence has many negative effect on youth today to commit crimes in society.’’

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).

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

In the media there is a great deal of violence and nobody can really deny that. However, the effects media has on children and young adults have been debated for years. In this paper I will be discussing the effects of media violence, the other factors, and the possible solutions to alleviate this global issue.

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.

The proliferation of violence committed by American youth demonstrates tight connections among culture, media, and capitalism creating unique circumstances that result in excessive violence and rage relative to other youth around the world.

On April 20, 1999, two students walked into Columbine High School armed with shot guns and explosives. The incident ended in tragic results, as fifteen families will forever set one less plate out at the dinner table. March 24, 1998, an eleven year old and a fourteen year old walked into school with hand guns, killing four and injuring ten classmates (teen-violence.com). Thirty years ago, the biggest problem that kids at school were faced with was forgetting homework or being sent to the principal's office. There are many kids today who may fear that the person sitting next to them in class may have a loaded handgun in their book bag. On average one hundred and thirty five thousand weapons are brought into classrooms across the nation each

The media are mainly in the business of story-telling and are more likely to represent the story in a negative way. They enjoy provoking violence between the youth by dramatizing the stories and making it look like an alarming issue. Using an interesting headline will attract the reader, by making the problem or the story a lot more dramatic will increase the news value. This has a great influence power on society, government and policy makers. However, these behaviours are not fair to the individuals being made the main topic.

For a child, almost any type of conflict, such as a heated discussion on a radio talk show or between two experts during a newscast, may seem as aggressive as two comic book characters throwing anvils. As of yet, we do not have a clear explanation of what causes violence and aggression in our youth, whether we analyze media content or explore the everyday aggressive behavior that may cause violent behavior, Individual studies define these notions in a lot of different ways; Thus, the rules of the game are constantly changing for those who try to analyze the situation as a whole. The difficulty in quantifying aggression and violence in ways that make it almost impossible to answer the following question: "Does violence in the media cause people to commit acts of violence? "

The majority of violence results from social injustice prevalent in our society. Among the significant contributors are poverty, racism, unemployment, and substance abuse. There is also an issue of a proliferation of guns, inadequate or abusive parenting practices, real-life adult models of violent problem-solving behavior, as well as frequent exposure to violence through the media. Consequently, these facts lead to further conjecture such as; has the media desensitized

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

Violence is defined as the abusive use of “force”. One type or another violence has greatly affected one of us, someone we know, and society as a whole. Every day, tons of children under the age of twenty are killed and many of these victims have died by gun wounds. By the age of 18, young people will have viewed an estimated two hundred thousand acts of violence on television. Many people wonder why we live in such a violent society, well because we are surrounded by violence every day, and it may occur in our daily lives through domestic violence, school violence, and through the mass media. With that being said, the news coverage has been bringing to our attention the crisis of violence afflicting the young generations all over the

The media is regularly referred to when discussing the issue of youth violence. Adolescents are regularly exposed to media with aggressive, violent messages including television, movies, music and video games. The longer someone is exposed to these messages the more desensitized they become.

            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 book Critique of Violence ,author Walter describes Violence as "The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, which either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, male development, or deprivation .The violence that is portrayed in the media has been debated for decades ,and it has rose a question about how does it influence the youth?. From movies to video games society has been accustom to seeing violence in their everyday entertainment. Since children are easy to be influence by their environment, it is safe to say that violence in the media can and will contribute to violent behavior.