The Effects Of Media Violence On Children

After reading “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” by Gerard Jones and “When Life Imitates Video” by John Leo, Both articles have opposing views on violent media for kids and use pathos and logos to persuade a readers reasoning on violent media. Gerard Jones believes that violent media is good to help children express their feelings and not hide them. John Leo believes that killing games can lead to violent behavior and possible imitation of what kids see in violent games such as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. There are many reasons why violent media can be good and bad for children and teens there really isn’t a right side.

It is a matter of great importance how much of media content children are exposed to and what exactly they are viewing on media. The issue of violence is not a new phenomenon among children and keeps increasing with time and change in technology and information technology. The causes of violence in children are seen to be multifactorial and exposure of children to media violence is said to be an important factor when it comes to the etiology of behaviors that are violent among children.

The media has the potential to yield many negative effects in the development of a child. Media violence can lead to aggression in children. As mentioned earlier, an average person has viewed approximately 15,000 hours of television by the time they graduate high school. In that time, it is said that almost 18,000 acts of violence including murders, robbery, beating, bombing, and assault will be viewed. With the extent of this data, there is a definite correlation between the media and aggression in youth. The more violence students watch on television or are exposed to from different media sources, the more prone they are to be violent and aggressive as they get older, especially during adulthood. Studies have shown that even small exposure

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 past two decades, hundreds of studies have examined how violent programming on TV affects children and young people. While a direct "cause and effect" link is difficult to establish, there is a growing consensus that some children may be vulnerable to violent images and messages.

Violent media has been proven time and time again over the past 60 years to cause increased aggression in children and young adults. The long term and short term exposure to violent media has been shown to cause “increased feelings of hostility, expectations that others will behave aggressively, desensitization to the pain of others, and increased likelihood of interacting and responding to others with violence” (Committee on Public Education). One of the most famous experiments done on the subject was done in 1961 by the psychologist Albert Bandura at Stanford University. In this experiment children between the ages of three and six were put in a playroom containing a many activities and toys (Cherry). One of those toys was a bobo doll; a 5 foot tall inflatable doll. An adult would enter and either play with the child from a complete ten minutes, the control group, or at some point during those ten minutes begin beating up the doll, the experimental group. They would also say things such as “pow” and “he keeps coming back for more” while attacking it (Cherry).

This article is centered around how the violence in video games, music, and TV can affect children and the things that pediatricians can do to help. This book was written by The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization for physicians and the public that is committed to keeping others up to date on current issues going on in society. They found that exposure to violence at a young age can contribute to aggressive behavior, and to things such as violence and nightmares. The last part of the exposure section talks mainly about how the media portrays heroes as being able to use violence as a way to achieve their goals and win at certain things.

Considering Albert Bandura’s findings, explain whether you think childhood exposure to violent media is problematic and why you hold that opinion.

Today in society most adults and adolescents create the complex structure of what is socially correct. Violence has created an image in everyone’s mind, even if most people don’t agree. Throughout time we enjoy movies, news, video games, and books, however every subject I just mentioned contains to be violent half the time. By human nature everyone is socially handicapped, as we can relate this to the articles “Why we crave horror movies” by Stephen King and “violence media is good for kids” by Gerard Jones given to both authors get there points across by being precise, compelling, and knowledgeable.

Popular culture impacts our everyday lives. It influences us into falling for advertisements that makes us want to buy a product or change our way of thinking. For instance, television, a vital key in popular culture, promotes topics that mold our minds for better or for worse especially in children. In the article, “APA Congressional Testimony on Media Violence and Children”, Jeff J. McIntyre claims that the substantial exposure of violence in the media is affecting the minds of younger children in a negative way. This essay will explore how popular culture creates complications towards a younger generation, as explained by Jeff J. McIntyre, in order to explore the different ways in which violent media is being promoted and affecting

Media violence is something that is extremely prevalent in today’s popular media, especially television. According to an article by KD Browne and C Hamilton-Giachristsis published in the academic journal Lancet, “20–25 violent acts are shown in children’s television programs each hour, with an average of three to five violent acts during prime-time television

Children view violence in different ways when they watch it on television, whether it is cartoons or a type of drama and action programming. After children have watched these television shows, they may have interpreted the meaning into a negative behavior. It could influence them by becoming aggressive, afraid of the world that surrounds them, or it may lead to confusion. When it is said that children may become confused because their parents teach that violence is wrong. When they view someone in a “superhero” position participating in violence, they may see that as it is all right for the simple fact the good person does the action. According to the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry, “the impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in the child's behavior or may surface years later (AACAP, 2011).”

            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.

As evidence has shown, children view many violent scenes while watching television, movies, or playing video games, but the question still remains: What psychological effect does violence in the media have on children? Research over the past 10 years has consistently shown that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and real-life aggression (Strasburger 129). Violence in the media can lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the various programs. Of course, not all children who watch television, or movies, or play video games develop aggressive behavior. However, there is a strong correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior. A study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, examined how children's television viewing practices are related to aggressive behaviors. The results revealed that children who reported watching greater amounts of television per day had higher levels of violent behavior than children who reported lesser amounts of television viewing (Singer 1041). Witnessing violence is an important determining factor in violent behavior. The media serves as a means for children to witness violence. According to Bandura's Social Learning Theory, children imitate behavior that they see on television, especially if the person performing the behavior is attractive or if the

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.