The Effects Television Violence Has on Children Essay

​Violent T.V shows and video games can increase children's aggression. Dr Phil explains "the number one negative effect is they tend to in appropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it.  They can attack someone, they can kick a wall or they can be mean to a dog, abet or even people." It means that the kids who are exposed to violent shows or

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.

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.

For years now, researches have been studying the correlation between violent media and the aggression in children. Undoubtedly the conclusion is that violent media does indeed increase the aggressive nature in kids.

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

The federal government in the US has taken the initiative to curb not only the amount of violence that can be shown by one program, but also the level of violence that can be shown and to what audiences. By limiting the amount of violence shown on television before 10pm, the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, is trying to make sure that children are not exposed to the levels of gratuitous violence intended for more mature audiences. As early as the 1960s, studies reported that watching television can make children more aggressive. In fact, the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the National Institute of Mental Health have all linked

As I have already pointed out above, past research findings indicate that exposure to media violence does have a significant influence on violent and aggressive behavior. A study conducted by Bandure, Ross, and Ross in 1963 came to the conclusion that there exists a "powerful influence of televised models on children's aggressive behavior" (Rathus, 2012). In this particular study, one group of children was exposed to a film with scenes of aggression and violence. On the other hand, the other group (the control group) was asked to watch a film that was largely aggression-free. According to Rathus (2012), those children who were exposed to the film with scenes of aggression and violence "showed significantly more aggressive behavior"¦" This is a clear indication that exposure to media violence does indeed lead to an increase in violent/aggressive behavior.

Does the violence occurring in media exhibit aggressive and violent behaviors in older children and adolescents? This is a big controversial issue that everyone debates on. However, many researchers have found that violence in television, video games, and media reveals that media violence increases likelihood of aggression and violent behaviors in adolescents. Although, negative experiences in families and peer groups have an important role in the development of violent behavior, children may develop that mentality to view the world full of conflicts and violence. I will be arguing how media violence does exhibit aggressive behavior a adolescents’ life. Therefore, many researchers believe that a violent behavior in adolescents is a learned behavior rather than an innate behavior.

Various scholars, political groups, and organizations have reported that there is clear and consistent evidence that violence in the media causes real-life aggression and violence. In June of 2000, a number of American medical and psychological associations, including the American Medical Association and the American Psychological Association, issued a joint statement about the pathological effects of entertainment violence (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). According to these groups, evidence points to a causal association between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children. Some scholars have evaluated the magnitude of media violence effects on violent behavior as almost as important as gang membership (Anderson, Gentile and Buckley, 2007). However, there is ongoing debate as to whether there is a causal relation between media violence and aggression. Furthermore, the importance of this relation, and whether it warrants widespread concern, is highly disputed (Mc Charles,

No Clear Link Between Television Violence and Aggression   There is a great deal of speculation on the role of television violence in childhood aggression.   Research demonstrates there may be other intervening variables causing aggression.   These variables include IQ, social class, parental punishment, parental aggression, hereditary, environmental, and modeling.   With all of these factors to taken into consideration it is difficult to determine a causal relationship between television violence and aggression.   It is my hypothesis this relationship is bi-directional - violent television causes aggressive behavior and aggressive people tend to watch more violent television.

In a closed off lab environment we can study how much media violence effects behavior. The strength of the correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior found on meta-analysis (in the lab) is greater than the correlation between that of tobacco smoke and lung cancer. (Bar-on) So, when everything else is taken away we can see that there is a definite correlation between violence in the media and violent behavior. The reason for this is that people imitate what they see on TV. This is especially true for children.

Not only does television violence affect the child's youth, but it can also affect his or her adulthood. Some

There have been a copious amount of studies done that prove that viewing aggressive and violent behavior on television has a direct affect on children. Children learn from a very young age that they are able to imitate what they see and/or hear. Often, children are found reciting the ABCs after watching one or two episodes of Sesame Street. Most kids will usually imitate everything they hear or see, even if it’s not right for them to do. Watching characters or real life people act in such violent ways usually allows

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