The Hidden Danger: Violence Within The Media. Imagine You

Media violence’s history began in the 1950s when television became a mainstream media; TV networks sought a simple successful formula to increase their revenues. In present day “an average of 150 acts of violence and about 15 murders entertain us and our children every week, and that does not count cartoons and news” (Gerber, G. 1996). The average American child has viewed at least 40,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts, according to the research of TV-Turnoff Network research. The excess of violence on TV and the video game industry accompanied by the absence of parental love and involvement creates a dissident reality that can only increase the level of aggressiveness in children.

Violent video games, movies and television shows have become the subject of large debates that may have lasted since the beginning of media. Everyone knows that people have the ability and desire to imitate what they experience in the media, and given the perceived increase in violence among children in the U.S., the media is seen as a major possible explanation. In the following, we will examine the evidence pertaining to whether the media is becoming more violent over time, how much violence is in the media, and what kind of psychological connection or causal influence there may be between children’s violent behavior and their favorite types of media. It will be argued that the type of media as well as other cultural and environmental factors, are the key variables in determining whether violent behavior was caused by media, focusing specifically on the influence of video games considering they permit children the most realistic and interactive experiences of violence compared to all media.

According to Huesmann Rowell L., "One of the notable changes in our social environment in the 20th and 21st centuries has been the saturation of our culture and daily lives by the mass media. In this new environment radio, television, movies, videos, video games, cell phones, and computer networks have assumed central roles in our children’s daily lives. For better or worse the mass media are having an enormous impact on our children’s values, beliefs, and behaviors. Unfortunately, the consequences of one particular common element of the electronic mass media has a particularly detrimental effect on children’s well being. Research evidence has accumulated over the past half-century that exposure to violence on television, movies, and most recently in video games increases the risk of violent behavior on the viewer’s part just as growing up in an environment filled with real violence increases the risk of

In Brad Bushman’s and Rowell Huesmann’s Article Short-term and Long-term Effects of Violent Media on Aggression in Children and Adults from the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine journal, they believe the violent media in video games, tv shows, music, and movies, are affecting behavior in children and adults. Bushman and Huesmann believe that all the violence that has made a more popular appearance in today’s culture is causing for adults and children to be more prone to aggression. They hypothesized that the long-term effects would be greater in children and the short-term effects would be greater in adults, and discovered their hypotheses to be correct. Other articles, such as Beth Stein’s If Violent Video Games are Harmless Fun,

Arguments concerning social media’s affect on children often being with television. Experts on the other side of the argument claim that television leaves a negative effect on children that leads to obesity and violent behaviors. Manfred Spitzer writes “After 6 months, children in the intervention school had a lower BMI and behaved less violently during break times…” (pg. 1388). Not only are the effects written by Spitzer possible but experts also argue that children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. Children may be more fearful of the world around them and they may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others. The violence exposed to children through media doesn’t cease to exist with only television. Video games are often blamed for violence crimes in children and youth as well. Craig A. Anderson, a psychologist along with others concluded in a 2010 review of video game violence showed that “evidence strongly suggest that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior.”

In this article, PhD. Brad J. Bushman and PhD. L. Rowell Huesmann have tested the results of the accumulated studies on media violence and its impact on children and adults. Those tests showed positive connection among violence in the media and short-term and long-term aggressive acts. As I have explained in my argument, human have an innate tendency to imitate their social learning. Children who observe a specific aggressive behavior are more likely to perform the same aggressive behavior immediately.

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

The inquiry whether violent entertainment affects a child's brutal behavior is an argument that has been disputed upon for several years. Most researches performed have concluded that violence in the media does not relate to the acts of a child, unless the child has been exposed to various types of environments. Other research is clearly lacking a direct causal relationship between violent video games and youth violence (MassGeneral,2012). Children's acts of violence are determined by what or with whom they are associated with.

Is aggressive behavior in children attributed to the viewing violent movies and video games? This topic has been in the forefront of social psychologists research, trying to determine if there is indeed, a link between the two. Research concludes that the cause and threat are there, and warn parents against allowing their children access of such media. Researcher have outlined the following three key points; 1) Exposure to violence, whether firsthand or through media increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior. 2) Effects of violence can be classified as short term and long term. 3) The overall effects of media violence can be large (Hoffman, 2014). The major professional societies, which include American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy

Over the years we have changed our sources of entertainment from radios to television. These sources of entertainment had allowed streaming live news whether it be the first man to land on the moon or to the discovery of something new. It had even allowed us to show reported violent acts or graphic scenes around the world. Today our main source of entertainment, especially for younger generations, are video games. These video games allowed simulations of violent scenarios to be shown on screen for the player to interact with. It has been debated that the violence that appears on these screens can greatly influence their minds into aggressive behavior. The idea of video games being the main factor in aggression is simply false and people need

The playing of violent video games at an early age does not affect how violent one becomes in the future. Based off a variety of studies, there is no real proof that playing violent video games leads to an increase

            "Fear of violence is one reason that children are spending less time outside playing and more time watching TV," says William Abbott, president of the Boston-based National Foundation to Improve Television.  (Bergenfield)  However, just because children aren't outside as much as they used to be doesn't mean that they are escaping from the threat of violence.  Television can be a powerful influence in developing value systems and behavior in children.  Unfortunately, much of today's television programming is violent.  Several studies by UCLA " have found that children may become 'immune' to the horror of violence, gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they observe on television, and identify with certain character; victims and/or victimizers."  (UCLA)  The impact of TV violence may be immediately evident in a child's behavior or may surface years later.  However, this is not to say that violence on television is the only source for aggressive or violent behavior, but it is a significant factor.

Today, media take a major part of our lives, shape our society and create reality. The Banning violence in the media is an efficient approach the government should take to handle the growing violence in our society. I argue that the US Government should make a law that bans violence in the media. The law needs to limit broadcasting of violence content at times and places that kids are likely to view, and enforce the use of personal code in TV which allows individuals to control the media they consume.

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

is indeed one of the prime factors contributing to the increase in violent and aggressive