The Negative Effects Of Television And Video Game Violence

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.

In society, video games have been criticized as an inducer for violent in children. The ongoing debate instigates research on the correlation between video games and violence. In Craig Anderson’s article, “Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence, Part II”, the author criticizes the opposing side and states that violence in media reflects violent behaviors in children. John Glynn’s article, “Guns and Games”, reasons on the benefits of video games and points out the true perpetrator for violent behaviors of youth in the United States to be the gun culture.; While Glynn’s article contains some form of pathos, there is a lack of pathos in Anderson’s. Both articles utilize logos and ethos. However, Glynn offers a more well-rounded argument to support that video games are beneficial and are not the true cause of aggression in children.

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

While violent video games have increased as a form of entertainment, an issue has begun to form on whether violent video games have a negative impact on children and adolescents. Steven F. Gruel (2010) formed an argument about the negative impacts of violent video games on children. The purpose of this paper is to critique Gruel’s argument by finding flaws and strengths using the methods of claims without data, overgeneralization, failing to cite sources, and considering alternative explanations.

The concept that the media and violent video games have an effect on aggression and violent behaviour in youth is one that I have heard speculations about in other classes and ultimately agree with. In the article by David Grossman, titled Trained To Kill, he presents the idea that while it is against human nature to kill one’s own kind violence in the media has led to an increase in criminal acts committed by youths (Grossman, 2000). Overall, I agree with his argument because the common theme of violence in media leads to desensitization, and creates a conditioned response to violent situations. However, since the 1980’s we have seen a decrease in homicides in Canada, which contradicts Grossman’s theory.

This could be opening the doors to a plethora of other cases and assumptions that can lead to our youth potentially becoming killers. Research was conducted on the exposure of television violence and its effects on kids, organizations like the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association and the Academy of Pediatrics have concluded that there is a cause and effect relationship amongst those exposed. However, such studies does not demonstrate that media violence causes aggressive behavior, only that the two phenomena exist together (207). This finding was used to make the assumption that it would likely be the case with video games.

These experimental studies find a strong relationship between playing violent video games and increasing in aggressive thoughts. Also, these studies revealed significant effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, cognition, and on prosocial behavior. This article provides evidence in my argument on how significant exposure to violent video game tends to increase the risk of developing aggressive behavior in real life. Furthermore, children exposed to violent material via the media potentially develop increased attitudes of hostility and show decreased emotional response to violent acts against others.

Most experts contend that violent television shows, video games, and toys promote aggression and destructive behavior. Rhodes (2000) states, “The American Medical Association, American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the National Institutes of Mental Health say that there is a link between entertainment and violence. In fact, no direct, causal link between exposure to mock violence in the media and subsequent violent behavior has ever been demonstrated…” (p. 555). While violence in entertainment is pervasive and a real concern; it needs to be understood and addressed rather than blamed as the cause. After all, it is possible seek solutions to minimize violence when you understand the nature of

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.

Karen Wright's article "Does violent TV breed violence? Do video games breed more of it?" addresses a pressing contemporary issue the effects that violent video games and TV have on young individuals and on society as a whole. Although the article seems to be directed at the masses, it is very likely that the writer intends to raise awareness in parents reading this article. Wright used information coming from a series of scholars, both with the purpose of supporting the fact that violent games and TV have a negative influence on individuals and in order to refute these claims. In spite of the fact that one can feel confused upon reading particular segments from the article, it is overall likely to influence readers in believing that video game and TV violence are actually very harmful for people.

Our world has a variety of problems today, with violence being at the top of the list, you go anywhere and that is all you here about. Unfortunately it’s in front-page headlines of the newspaper and broadcasted on the news as top stories. Violence is a very big topic, although it is categorized into many small groups. There is juvenile violence, domestic violence, hate violence, terrorist violence, and violence displaced through various forms of the media. This research will be on violence in the media and does it affect our society. How we view television, has changed the world, no doubt in that. Turn your television set on and pick a channel at random; the odds are that half of the programs you come across will contain violent material. The statistics are overwhelming as I look on the internet, read articles, and look at the research. One of the things that most interests me in the violence on television, is the effects it has on children. Children learn by repetition while watching educational shows, so is learning violence on television an exception?

A video game is “an electronic game in which players control images on a television or computer screen” (Merriam-Webster). Video games have been entertaining and challenging gamers since the Game Boy to modern console games. Despite the simplicity of the definition of video games, a video game, especially ones containing violence can have a large effect on the gamer. Because of the realism and advancements in the video game industry, video games can influence the player, and can make the gamer more aggressive, even if the game is not a violent video game. Even though video games have grown in popularity over the past decade, some have not been too popular with parents, for the reason that they are too violent. Violent video games affect

“Young people are especially in Jeopardy of the negative effects of television violence because many young children cannot discriminate what they see and what is real reports the American Academy of pediatrics.” (American Academy of Pediatrics) My topic is does the media affect children’s minds. I honestly agree 100 % with this topic because I remember as a kid tv had brainwashed me. I will be discussing 5 major points Grand Theft Auto, Relating back to myself, they become immune or numb to the horror of violence, and they begin to accept violence as a way to solve problems and lastly a rebudle. “A three year National television study, reported by the AAP, found that children shows had the most violence of all television programing. Statistics read that some cartoons average twenty acts of violence in one hour, and that by the age of 18 children will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence on television.”

The exposure of media violence changes and increases violence behavior in different genders and ages around the world, which has been the topic of discussion for years (Kalnin et al., 2011). According to Kalnin et al. (2011), the General Aggression Model says that the long-term affect takes to violent media content messing with arousal, cognition and effect, which can lead to biggest issues such as, aggressive. Research has shown that having violence around you such as watching television increases aggressive thoughts in the brain, and the way that you act (Kalnin et al., 2011). Playing violent computer