Why Do Violent Images Cause Violence?

Violent media exposure of children or adults to violent media is a cause of aggression and violent behavior has been one of the most intensely debated issues in criminal justice and the broader populace. Concern have come and gone that media such as comic books, as well as television and movies, would lead to waves of rebelliousness, violence, and moral degradation. Sherry

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.

Violent Media is Good for Kids, by Gerald Jones; a persuasive article written by a comic book author that analyzes how exposing children to violent media has positive effects in shaping a person. This article was written as a counter-argument to the negative response media received after a horrific mass shooting that took place at a high school. Jones defends violent media by telling of his own personal experience with it, thus glorifying it in the process. Jones argues in his article that violent media is a helpful resource for children and it does not necessarily harm them. Jones’ argument was effective and very convincing. He defends his stance by continuously stating the positives that violent media has had not only on him, but his own son as well.

When it comes to the topic of violent media, some of us would readily agree it’s a controversial subject as to whether kids should or shouldn’t be exposed to it. This is because many children who view violent media react negatively rather than not being affected at all. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what effects does it have on children. Whereas some are convinced that it is a healthy alternative for kids to express themselves, others maintain that it causes kids to become more aggressive and contributes to juvenile crimes.

In 2000, Gerard Jones “ Violent Media is Good for Kids”, was published by MotherJones.com. Jones concludes that violence is beneficial to kids in many ways, including rage management, building confidence, and allowing children to meet their emotional and developmental needs. He also argues that when parents attempt to shield their kids from violence it is more likely that they grow up to be passive and easily manipulated. Based on my knowledge and personal experience, I have found many of his points to be true and logical.

The article “Violence As Fun” by Randall Sullivan brings up this issue, arguing that parents need to be educated on the dangers of allowing their children to watch violent TV programs. The author supports this with evidence from a report conducted by The American Psychological Association, where they concluded that early substance abuse, access to weapons, isolation, and widespread display of violence in media; the latter being greater, contributes to the violent behaviors in adolescents. He also points out that since the 1950s, aggravated assaults have increased seven times. The passage further emphasizes that many TV outlets know the damaging effects that violence in media has on juveniles, yet only a few acknowledge this fact. Sullivan’s

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

In “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Gerard argues that, violent media is not necessarily harmful to kids, rather very essential and of great importance to them and their future lives.

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.

Jones adds, “I'm not going to argue that violent entertainment is harmless. I think it has helped inspire some people to real-life violence” (682). Although Jones speaks this bit of accuracy, later stated is that children without violent media will grow into distrustful human-beings. Jones also goes on to state that by protecting children from violent media one is keeping these kids from real feelings, power, and selfhood. “Violent Media is Good for Kids” is an article that uses many different devices to appeal to the reader.

author of “Violent Media is Good for Kids”. It is undeniable that the title of Jones’s essay

When looking at aggression along with criminal behavior we see from our reading this week that there are some theories that examine the question at hand, and two of these theories are the modeling theory and the attachment theory (Schmalleger, 2012). When looking at the modeling theory, we see that it makes a connection between violence found in video games, television, and other sources that are readily available to children and that of criminal behavior. We see that in this theory that it is suggested that when children and teenagers spend hours each day viewing violence, then they form a detachment from violence and it becomes an everyday norm for them that can leave the video world and enter into the reality of violent criminal behavior

Some may argue that violent media does not lead children to become more violent. This group argues that throughout history perceived

The statistics in the NBC study, which are touted by well-meaning critics, contradict themselves. The study claims on the one hand that violence desensitizes children; on the other, that it also incites more violence. In spite of this ambivalent evidence, Cannon 's research is deliberate and narrow-minded in intention, using only what he needs to support his own point of view and ignoring the NBC evidence. In point of fact, it is arguable that images do not spill blood, but rather rage, desperation, and revenge, especially when they are equipped with guns. According to Todd Gitlin, there were " 36,000 murders, accidents, and suicides committed by gunshots in the United States in 1992" alone (93). "Honey, I Warped the Kids” seems at first to be a reasonable article. While one reads this article one may be convinced, thinking that statistics alone can decide the fate of their children. However, if an opposing viewpoint had been better represented, the casual reader may not have come to the same conclusion as Cannon.

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.