...Through the technological development of electronic media and devices, access to entertainment media has become easier than ever before. In addition, these developments have led to an increase in the amount of time individuals spend watching and interacting with screen media, namely films, television and video games. As individuals in society display more aggressive behaviours in everyday life, researchers have endeavoured to identify the extent of how much violence portrayed in the media affects an individual’s thought, feelings and behaviours. While there is still debate as to whether there is a casual link between media and aggression, or that engaging with it maybe be cathartic, it has become evident that exposure to violence portrayed in the media can have short-term and long-term effects. This literature report will concentrate on reports and research focused on the influence of different types of media on aggression and the levels that these can be interpreted psychologically. Influences of Different Media on Aggression Exposure to violent media and the effect that this can have on an individual has been a topic that has interested researchers and society alike for decades. The likelihood of aggressive behaviour, thoughts and emotions is increased with short-term exposure to violent video games and films. (MVC 2012:337; Anderson 2004:2). Reasons provided for this increase by the Media Violence Commission (2012:337-8) and Myers (2013:378) is neural processes known...
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...The Impact of Media on Youth Violence COM/156 April 26, 2013 Dr. P. University of Phoenix The Impact of Media on Youth Violence Children today do not spend as much time outside playing as compared to 25 years ago. In that time aggression rates in children have increased and here is why: Mass Media. Has anyone ever wondered what children are watching and what impact it is having on the children? Are parents aware of the types of video games their children are watching or what sites they are viewing when on the Internet? Would it be shocking to hear that children will see more than 16,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts because of mass media by the time they are 18? Aggression in children can be linked to violence in mass media, the amount of time spent on mass media, and desensitization to mass media. Children often have aggressive tendencies that can be linked back to mass media they are partaking in: movies and television shows containing violence, as well as playing video games that contain violence. Huesmnn (2007) wrote 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…the recent increase in the use of mobile phones, text messaging, e-mail, and chat rooms by our youth have opened new venues for social interaction in which aggression can occur. (The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and...
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...Do Violent Video Games Lead to Real World Violence? ABSTRACT As our society becomes more reliant on technology and the mass media, the notion that the media may have a profound influence on people has become more prevalent. Research into Media Violence and its effects on values, beliefs and behaviour has been well documented over the past 50 years. This systematic review, looking at both research reports and other relevant literature relating to the topic explores whether or not violent video games lead to real world violence. This topic has been selected due to the unique participatory nature of this type of media. The review demonstrates the inconclusive nature of the research on this topic. It focuses on the short term and long term effects possible while also investigating the need to consider alternate explanations to violent behaviour in children and youth. The review concludes with suggestions for further research. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW Children spend an increasing amount of time playing video games with the majority of them violent in nature (Huesmann, 2007). Players participate in and create the violence, often receiving reward for their violent behaviors rather than negative consequences (Funk, Baldacci, Pasold & Baumgardner, 2004). The area of violent video games in regards to Media Violence is relatively new with somewhat limited research as video games have only been available to the general population since the 1980s. It is however in...
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...Video Games and Aggression in Children Video Games and Aggression in Children Video games cause violence and aggression in children. This is a popular misconception that many people share. The fact is, according to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a thirty year low (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010). This comes at a time when video games are more popular, more violent and more realistic than ever before. The idea that video games expose our youth to a level of violence that will in turn lead to aggression and violence is simply false. Many people believe there are more likely causes of aggression and that video games are merely a scapegoat. I will argue that playing video games can actually have a positive effect on children, and that environment, personality, and lack of parental involvement are responsible for violence and aggression in our nation’s youth. In today’s world there are numerous reports on television and in newspapers and magazines about video games causing aggression and violence in children. Numerous politicians and watchdog groups claim that video games are leading our children down a dangerous path. This is entirely untrue. Since the early 1990s, video games have exploded in popularity. Conversely, in that same time period, violent crime rates in the United States and Canada have plummeted (Ferguson, 2008). Christopher Ferguson, a licensed psychologist and professor who researches...
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...Video Games and Juvenile Delinquency The connection between video games and increased youth delinquency is debatable (“Violent video,” 2013). Social science has definitively settled some of the questions. Cumulative evidence gathered from numerous academic studies makes one side of the argument persuasive (Regoli, Hewitt, &DeLisi, 2011). The relation between increased violence and video games is an example of contested academic terrain. Recent research demonstrates the existence of a strong link between video games and youth violence (KimHun-Soo& KimHyun-Sil, 2008). The connection between video games and the real world violence is obvious. Apparently, the media seems to furnish new evidence relating to the same issue. For example, the perpetrator of Norway’s masskillings confessed to having watched a shooting game before committing the crime (Regoli et al., 2011). Playing video games has a direct link to aggressive and violent acts among young adults. Extensive literature in psychology shows increased propensity to violent acts after playing video games (“Violent video,” 2013). The findings relate to an increase in delinquency and violence among the youths. Indeed, exposure to violent video games is directly proportional to aggression and antisocial behaviour. Domain-specific theories on aggression and delinquency explain the relationship between video games and antisocial behaviour (Regoli et al., 2011). General Aggression Model, a comprehensive meta-theory...
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...[Your Name] [Instructor] [Class] [Date] Violent Video Games do not CAUSE VIOLENCE Introduction Correlation does not prove Causation. Since 1992, there have been 387 school shootings in America. In the wake of these tragedies, the investigators and our society have looked to find somewhere to point the blame. Some blame gun laws, some blame our school system, but almost all conclusions place at least some blame on video games. When 90% of today's teenagers video games are 90% likely to include mature levels of violence, there's clearly an issue. However, the issue is mistakenly simplified down to the equation that violence in games = violence in real life, mistakenly because correlation does not prove causation. Today, I want to talk about why video games do not cause violence, and can even be a healthy way to release aggression. body Research is inconclusive. Unfortunately, research on video games and violence is inconclusive and does not ever come to a consensus. For every study that you find that proves video games cause violence, you have a study that proves that video games have no correlation to real-life violence. Media psychologists, communication scientists, and pediatricians disagree greatly among themselves as to whether or not there is a causal relationship between gaming and violence. There is more than a 20% variation in opinion over whether or not gaming produces real-life violence. That variation does not sound convincing to us, who like to pretend we...
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...The Misconception of Juvenile Video Game Violence The Misconception of Youth Video Game Violence A teen walks into a school with loaded weapon in hand. A young boy steals a vehicle and drives recklessly causing severe harm to others. A young girl sets her house on fire with family members inside. What do these seemingly uncommon crimes have in common? Each juvenile in these examples has played violent video games. Our media that covers these violent crimes is quick to make that point known. Often times they also erroneously blame the playing of violent video games as the root cause of these crimes. Research suggests that violence in video games does not contribute to violence in today’s youth because juvenile crimes have declined as video game popularity has increased; they in fact provide an outlet to express aggression without causing physical harm, and juvenile violence has been more commonly linked to exposure of family violence. When looking at research from the FBI, crime rates involving juveniles over the past 30 years have declined. In fact, in most violent crime categories the crime rate among our youth is at an all-time low (Butts, J. 2013). At first, this information may be hard to believe. It shouldn’t however, because violence among youth commonly ends up making headline national news. For this reason, we end up being exposed to the details on many of these youth related violent crimes. This can make it difficult to put actual facts into...
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...Media Violence as an Instigator of Aggression and Violence You are what you watch. Easy to say, and not too difficult to imagine either. A little over a decade ago, two boys who later became household names in America, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Colorado and went on a mass murdering spree where they killed 12 students, 1 teacher and injured 23 others before shooting themselves. While their motives behind doing so can not be ascertained, one possible contributing element which did surface was the influence of violent video games. At the risk of oversimplifying what is possibly a complex psychological mindfield, Harris and Klebold did enjoy playing a game called Doom, which is licensed by the American military for the purpose of training soldiers to kill effectively. Harris had customized his own version of this game and put it up on his website, which was later tracked by The Simon Wisenthal Center. This version of the game had two shooters with an unlimited supply of weapons and ammunition, and their targets lacked the ability to retaliate. A class project required them to make a video of themselves similar to the game, and in it, they dressed in trench coats, armed with weapons, and conduct the massacre of school athletes. Less than one year had gone by when Harris and Klebold played their videotape out, in real life, and became the protagonists of the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history (Anderson & Dill 772). ...
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...Media Violence and Children CHAPTER 7 Violent Video Games: The A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND Newest Media Violence Hazard PROFESSIONALS Douglas A. Gentile and Craig A. Anderson Hazard Edited by Douglas A. Gentile In creating this electronic reprint, we have attempted to keep the style, pagination, and format as close to the published form as possible. Nonetheless, some errors may have occurred. If you discover a substantial error, please contact Craig Anderson using the following email address: caa@iastate.edu. Please note that this electronic reprint is provided as a courtesy. Please do not post or distribute this reprint in any fashion that may violate the copyright of the original publisher or the authors. Thank you for your interest in this work. In 1972, a new form of entertainment became commercially available with the release of the video game Pong. In Pong, two players tried to "hit" an electronic "ball" back and forth. From these humble beginnings, a revolution in the entertainment industry was born. Interactive game revenues are now significantly greater than the domestic film industry ("Industrial Strengths," 2000). Worldwide video games sales are now at $20 billion annually (Cohen, 2000). The PlayStation video game console, which began as a side project at Sony, now represents $6 billion of the company's $20 billion in annual sales (Cohen, 2000). It is reasonable to question whether video games may have similar effects...
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...Violence in Music Videos and Music Lyrics has a negative impact on children. Music videos that expose profanity and sexuality are inappropriate and leave a negative impression on young children. Violence in music videos can cause health problem. Music videos that promote negative lyrics are affecting young children. Music lyrics with vulgar languages affect the development and well-being of young children. For example, the study author (Stone, 2009) found “that music with explicit references to drugs, sex or violence can be associated with negative effects on school work behavior and emotions” (p. 2). Media violence not only provokes violence among children, it provokes sexual behaviors. However, Music videos add reinforcement to what is being heard with the use of visuals. Rap music video shows an elevated level of content presented of tobacco and alcohol use than any other kind of music videos. Exposure to violence, sexual imagery and alcohol in music videos persuade violent and hostile feelings, potentially aggressive behavior that may direct them to certain types of sadistic behavior. Teens listen to on an average 40 hours of music per week. Children under eight are still developing emotionally. They cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. They tend to imitate what they hear on the radio and see on T.V. They idolize artists and build themselves to be like them. Children use music to obtain and control of their sensitivity level and to deal with seclusion...
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...The Effect of Videogames on Student Achievement BY JONATHAN CRATON Introduction In the past few decades, interactive electronic media has grown from virtual non-existence to one of the primary means of entertainment for college students. In more recent years, the Internet has completely changed the landscape of electronic media from something individual and static into something with the potential to be interactive and social. This article examines the effects of increased student usage of traditional video games as well as online games. The demographics of the typical game player will be examined along with effects on the individual development and sociological perceptions. This article will also look at the potential education utility of video games and the effect of games on student engagement and social development. The College Gamer Recent data from UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute provides useful information about video game usage on college campuses. The data show that most college students have played video games, many play them regularly, and a small percentage use them as a primary means of entertainment and leisure. In the 2009 Freshman Survey, around 1% of respondents admitted to playing over 20 hours of videogames per week. Over 35% of the respondents stated that they play at least one hour per week. There is an enormous gender disparity in the amount of time spend on videogames. While less than 1 in 50 incoming freshmen women played more than 10...
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...Everything that children see or hear in the media early on in their lives affects them in some way. Positive parenting role models indicate that in the best interest of our children we should limit their exposure to violent acts. Unfortunately, violence is one of the most popular forms of entertainment. Over sixty percent of television shows being shown in prime time contain some form of violence. There are two very opposite sides of this issue. The media who market the violent television, video games and other forms of entertainment argue this is safe entertainment and the others argue that violence promotes violence Current research tends to agree with the proponents who argue that violent media is associated with aggressive behavior. Risky behavior by children and young adults can include violence against others, lack of remorse for consequences. The type of faulty thinking creates stressors in children which can lead to the onset of many different symptoms. Children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation. An example here would be the television show Jack Ass. There have been several accidents related to young men attempting stunts that are done on the show. The act of imitating what they have seen on a television show causes injury to themselves or others around them. The Academy of Pediatrics says “More...
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...out at the violent cockfights and its violent influence towards the people who were watching. The similar issue is concerning our society in the 21sth century. The only difference is that the cockfights were replaced with media violence. This has been a raising concept since the invention of television and introduction of the video games. This essay will discuss the validity of the claim that media violence causes aggressive behavior on the juvenile audience. The paper will firstly show the correlation studies and experimental studies about media violence and its influence on children. It will then move to other reasons which causes the aggressive behavior. Finally, this essay will also examine the influence of aggressive video games on players. Children found a new environment of amusement after the television came on the scene. They were exposed to large number of new programs. Even if there was a potential peril to juveniles, people were not aware of what sorts of programs or what quantities of it were dangerous. At that time there was not enough proof that violence programs was the cause of aggression (Carter& Strickland, 1993). Thus, the researchers began to conduct various kinds of research and studies to prove the correlation between the media violence and the aggressive behavior among juveniles. The early correlations studies found that there were some differences between the viewers and non viewer’s outlook. Those differences did not exist before the television was...
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...between two factors: video game violence and aggression in those who play these video games. Parents all over the country are starting to see the effects that these games may have on their children and what they could influence their children to do. Many have argued that video game violence does not create brutality among children and that they provide a safe escape for children to release aggressive behavior in a safe way, but there is evidence that says otherwise. Violent video games have been around since the early years of video game production. Games like “Death Race” and “Mortal Kombat” were among the first controversial games due to their grisly and disturbing images. “Cluster’s Revenge (1983) is a game in which the player would portray the character of General Custer. It allows you to do quite horrible and inhumane things like raping and abusing a Native American woman to gain points. These were the kind of games which started off a wave of violence among young teens such as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris. These young men were the ones who engaged in the killing of 13 people in Columbine high before killing themselves. Columbine high school went through a tremendous amount of terror when these adolescents took the lives of innocent kids. The Columbine school shooting was an...
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...Name Professor Course Name Date Research Paper Outline Video Games Promote Violent Behaviour in Boys 1) Introduction a. Thesis: Video games promote violent behavior in boys b. Prevalence of violence attributed to video games c. Proportion of boys who are chronic video gamers 2) What is known about violence and video games d. Relationship between video games and aggression e. How video games affect the brain f. How video games have contributed to school shootings g. Other moral concerns concerning video games that promote violence 3) What is not known about video games and violence 4) How to address the problem h. Minor's access to the video games/content i. Other approaches to address the problem 5) Conclusion Video Games Promote Aggressive Behavior in Boys Video games have become an acceptable alternative of leisure, especially with the boys. The video gaming industry has been defined by robust growth over the last decade to a point it has now become an acceptable norm in the society. It is purported to be one of the major gross earner industry racking about 87 billion in 2012 (Robinson 414). Major players within the industry release numerous graphic video games into the market to garner a large customer niche. With advances in technology so does the content in most games become more realistic. This trend worries most social players ranging from parents, teachers, legislators...
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