...Violence in Media As young adults, we experience the exposure of violence in all mediums of communication, such as TV shows, movies, video games, and music lyrics. We may have stopped counting how many crime investigation shows are in primetime or how many ways of killing people are in the Saw series. We just keep consuming those materials and even look for more violence as excitement. As we become so obsessed with the genre, we may have forgotten the importance of awareness to the issue. Statistics give us a better idea about the big picture. According to Media Education Foundation, researches indicate that about 89 percent of the top-selling video games contained violent content, almost half of which was of a serious nature. Two-thirds of Hollywood films released in 2001 were rated “R.” (Media Violence Facts, 2005) In September 2000, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that 80 percent of “R” rated movies, 70 percent of restricted video games, and 100 percent of music with “explicit content” warning labels were being marketed to children under 17. With this amount of exposure, researchers estimated that by the time the average child is eighteen years old, they will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders. (TV-Turnoff Network, 2001) Those numbers reminds us to think about the issue. Is it too much? What effect does it have on our life, especially for children and adolescents? As we are still looking for the correct answers, multiple cases have showed...
Words: 4071 - Pages: 17
...Mass Media Essay Period 9 May 18, 2011 Media Violence Since violence in media has become more and more popular there has been controversy over the idea that being exposed to such violence can cause viewers to be more aggressive. Violence is the groundwork of many films, TV shows, and TV movies. Violence on screen is usually referred to as ‘action’. In a lot of cases, violence drives the story line. Rape, murder, or crime is used to begin a plot. If violence is the reason for the beginning of a story, there is usually more violence to come. There is an extraordinary amount of violence in media today because producers believe that it keeps audiences interested. TV violence rarely has consequences. There is a lot of fighting, but none of the main characters seem to get hurt. Only the characters that are less important die and when they do no one seems to care. TV violence rarely shows the real life consequences of violence such as physical handicaps and emotional costs. Children copy behavior they see in the media. If they watch TV programs that don’t show consequences of violence they may start to think that violence doesn’t cause serious harm. Children under the age of four are unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy and may see violence as an everyday occurrence if they are used to seeing it on TV. While violence on TV seems to be able to make a large impact on young children this doesn’t seem to be the case for teens that play violent video games. It is...
Words: 588 - Pages: 3
...2013 Violence in Media and Children There is a wide and growing acknowledgment of the fact that media isn’t just a “mirror of the society” – a smooth polished surface presenting an undistorted reflection of the world around us. For if that were true then all a newsman would have to do is to point his/her camera at the world and hit the record/air button. But in reality, the recorded content is often relayed back to the tv station where rather active decisions are taken at every step of the production process regarding how much of what content should be shown and when. Therefore it can be argued that the media plays no small role in molding our perceptions of the world we live in and in extension affecting the world itself. While this paper shall acknowledge the importance of media in today’s society, it shall neither reiterate the nature or extent of its positive aspects but shall instead focus on presenting an argument that exposure to violent media is harmful to children. One of the reasons it is true is that recent studies show that children today from ages 2 to18 with the exception of sleeping, spend more time watching television than they do performing any other single activity. (1) Additionally, today’s media bears no resemblance to the media a few decades ago; while viewers today are constantly bombarded with images of blood and gore, such a thing would have been almost unimaginable back then. When children are Gollamudi 2 repeatedly exposed to such violence for a...
Words: 1040 - Pages: 5
...Columbine incident and wanted to create their own version but using a bomb instead of guns (Los Angeles Times, 2012.) Many American citizens might argue the rise in violence in children and teens is attributed to the amount of violence found in different medias such as, television and video games. According to Macionis, society views violence in television and media as the reason behind high aggression in children and that the two are directly linked (p. 124.) Violence in television has become more graphic and has had lawmakers and citizens concerned as early as the 1950’s. In 1952 the House of Representatives held a meeting to regarding violence in media and stated, “Television broadcast industry was a perpetrator and deliverer of violence,” (Parents Television Council, 2011.) According to the New York Times, the US Surgeon General Jesse Steinfield said, “it is clear to me that the casual relationship between televised violence and anti-social behavior is sufficient to warrant appropriate and immediate action,” (1999.) The history of violence in media shows how the regulations have changed from the early days of television and media to present day cable, Internet and other forms of media. Overtime, society has come to accept such violence in television, media and games. The issue is how much violence children and teenagers are exposed to. (1950’s) The Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) prohibited obscene and indecent material, which was defined by what...
Words: 1025 - Pages: 5
...Main Stream Media Violence and the Effects on Society Violence can be found in almost every form of media from television to video games. Violence exists in sports, news, movies, and games. This violence has many implications on society. The impact of this violence is different from one person to the next and from children to adults. There are many forms of violence in the media today. Violence is most prevalent on TV and in movies, video games, and the daily news from around the world. Violence can be found in sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, hockey, and football. The news reports of murder and other forms of violence every day. News about foreign wars or news of violence in your local inner city, bet your bottom dollar you will hear something new every day. It seems like every day there is a new and violent video game coming out. Games about war and games about crime life, even games about fantasy violence are all over the market. Children are affected by violent media more so than adults. Studies have shown that on average, American children watch no less than 4 hours of TV a day. Studies have also proven that violent programming can have some very adverse effects on children. Children can become emotionally numb to violence and develop a lack of empathy for victims, as noted by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Children have been known to imitate the violence they see on TV. Some children may even learn to use...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...Flared by uncontrollable violent emotions and encouraged by violent media, the violent killers have struck, taking many lives. Now, everyone will pay. In the Columbine shooting, the dangerous effects of the tons of violent media plastered everywhere is evident. The two horrible killers played countless hours of violent video games, leading them to the dreadful plotting of their extremely devastating shooting. When shooting occurred, it was clear from the guns they used to the strategies of killing they used where they obtained their inspiration from Their violent video games. Clearly, violence in the media does contribute to the violence in society. Since celebrities are very commonly idolized, it is very likely people will imitate their idols, even to the point of acting out violently. Mary Gavin admits, "Many violent acts are perpetrated by the "good guys" whom kids have been taught to emulate. Even though kids are taught by their parents that it isn't right to hit, television says it's okay to bite, kick, or hit if you're the "good guy."" Like Mary states, these violent acts are usually directed at the "bad guy," it is very easy to apply the "good guy's" solution to their own lives. When the solution that the "good guy" uses involves violent material, media consumers are encouraged to commit these violent acts themselves just because their role models say it is okay to. This greatly affects the role of violence in our society when these "good guys" start being compared to horrible...
Words: 1543 - Pages: 7
...Media Violence and Children Unit 5 Thomas Clancy – Instructor Shirley Landram Abstract This purpose of this essay is to show some of the ways television can influence children. It delves into emotions that can be experience or learned from family or TV. Understanding what young ones perceive and learn at different ages can be helpful to curb the impact that television shows have on children. Many people are concerned about the effect of media violence on children. Can something be done about this problem? Education and understanding may be a help in curbing violent tendencies. Only time will tell. Media Violence and Children This generation is being raised in a world so full of technology that often it is hard for anyone to keep track of it. As parents try to keep up with the fast-paced world, many rely on television as a babysitter. There children see violent behaviors and misconduct. Some of the programs are not good for a child since what is seen can desensitize them to abusive behavior in everyday life. Parents have an important role in helping children understand what is seen in the media.. Opting for more prosocial programs and explaining about emotions involved is something parents and caregivers can do. There have been studies done of how violence on shows affects children. It is wondered if violence on television has lasting effects. If too much violence is seen by children, they seem to become unaffected by it in later years. It teaches the child...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...Media Violence Essay Media Violence has been around for many years. Shakespeare wrote detailed gruesome plays but they were beautiful and entertaining. Media Violence has been said to have been persuading our society, but mainly the children to commit violent acts in the world. Many people are concerned because they believe that violent media is the main factor that is making people commit violent crimes, like killing other people. An example of violent media persuading a child to commit a murder would be in the recent theater shooting in Colorado, it was reported that the young man who committed the murders was persuaded by a character in the infamous Batman show called the joker. Therefore the media has been attacked by angry viewers so, the ACLU has been steadily defending the media because they deserve the freedom of speech and also the freedom to create anything they feel would be entertaining to their audience as long as it doesn’t immediately make the audience to actually want to commit the crime. The media which has violence in it, has been fighting many lawsuits because people believe the violent media is a main cause why violence is being created in this world, even though our violence rate isn’t increasing. It doesn’t make sense to blame the violent media yet the parents are the main ones responsible for having control over what their own kids get to actually watch. People can’t control the media but they have control of how to raise their kids and how to teach children...
Words: 1944 - Pages: 8
...Media Violence – Friend or Foe Denise Zurawski Ashford University Media Violence – Friend or Foe Psychologists are concerned regarding the amount of violent behavior that children and even adolescents watch in their own homes through TV programs, video and computer games, even the music that they listen to. Children as well as adolescents are susceptible to these acts of violence that they witness, believing that this is the way of the world. Too much violence in a show or movie may have them believing that such behavior is acceptable and even normal. Observing too much violence in any form can have children as well as adolescents believing that this is a precise interpretation of real life. The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that “American children between 2 and 18 years of age spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes each day using media (television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computer, and the internet)” (Media Violence, 2001). A significant part of this media disclosure includes acts of violence, which if believed, could very well be acted out by our youths. Research has shown that when children watch media violence, especially if the characters (the bad guys) are portrayed as attractive and not held accountable for their actions, children may be adversely affected, and act out the aggressive behavior seen on TV. As stated in one article the authors note, For decades, researchers have studied...
Words: 2056 - Pages: 9
...I do agree that there is a lot of violence in the entertainment industry, but there are a lot worse things out there in the world today. Violence is triggered from emotions, not what we view on television. Television was designed for entertainment and violence on television is entertaining. People enjoy action packed TV shows and movies, but if a person sees a man jumping over buildings to escape the police it does not mean that they are going to go rob a bank and evade the police by jumping over buildings. The whole point of movies is for us to watch what we can never do. Movies and television allow us to see things that can never be done in real life. They are just there for our entertainment. There are many other things that trigger violence, such as, drugs, experiences, and also by the type of people we are surrounded by. It takes one wrong decision to ruin a life and when people are not thinking rationally is generally when these decisions take place. I believe all people are capable of doing bad things they do not think they could ever do. I also think people are capable of doing really good things that they never thought they could do. The thing about people is we are so unpredictable, one day we can be the nicest person in the world and then all of a sudden violence is triggered and we see ourselves as someone different. Things such as school shootings are cause from violence built up over time. People don’t just see a school shooting on TV and decide that they want...
Words: 356 - Pages: 2
...Psychology 324 Assignment: Does Media Violence Cause Aggression? 1. INTRODUCTION The question of whether media violence causes aggression has been a topic of debate for decades. The innovation and creation of the television, computer and radio has altered the manner in which individuals acquire information regarding the world around them, including views on how violent the world is (Busman & Anderson, 2001). With the average American child being exposed to eight thousand murders and one hundred thousand acts of violence via television by the time they graduate from elementary school, it is not surprising that many critics of media violence are of the opinion that it leads to aggression (Bushman & Anderson, 2001). However, if one studies the reviews more carefully, it can be seen that there is no real scientific evidence that media violence causes aggression (Freedman, 2002). Numerous articles, experiments and studies have been published either supporting or opposing the question. In this essay two such articles will be explained, namely “Media Violence and the American Public” (Bushman & Anderson, 2001) which supports the idea that media violence causes aggression and “Villain or Scapegoat? Media Violence and Aggression” (Freedman, 2002) which opposes the idea that media violence causes aggression. 2. DEFINING MEDIA VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION Media Violence is defined as the graphic representation of physical aggression by a human or human-like persona towards another individual...
Words: 988 - Pages: 4
...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). ...
Words: 2930 - Pages: 12
...Media Violence It’s safe to say that everyone watches TV at least once a day for something or another. On that TV is a lot of media and with media there comes violence. Media violence has an increasing negative effect on children. While there are many reasons for child violence, some are poverty, child abuse, exposure to community violence, substance abuse and some others. While it is difficult to determine which children who have experienced televised violence are at greatest risk, there appears to be a strong correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior within youth. Over the past 30 years there has been extensive research on the relationship between televised violence and violent behavior among youth. Televised violence and the presence of television in American households have increased steadily over the years. In 1950, only 10% of American homes had a television. Today 99% of homes have televisions. In fact, more families have televisions than telephones. Over half of all children have a television set in their bedrooms. This gives a greater opportunity for children to view programs without parental supervision. Studies reveal that children watch approximately 28 hours of television a week, more time than they spend in school. The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18. Television programs display 812 violent acts per hour; children's programming, particularly cartoons, displays...
Words: 292 - Pages: 2
...Violent Media is Good for Kids Violence existed long before there was violent media. Equating media with behavior shows not only a severe ignorance of history but an ignorance of reality. Violence cannot be stopped as long as there are power inequalities, social hierarchies, as long as people can be hurt, broken or killed, there will be violence. Using media violence constructively and sensibly can provide support for a child's understanding of their anger and frustration. Many of us if not all must have watched some violent cartoons or movies at some point in our lives and even still play violent video games in our homes. But what some people seem to overlook is that most, if not all violent cartoons end with positive feedback. Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, Superman, Batman, and many other more all lead up to the defeat of the bad guy who is trying to destroy the world. In every episode, they encounter a new obstacle in which they must defeat in battle in order to save mankind through violence. The threat is eliminated so that life may go on normally; showing kids that good always triumph over evil. Jonathan Freedman in his book "Media Violence Does Not Cause Aggressive Behavior in Children" argues that despite a report from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on the causal link between media violence and aggressive human behavior, there is no scientific evidence that viewing violence on television makes people commit acts of violence in the...
Words: 762 - Pages: 4
... A person tends to adapt what one sees and the media engraves images into ones’ mind, so they think it is the norm although, it is an absurd idea. Kids are generally influenced by the media. The American Academy of Pediatrics, Testimony before the U.S. Commerce Committee: “Before age 8, children cannot discriminate between real life and fantasy. Onscreen violence is as real to them as violence that they witness at home or in their community. From childhood’s magical thinking and impulsive behavior, adolescents must develop abstract thought and social controls to prepare them to deal with adult realities. If this development process occurs in a violent environment, it can become distorted. Media, with which children spend more time than their parents or teachers, have great potential for shaping the hearts, minds and behaviors of America’s young people- and we need to take this potential very seriously. THESIS Media violence has increased the number of violent activities and tends to engrave violent images into one’s mind which leaves behind a blur vision of reality and fictional thoughts that are mainly created by video games, sex violence, television violence and the web that includes the internet and music such as rap. ARGUMENTS: 1) Video games- encouraging violent behaviors. 2) TV – cartoons, movies with criminal activities. (Terrorist attacks, molestations, rapes, robberies, murders.) 3) Sex violence- the sexual activities have led to an increase in...
Words: 379 - Pages: 2
