Media Violence

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Media violence does not cause children to be violent. If a child is angry, violent movies, television shows, and negative lyrics in music merely add fuel to an already smoldering fire. A violent world contributes to violent children, but is not the cause. That is not to say that television, movies, music, and video games do not hold a tremendous power to influence. They do, and in that respect, they can share the blame, but we must not overlook the deeper cause of violent children, which is an increasing lack of nurturing adult involvement. It is also true that while guns facilitate the act of killing, guns do not create the mindset for the action.

Without question, media violence contributes to the breakdown of inhibitions. The sheer repetition of killing seen on television and in movies, desensitizes our youth, and increases the likelihood that someone will gravitate towards a gun to settle a conflict. But the person has to have a pre-disposition to kill. The issue at hand, which can not be over-emphasized enough, is that we are raising children to have such a disposition. Murderers are trained.

Searching for answers, the world may be quick to find a scapegoat within the media. This would take the blame and ultimate responsibility away from parents, allowing them to continue life as usual. As we have said, to fix their children, they have to fix themselves. This explains why the country is banding together, placing the blame on everything violent outside of the home. It is much more difficult to acknowledge the violence (physical, sexual, verbal abuse, neglect and domination) within the home. How many parents made changes in their homes after Columbine? And if they did, were they long-lasting? Are parents still spending far too much time submerged in their work and away from their families? Are they sincerely interacting and listening to their children?

Currently we are allowing Government interference because no one knows how to handle the problem of violent youth. The American government is all too eager to take charge. President Clinton spearheaded an anti-school-violence campaign. The first mandate was to order a government investigation of how the entertainment business markets violence to children. Clinton said, Our children are being fed a dependable daily dose of violence. And it sells, adding The boundary between fantasy and reality in terms of violence -- which is a clear line for most adults -- can become very blurred for vulnerable children. Clinton sited that thirty years of studies have documented that by the time a typical American child turns eighteen, he or she has seen forty thousand play murders and two hundred thousand dramatized acts of violence.

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Furthermore, how many times have you gone to the movies and seen very young children attending a violent movie with their parents? These adults take their kids with them to see a PG 1, or even R rated film, because it is the film the parent wants to see. The two hours are filled with guns, bombs, sex and vulgar language. Why do parents do this? Mainly for their own convenience, and because they do not care what goes into the minds of their children. If they did, they wouldnt take their kids to see such films. The message kids take away is that their parents are more concerned with their own entertainment. What really hurts them is the indifference of their parents, not the guns, violence, and vulgarity.

Violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch those programs.

Thats the word from a 18 report by the National Institute of Mental Health, a report that confirmed and extended an earlier study done by the Surgeon General. As a result of these and other research findings, the American Psychological Association passed a resolution in February 185 informing broadcasters and the public of the potential dangers that viewing violence on television can have for children.

What Does the Research Show?

Psychological research has shown three major effects of seeing violence on television

Children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others

Children may be more fearful of the world around them

Children may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others.

Children who watch a lot of TV are less aroused by violent scenes than are those who only watch a little; in other words, theyre less bothered by violence in general, and less likely to see anything wrong with it. One example in several studies, those who watched a violent program instead of a nonviolent one were slower to intervene or to call for help when, a little later, they saw younger children fighting or playing destructively.

Studies by George Gerbner, Ph.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, have shown that childrens TV shows contain about 0 violent acts each hour and also that children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place.

Children often behave differently after theyve been watching violent programs on TV. In one study done at Pennsylvania State University, about 100 preschool children were observed both before and after watching television; some watched cartoons that had a lot of aggressive and violent acts in them, and others watched shows that didnt have any kind of violence. The researchers noticed real differences between the kids who watched the violent shows and those who watched nonviolent ones.

Children who watch the violent shows, even just funny cartoons, were more likely to hit out at their playmates, argue, disobey class rules, leave tasks unfinished, and were less willing to wait for things than those who watched the nonviolent programs, says Aletha Huston, Ph.D., now at the University of Kansas.

Real-Life Studies

Findings from the laboratory are further supported by field studies which have shown the long-range effects of televised violence. Leonard Eron, Ph.D., and his associates at the University of Illinois, found that children who watched many hours of TV violence when they were in elementary school tended to also show a higher level of aggressive behavior when they became teenagers. By observing these youngsters until they were 0 years old, Dr. Eron found that the ones whod watched a lot of TV when they were eight years old were more likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal acts as adults.

A Continuing Debate

In spite of this accumulated evidence, broadcasters and scientists continue to debate the link between the viewing TV violence and childrens aggressive behavior. Some broadcasters believe that there is not enough evidence to prove that TV violence is harmful. But scientists who have studied this issue say that there is a link between TV violence and aggression, and in 1, the American Psychological Associations Task Force on Television and Society published a report that confirms this view. The report, entitled Big World, Small Screen The Role of Television in American Society, shows that the harmful effects of TV violence do exist.

Does media violence promote violent behavior?

Since 155, about 1,000 studies, reports, and commentaries concerning the impact of television violence have been published. The accumulated research clearly demonstrates a correlation between viewing violence and aggressive behavior.

That statement, made by the American Psychological Association in 1, summarized its comprehensive review of research on the effects of media violence. Other organizations including the American Medical Association, National Institutes of Mental Health, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control came to similar conclusions.

One key study that showed the connection between media violence and real violence was the one by Dr. Leonard D. Eron. He followed a group of young people for years and found that those who watched more television at age eight were more likely, at age 0, to have committed more serious crimes, to be more aggressive when drinking, and to punish their children more harshly than others. Others have repeated Erons study and found similar results throughout the United States and other countries as well.

Another researcher, University of Washington epidemiologist Brandon Centerwall, surveyed young male felons imprisoned for committing violent crimes. Between one-quarter and one-third reported having consciously imitated crime techniques they saw on television.

Laboratory studies, says Ronald Slaby, media-violence expert at the Education Development Center, also show that media violence has an aggressor effect. Children who watch a violent TV show, for example, act more aggressive immediately after the show.

How does TV violence mislead young people?

Children and youth are affected by the sheer quantity of violence on TV and in the movies. But perhaps more damaging are the false messages that media violence sends.

Violence is often rewarded and seldom has negative consequences. According to the 1 National Television Violence Study by Mediascope, perpetrators go unpunished in 7 percent of all violent scenes on television.

Violence is everywhere. Slaby tells the story of a preschooler who was informed of the death of her friends father. Who killed him? she asked. Her question reflected the assumption, drawn from television, that violence was the normal cause of death.

Violence is justified. Much of the violence on television is committed by the hero of the show. The National Television Violence Study found that aggression by good guys is rarely punished; even bad guys are punished only 6 percent of the time. Power Rangers, like countless war movies, teaches that violence by good guys is not only justified but heroic.

Violence is funny. Laugh tracks in shows like The Three Stooges often follow actions like whacking someone over the head. Childrens cartoons are especially likely to present violence as funny.

Violence is pleasurable. Clint Eastwood, in Dirty Harry, finds violence so enjoyable that he encourages people to provoke him -- a violent act would make my day.

Which young people are most susceptible to influence by media violence?

Three factors are strong predictors, according to Slaby

1) Identifying with one of the characters. The response, therefore, depends on which character the viewer identifies with. Since aggressors in the media are usually male and females are usually victims, for example, boys are more likely to respond with aggression and girls with fear.

) Interpreting what they see as realistic and relevant to their own lives. Media violence is more likely to have a strong effect, therefore, on children who see violence in their lives. It also has a stronger effect on young children, who lack the real-life experience to judge whether something they see is realistic.

) Personal fantasizing about the characters on a violent show. Daydream reruns increase the influence of scenes a child has watched.

In addition, says Slaby, the context in which violence is presented is crucial. In Shakespeares tragedies and in TV shows like the popular Civil War series, violence is shown realistically, with its suffering and tragic aftermath. But such realistic, prosocial portrayals of violence account for only about 4 percent of TV programming.

How do most children and young people react to media violence?

Most people, of course, dont become violent when they watch TV or movie violence. But they may be affected in other ways. Slaby lists four effects of media violence

an aggressor effect--encouraging violent behavior

a victim effect--increasing fearfulness

a bystandereffect--leading to callousness, accepting violence as normal

an appetite effect--building a desire to watch more violence.

These effects combine, says media expert George Gerbner of the Annenberg Center for Public Policy, University of Pennsylvania, to create a mean world syndrome, a perception that the community and society in which we live are frightening and crime-ridden.

On a personal level, according to Gerbner, these fears lead to alienation and isolation. On a policy level, they fuel support for repressive policies and increased incarceration. Violence-prevention expert Deborah Prothrow-Stith of the Harvard School of Public Health, says media violence both reflects and contributes to a growing culture of meanness, a fertile ground for real-life violence.

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