The Corruption of Media

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The Corruption of Media

I came up with a problem that concerns many parents. It seems as though violence plays a role in the lives of many people. Even innocent children are affected by the negative things that go on in the huge world we live in. Television violence is often overlooked because of its ability to retain children’s attention. Countless mothers and fathers put their children in front of the television so they can have time to themselves. As a result, the kids are subjected to unnecessary media violence. I feel as thought this violence has a great effect on the children’s lives.

The impact of television violence on youth behavior has been an issue for many years. Television stations and their executives tend to deny television’s contribution to youth violence. Unfortunately, there is a direct correlation between television viewing and violence. This provides one possible cause for the shocking rise in violence on Americas’ school campuses. Communications technology is expanding through the entire global community. Children everywhere are being born into a world of images and messages, which are largely separated from their home, school and spiritual lives.

In society today storytellers are seldom parents, grandparents, teachers or the clergy; instead they are the handful of distant forces with something to sell. What is unique about the media industry is that in global and corporate domination they have become part of our culture as well as our identity. Social scientists and child advocates have been exploring the effects of media for decades, yet it is only recently that the concern has generated a public debate. Disagreements concerning the effect of violence revealed in works of art and entertainment have resonated over the centuries. We must ask ourselves whether or not our versions of entertainment exhibits anymore violence then past forms of recreation, for example gladiatorial games or public hangings. The television is a powerful form of media. The effects of television violence on young, impressionable minds have been studied and reveal that television violence has some effect on youth behavior. Fortunately, government officials and television networks have taken steps to limit the amount of violence on TV. They too have recognized the direct link between television viewing and violence.

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...eased levels of violence on television they develop sort of a mean world syndrome. This leads the children to perceive the world as much more cruel and sinister than it really is. Many children might grow up being afraid of the world because of the violence that they see in the many hours that they spend watching television. This does not only have an effect on children, but also on the adults and the elderly. Adults and elderly people are becoming more and more afraid for their lives as violence in our culture increases. They are not used to these high levels of violence like is seen every day now. They are still adjusting to the fact that television has much more violence than it has ever had before.

Surveys show that heavy viewers are more likely than comparable groups of light viewers to over-estimate their chances of involvement in violence, to believe that their neighborhoods are unsafe, to state that crime is a very serious personal problem and to assume that crime is rising, regardless of the facts of the case (Gerbner, 1996, 3). Heavy viewers of television programs are more likely to buy new locks, and guns for protection. This leads to a high level of gun violence.

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