2.2 Media Influences
Supporters of nurture influences on the child becoming a criminal believe that one of the major factors is from the media, as the current era now depend heavily on technology. One of major influences from media is usually from televisions, films and especially the internet that contain strong violence. According to the article ‘15 films That Inspired Real Life Crimes’ (n.d), in 1993, two 10-year-old boys who were fans of the movie ‘Chucky’ had killed a woman, Suzanne Capper, by torturing and torching her to death. The two boys were chanting “I’m Chucky. Chucky wants to play” and played mimics from the movie on a tape. Other than that, according to statistics by Caroline Knorr (as cited in Emmons, 2013) , 90% of movies and 60% of television shows show some form of violence and this is a prominent because children usually watch 4 hours of television a day and have multiple risk factors that make the likelihood of them acting aggressively. Thus, it can be concluded that exposure to media violence will increase the likelihood of a child committing crime afterwards.
The second main factor people commit crime would be because of games with violent content. Many people of this age spend a lot of time playing them and most of the popular ones promote negative themes and therefore can heavily influence one’s lifestyle. Studies have shown children who are exposed to violence excessively will cause them to be aggressive and numb to negative acts and gets worst if the child is emotionally unstable. This was proven in a study published by Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice where they examined exposure of violent video games on 227 juvenile offenders in Pennsylvania and found that an average of 9 them committed serious c...
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...ing higher media restriction on content that are violent by increasing the age rate of watching violent movies or tv shows, limiting violent scenes film makers can film, restricting access to material that can influence criminal or violent behaviour over the internet and etc.
4.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, offenders are who they are now by nurture. Although some factors of criminals with biological influences make them more likely to commit crime. However, it can clearly be seen that family and media plays a big role in influencing criminal behaviour in this era where it was proven that when violent acts are frequently observed or thought, it will increase the risk factor on normal people and even more on people with aggressive genes to commit a crime. Therefore, it can be clearly seen that the nurture of the offender outweighs their nature to commit deviant crimes.
Finding strong evidence surrounding this topic could be significant to reducing crime rates and addressing the public health issue. What I have learn from research-based evidence and analyzing social and cultural theories, is that criminal behavior is multifaceted and is influenced by a range of determinants in which surrounds the nature versus nurture debate. I believe that nature and nurture both play significant roles to the making of a criminal.
Although video games can have no urges in young adults and children to commit violent crimes because most all video games are fictional and not based on real life events or moments in history .An example to prove this is “We found that game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes.” (Carey). This can tell us that because of the increase in sales of video games which lead to a decrease in crimes because of how the games are fictional, so they had no effect on teenagers or people who bought the game on how violent they would become from playing the games. Meanwhile, there are a higher percentage of young adults and children that do play the games such as GTA. An example of how video games can have negative effects on the people who do play the violent games is “In surveys about 80% of High School age boys say they play video games most of which are thought to be violent” (Carey). The quote taken from a survey can tell us that the 80 percent of high school age students that play video games can be connected to the non-fictional aspect of the game by the students committing the crimes or violent actions because of the misconnection between real and fake, so they are then to commit more violent actions in the future. In conclusion that high school age students playing non fictional games will be promoted to violent crimes in future places and
In 1989 the results of a five year study by the American Psychological Association indicated that the average child has witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on television by the time he or she has completed sixth grade. In further studies it was determined that by the time that same child graduates from high school he or she will have spent 22,000 hours w...
It may seem a bit odd to place video games in the same category as the other frightening facts parents have to deal with, but in the past few years, violent acts of crime have become more and more common among teenagers. Parents looking to find a reason for this have turned to violent video games, which have also had a large growth over the past few years. Since almost every parent will have kids at some point who play video games, one of the most important topics facing them should be the deceptively simple question: Do violent video games cause violence in youth?
Many scientists have stated that a person’s genetic make-up is the most significant factor in the development of criminality because they feel that parents who have been exposed to violence themselves or who actually commit the violent act can pass those traits along to their children. This gives their children a genetic predisposition to potentially become a violent person and commit a criminal act in their future as an adult. In many cases this can be true, but having a genetic predisposition for criminal behavior does not determine the actions of an individual and automatically make them a criminal for having a predisposition to violent. However, if they are exposed to the right environment, meaning that they are around violent people for a certain amount of time, then their chances are greater for engaging in criminal or anti-social behavior.
Everyday in the United States millions of juveniles watch and play violent video games and movies. Both juveniles and adults are susceptible to the media. Thus, I believe that violent content does affect juvenile crime, but there are also other factors that can lead to juveniles committing crime.
Violence is viewed by children on a daily basis and is becoming just another fun thing to do. In the article, “Aggression: The impact of media violence” by Sissela Bok, she describes the relationship with the amount of violence we expose to people having an affect on their actions. “Media analyst Ken Auletta reports that, in 1992, a mother in France sued the head of the state TV channel that carried the American series MacGyver, claiming that her son was accidentally injured as a result of having copied MacGyver’s recipe for making a bomb”(Bok 225). This is a specific case where something that was intended to do violence made it into a boy’s head, which led him to inadve...
Many of today's youth are easily influenced by their environment. Their environment can include their family, friends, school, and even media (television, music, video games). With technology rapidly advancing, video games are having an even greater impact on youth. In the last few years, there has been a steady increase in the amount of violence contained in all media, especially video games. According to Alison Motluk, "more than 90 per cent of American children play video games every day, and half of the top sellers contain extreme violence" (10). Playing these violent video games is having a direct effect on aggression levels as seen in the recent rise of school violence. Many times the individuals involved have stated that they got their ideas from playing violent video games. Obviously, with youth violence on the rise, changes need to be made in order to help control this situation. A stricter rating system needs to be applied to video games, and more importantly the new rating system should be heavily enforced wherever video games are sold so that maturity levels are met before being allowed to purchase a video game.
The increasing popularity of television and the internet has allowed the mass media to influence its users, especially the juvenile population. As stated in Media Violence and Youth, “99% of homes in America have at least one television giving children the opportunity to view unsupervised television” (Beresin, 1999). Bradley Okdie reported that the average person spent over 3,515 hours using media in 2012 (Okdie, et al. 2014). A study done by Friedrich and Stein found that “the average 2-5 year-old views about 28 hours per week of television”, while Lyle and Hoffman found that “by the age of three, three-quarters of the children can name their favorite television program” (Meltzoff, 1988). With ratings as the driving force of the mass media,
Criminologists and sociologist have long been in debate for century's to explain criminal behaviour. The two main paradigms of thought are between 'nature' and 'nurture'. Nature is in reference to a learnt behaviour where a multitude of characteristics, in society influence whether a person becomes deviant such as poverty, physical abuse or neglect. Nurture defines biological features which could inevitability lead to a individuals deviant or criminal behaviour, because criminality is believed by biological positivist to be inherited from a persons parents. However, I believe that criminal behaviour is a mixture of characteristics that lead to deviant acts such as psychological illness & Environmental factors. Therefore, this essay will aim to analyse both biological positivist and psychological positivist perspectives in hope of showing to what extent they play a role in criminal behaviour. Firstly, the essay will look at Cesare Lombroso's research on physical features and how these ideas have moved on to then develop scientific ideas such as genetics to explain criminal behaviour. Secondly, the essay will focus on external factors which may be able to explain criminal behaviour such as the social influences, life chances and Material deprivation.
It is no secret that in the world we live in today we are reliant on the media as a source of information for what is acceptable in society and what is not. Due to the fact that technology has become widespread all over the globe and that we rely so heavily on it, makes it the best way to influence the masses on culture, social norms, and gender roles. How one is expected to look, dress, and act twenty four seven appears across screens of any kind. This form of socialization then divides us into groups of males and females forcing us to conform to the mold in which mass media portrays us to be. Media in today’s world takes many different forms; from movies, to advertisements, television shows, and comic books. The way each gender is expected
Media has the supremacy to influence millions of individuals through countless formats. Media is everywhere in our daily lives, in television, motion pictures, and radio, influencing what society consume to what society wear. “Media is a very powerful tool capable of mobilizing people’s contemplations and ideologies” (Mock 2004). Most people find television an escape from their hectic daily lives. In our society today, there is an ongoing debate about violence in the media. Media violence has been an issue that most of the literature seems to avoid, but it is important in our lives. To give you perspective on just how much violence kids see on TV, consider this: “The average American child will witness 200,000 violent acts on television by age 18. Kids may become desensitized to violence and more aggressive. TV violence sometimes begs for imitation because violence is often promoted as a fun and effective way to get what you want” (Kids Health, 2010). With this one can see how much of an influence T.V has on kids. As the teens and kids continue to watch and read these violent images depicted in music and film, detrimental effects affect their judgment, attitudes, and behaviors.
Criminals are born not made is the discussion of this essay, it will explore the theories that attempt to explain criminal behaviour. Psychologists have come up with various theories and reasons as to why individuals commit crimes. These theories represent part of the classic psychological debate, nature versus nurture. Are individuals predisposed to becoming a criminal or are they made through their environment.
Are criminals born or made? 70% of serial killers were subjected to child abuse (HESTIE BARNARD GERBER). Today, crime has become one of the most serious and significant problems in the world. It poses a threat to development and security of country. A lot of people in the world are exposed to various types of crime. Psychologists, criminologists, and scholars put forward various hypotheses and theories why people commit crimes. Some people think that the effects of family on children who become future criminals are greater, but other believes that environment factors also influence kids. In this essay, the author will examine the extent to which nurture influences on future crime. This research will begin by evaluating the family factors it will then proceed to investigate the social, media and genetic factors.
The media is a powerful presence within the lives of others. It can be described as the main channel of mass communication. Media is often used to deliver a message to a large audience who are diverse. It can be written, broadcast or spoken. Media is a significant force within modern culture. Culture can be defined as the norms and values of a society. In our culture, the communications media hold an influential place in disseminating information, forming attitudes, and motivating behaviour. Technological advances are increasing the role of the media and its capacity to shape public opinion. Our society depends on the news media to provide information to help us form opinions and make voting decisions. It is clear the media has a huge impact on our culture. The media influences a number of subjects in our culture; one of which is deviance. Deviance can be described as the fact or state of diverging from usual or accepted standards within both social and sexual behaviour. Our cultures view on deviant behaviour is moulded by rules carried out by the government. It provides the basis of our morals and views which guides us through being a law abiding citizen. The media however plays an important role on putting emphasis on and questioning these morals and views. Deviant behaviour is often enhanced by media through deviance amplification. Some might say it is encouraged by publicizing deviant behaviour. And often provoked with the formation of ‘folk devils’. The term mass media was formed during the creation of print media. The earliest printed mass medium was the European popular prints from the fourteen hundreds. Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing to Europe. Gutenberg invented the movable type printing which played a key role wi...