Teenage Violence is Caused by the Excess Exposure of Violence from Social Media

807 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: effects of internet on the society

In society, humans live their life’s following the norms that a strong presence, such as the media implements in our society. These norms and standard, which are followed by individuals, affects their behavior and personality, especially in their early years (i.e. teenage years). Teenagers spend most of their lives on social media and through this media they become more violent, uneducated, and depressed by their own body image based on what the media deems to be acceptable.

Teenage violence is caused by the excess exposure of violence from social media. More than 1000 studies show that violence seen though media increases aggressive behavior, particularly in boys (TELEVISION, 2006). The longer a teenager watches violent television shows the more inclined they’re to show violent behavior in real life settings. Statistics show that the typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18 through media (Anderson 2003). This large number of viewed violence is what creates teenagers to believe the norms of our society in regards to violent behavior. The more violent shows viewed through media results in an increase of violence behaviors in teenagers. The information, which is consumed through media, does not represent the norms of society. Media removes the consequences of violence in real life and does not show the realistic understanding of the violent acts (Powell, 2013). Also misinterpretation of the consequences creates teenagers to believe actions have little or no consequences leading to violent behavior. It is shown that the media can also lead to violent behaviors by the promotion of influential and popular people.(Powell, 2013). Most teenagers idolize influ...

... middle of paper ...

...sures to meet societal goals (i.e. eating disorders). The more exposed individuals are to media the increased chance of being dissatisfied with their body image.
Media influences individuals to adapt to violent behaviors, obtain unrealistic bodies images and to distract them from education. The media is propaganda and used to exploit individuals to follow the standard norms that are produced and influenced by them to either sell or promote their products and equipment etc. Exposure to media must be minimized to reduce the negative impact on individuals in society, especially teenagers who are vulnerable and becoming their own person at that time. As a society, we revolve around the use of technology for our day-to-day lives. We must understand the effects the media has on our society and consider if the media is advancing or restraining our progression as humans.

Show More
Related

  • Essay On Body Image

    1152 Words  | 3 Pages

    From newspapers, magazines, television, movies, and the Internet, people are connected to the media in so many ways every day. Media plays a huge impact on daily life, telling the public what the newest trends are, events that are happening in day-to-day life, and scandalous stories of elite individuals involving politics, fame, and money. From young children to middle aged adults, people are constantly fixated on the images the media portrays for how they should look. “Body image is defined as “perceptions of and attitudes toward one’s own physical appearance” (Burlew & Shurts, 2013, p. 1). The media has an impact on how society and individuals view themselves and each other.

    Read More

  • Bowling For Columbine

    843 Words  | 2 Pages

    1. I think media has a great impact on how people behave. The media is defined as listening to music, watching TV, movies, reading magazines, and searching the internet. I think when people here about certain things in songs, or see things in movies or on television it has an effect on them. If there is violence in a TV show or on the news kids can think that's cool to do and do it. A lot of movies show fighting and violence and it effects people and they may do what they see. Television in the home is the greatest source of visual violence for children. Video games expose young children to a level of violence unimaginable. The news also creates fear .

    Read More

  • Media And Social Media, Adolescents, And The Media

    1806 Words  | 4 Pages

    Research shows “that regular readers of fashion and beauty magazines in early adolescence are more likely to suffer from a distorted body image during their teenage years” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”), when they read beauty magazines they read articles and tips of how to look better and they try to them all to look and feel better about themselves. Research shows that “more than three-quarters of girls repot that television influenced their body image” (Mascarelli). Social media influences how we act and what we do Amanda Swartz once stated “Social media and mass media influence the way we react and interact with our world and potentially influence the perception of our own body image” (Mulliniks). In today’s worlds there are more ways to access websites to promote body image as a positive thing, “On the internet, there are now more than 100 pro anorexia websites that not only encourage disordered eating but offer specific advice on purging, severely restricting calories intake, and exercising excessively” (“Children, Adolescents and the Media”). It’s not a bad thing to eat healthy and work out to be fit and healthy but it’s another thing to eat less and work out excessively. Teens always compare themselves to others, either their peers, models and celebrities, “People are on Facebook or Instagram and they’re constantly comparing themselves to other people” (Mulliniks). Also reality television shows, show only the glamorous about what is happening, like “when teen moms become celebrities, the message to avoid teen pregnancy is lost” (Kroll). When teens watch shows like Teen Mom they don’t see the entire negative about becoming pregnant as a teen they see that the teen mom got famous and is on the show. Social media, media, magazines, and TV give teen’s unrealistical facts about body image, pregnancy and

    Read More

  • Media Violence: Censorship Not Needed

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to John Davidson's essay Menace to Society, "three-quarters of Americans surveyed [are] convinced that movies, television and music spur young people to violence." While public opinion is strong, the results of research are divided on the effects of media violence on the youth in this country. Davidson wrote that most experts agree that some correlation between media violence and actual violent acts exists, yet the results are contradictory and researchers quibble about how the effects are to be measured (271). Moreover, Davidson is not convinced that the media is the sole problem of violence, or even a primary problem. He points out that other factors, such as "poverty, the easy accessibility of guns, domestic abuse, [and] social instability" may have a greater impact on a child becoming violent than the influence of the media (277). Even though other forces may be stronger, media violence does have some adverse effects on the members of society. If senseless violence on television and in movies had no effect, it would not be such a hotly debated topic. What type of effects and whom they affect are the most argued aspects of the discussion.

    Read More

  • Video Game Industry and Violence

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    Malcolm, T.  Teen Violence: Does Violent Media Make Violent Kids?  National Catholic Reporter.  May 28, 1999 v35 i30 p14.

    Read More

  • Violence in Television

    1911 Words  | 4 Pages

    When families sit down to watch television, they expect to watch family type of shows. Family type shows meaning rated PG or PG13, sitcoms and movies that do not include weapons, killing, foul language, and non-socially accepted actions. When children killing, they start to believe that it is accepted. Do children think that killing and hurting others and themselves have little meaning to the real life, children can become traumatized. Most killers or violators of the law blame their behavior on the media, and the way that television portrays violators. Longitudinal studies tracking viewing habits and behavior patterns of a single individual found that 8-year-old boys, who viewed the most violent programs growing up, were the most likely to engage in aggressive and delinquent behavior by age 18 and serious criminal behavior by age 30 (Eron, 1). Most types of violence that occur today links to what people see on television, act out in video games or cyberspace games, or hear in music. Media adds to the violence that exists today and in the past few decades. It will continue in the future if it is not recognized as a possible threat to our society. When kids go to a movie, watch television, play video games or even surf the web, they become part of what they see and hear. Soaking violence in their heads long enough becomes a part of the way they think, acts, and live. The line between pretend and reality gets blurred.

    Read More

  • Social Media And Self Esteem

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    People are more aware of how social media affects women on their physical features and how negative it can be. You will see on different advertisements, movies, and television shows of women being portrayed like a model, a beautiful, tan, toned, and tall girl with flawless skin complexion. This puts a lot of severe pressure on girls to become this image because most pre-teen and teenage girls do not meet these "expectations" since their body type may be from genetics or going through puberty, having baby fat, acne, or stretch marks, which is normal as it is natural for anyone. Girls compare themselves to these models and gain motivation to look exactly like the other girls that are being displayed. From this motivation the actions the girls will do can involve exercising, a healthy method to improve the body with muscle toning and having other health benefits, or eating healthy. But, a lot of girls choose to harm their bodies with three negative effects and put them under stress. These negative effects from girls trying to become skinnier include eating disorders, depression, and engaging in other negative activities, which was mentioned by the Do Something blog, (n.d.), and that 75% of girls with low self-esteem reported that the other listed negative activities were cutting, bullying, smoking, drinking, or disordered

    Read More

  • Media Violence and the Captive Audience

    5192 Words  | 11 Pages

    The media, including television programming, cartoons, film, the news, as well as literature and magazines, is a very powerful and pervasive medium for expression. It can reach a large number of people and convey ideas, cultural norms, stereotypic roles, power relationships, ethics, and values. Through these messages, the mass media may have a strong influence on individual behavior, views, and values, as well as in shaping national character and culture. Although there is a great potential for the media to have a positive and affirming effect on the public and society at large, there may be important negative consequences when the messages conveyed are harmful, destructive, or violent.

    Read More

  • Media Panics

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    A media panic or often referred to as a moral panic, is a term that describes how the media is formulating issues amongst our society. Over time, our culture has shifted and caused for many conclusions regarding media panics and the relationship between youth and the media culture. Based upon previous knowledge and course readings, I have drawn a very disturbing conclusion; this being that no matter what age, children are willing or non willingly now under surveillance to determine what kind of role media is playing in their lives. With what I have gathered from the readings and class lectures, most authors strongly believe that different forms of media directly influence children's thinking or perception. What authors and researchers continue to imply is that there is a direct correlation to what youth today see on different forms of media and their behaviours. However, it is important to remember that children are humans as well and do have a mind of their owns. Our society cannot assume that these media panics ultimately take away their ability to think on their own and develop into mature individuals. The first media panic I will discuses is how video games have developed a relationship with violence amongst our children. The second media panic is the sexual objectification of young women online.

    Read More

  • Protecting Children from Television Violence

    1390 Words  | 3 Pages

    Television violence, and media violence in general, has been a controversial topic for several years. The argument is whether young children are brainwashed into committing violent real-world crimes because of violent and pugnacious behavior exposed in mass media. In his article “No Real Evidence for TV Violence Causing Real Violence”, Jonathan Freedman, a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto and author of “Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence”, discusses how television violence, claimed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), does not cause real-world aggression among adolescents. The FCC determined to restrict violent television programming to late night hours only because their “scientific research” proves of increasing aggression among young viewers (Freedman Par. 2). Freedman goes on to explain that the FCC has no substantial scientific evidence stating that there is a correlation between fictional violence and real-world aggression among young audiences. He has completed research in 1984 and 2002 on the relationship between media violence to actual acts of violence on the street. Because he has completed research projects related to this topic, Freedman’s statistical evidence shows that there is a reduction in youth violence and it essentially does not cause real-world crimes (Freedman Par. 1). The FCC continues to claim that exposure to media violence does in fact increase aggression, and yet their readers continue to believe their fabrications. Freedman argues that people who research media violence tend to disregard and omit the opposing facts. No one type of violence is more effective on aggression than another type. There is no evidence showi...

    Read More

  • Influences Of Social Media

    1086 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mokeyane, K. Nola. "Media's Positive & Negative Influence on Teenagers." Everyday Life. Globalpost, Web. 21 Jan. 2010.

    Read More

  • The Media Should Be Censored

    1032 Words  | 3 Pages

    Media has become a powerful source of knowledge, and a great breakthrough in human history. Who can regret that media is a daily need in our lives. Media has the ability and control to adjust to all levels of knowledge in people. Media helps us to escape from our daily lives and our problems in times of stress. Thou Media as proved to be beneficial by educating, entertaining and informing us, it has also have its downfall, to cause many bad influences to the younger audience. Media has influenced us to conduct bad behavior, breed violence among teens and fear to the public, thus causing a lot of negative conflicts among ourselves. Television, Music, Internet, and more, are just some of the media exposure that needs to be censored and controlled. Media needs to be restricted, so that it doesn’t expose certain content to the wrong audience. Therefore media should be censored, so that we are able to protect our children from certain media exposure.

    Read More

  • Mass Media Influence in Shaping People's Ideas about Society

    1056 Words  | 3 Pages

    The mass media has played a key role in shaping people’s lives. The modern society’s use of mass media including TV, radio, newspaper, as well as print media has largely influenced people’s ideas regarding themselves and the society at large. This is evident from their behavior towards themselves and their community as well as their treatment of the environment. While some experts believe that the media is to blame for most of the negative behavioral traits among the active members of society, the majority agree that the media makes people understand and develop a positive sense of association with their society within which they live, making it easy for them to identify and get their role in it.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects of Mass Media on Teenagers

    880 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that's power. Because they control the minds of the masses” (Thinkexist, 2010). The mass media, including news, movies, magazines, music, or other entertainment source has become a part of daily life for many people. As the quote mentions mass media and its power are capable of influencing people’s mind and behavior. Contents in the media introduced to young people make it difficult for them to distinguish between what is real and what is not, as a result stimulating confusion and blind imitation. The mass media plays an important role in the increase of violence, sexual activity, and risky behaviors among teenagers.

    Read More

  • Impact of the Media on Society

    1589 Words  | 4 Pages

    Media technologies are becoming an important aspect of today’s society. Each and every day, people interact with media of many different forms. Media is commonly defined as being a channel of communication. Radio, newspapers, and television are all examples of media. It is impossible to assume that media is made up of completely unbiased information and that the media companies do not impose their own control upon the information being supplied to media users. Since many people use media very frequently, it is obvious to assume that it has affects on people. According to the text book Media Now, "media effects are changes in knowledge, attitude, or behavior that result from exposure to the mass media," (386). This leaves us with many unanswered questions about media and its influences. This paper will look at how the effects of media are determined and explore the main affects on today’s society - violence, prejudice, and sexual behavior.

    Read More

More about Teenage Violence is Caused by the Excess Exposure of Violence from Social Media

Open Document