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Effects of tv violence on teenagers
Effects of tv violence on teenagers
Media violence impacts on children
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In the last two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the use of technology. Whether it is for environmental discoveries, weapon construction, or the cell phones and internet used by everyday people, technology is everywhere. And through this technology, images of sex and violence are being channeled on the TV, on the Internet and on our phones. This means that violence and sex is everywhere. This literature review examines the problem: T.V. and video game industries have allowed a rapid increase of sex and violence exposure to teens. The paper discusses the issues caused by having so much violence and sex on technology that teens use every day and how it is changing the next generation of young people. The examination of sex and violence in T.V. and video games allows for the obvious to be pointed out: teens and children don’t need to be exposed to so much violence and sex in their everyday lives. This paper also suggests that more can be done to curb the prevalence of exposure. Can Turning Off the Violence and Sex on T.V. and Video Games Change Our Teens Today? A Review of the Literature A Harvard School of Public Health study found that 64 percent of video games contain intentional violence and 60 percent rewarded players for killing or causing harm to other characters (Pham, 2001). According to Washington Education, 2 in every 3 shows on television have some form of sexual content and 1 in every 10 shows has sexual intercourse depicted or implied (Teen Futures Media Network). These sexual and violent images are on games that teens play frequently and on some of the most watched television programs on today. Studies suggest that teens who watched television with strong sexual content were more likely to get involved ... ... middle of paper ... ...s “Sex and the Internet: Challenging the Myths” states that it is a myth that “we can teach teens…without using the word ‘sex’ or discussing risky sexual encounters”, but television flashing naked parts and sexual innuendos at teens faces is not the way to go about bring up sex(Willard, 2000). Parents and schools need to have those conversations with teens, not television shows. Teens should be able to watch television shows without sex popping up in every other scene. Teens should also be able to play good video games without being encouraged to kill people. Media companies need to tone down all this violence and sexual content for the sake of the next generation’s sanity and innocence. If companies don’t put higher regulations on what teens can watch a play, the next generation is going to have a whole lot more issues than who can get the new Call of Duty first.
Proceeding my perusal of articles and research, written by authors with scientific credentials or otherwise, I have concluded that video games are no more to blame for the ebullition found in today’s society than any other possible cause. However, the incessant brouhaha as well as the negative notoriety surrounding media and video games refuses to cease or let up. These claims—for or against video games—are ultimately subjective and inconclusive and very little can be confidently derived from them. Granted, the violence found in our youth is growing rapidly, and there must be external reasons for that, but using video games as a scapegoat will not rectify anything.
“The Columbine shooters played violent video games; that has to be a factor in their decision to brutally murder their classmates!” Society is quick to point fingers and approach unknown situations with a causal mentality that often results in a false accusation of an innocent bystander. With the advent of the video game era, psychologists have debated their effect on the minds of their youthful audience. Throughout the multitude of studies and the perpetual debate, society still lacks an absolute answer. With this knowledge, when it comes to video games and their impact on the minds of children, researchers must consult a wide variety of subjects with an open mind about the potential outcomes. I conducted my research by examining my personal experience, analyzing studies refuting both sides of the argument, trying to view the American fascination with violence through an outside perspective, and reviewing the thought processes that lead the members of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in order to gain a full perspective of the issue. What correlation exists, if any, between violent video games and the violent tendencies that children exhibit after exposure to said media? Throughout my research, I have discovered that a trend does exist, but it manifests after the child has encountered puberty because of the heightened levels of testosterone that accompany this phase of development, and the trend relies heavily on other factors in a violent disposition. The age factor generally fails to exist in the violent tendencies argument; this is intriguing in that the majority of violent videogames are targeted toward an older audience. In order to truly understand the violent tendencies of mankind, we must first analyze these ...
Many Americans feel that the viewing of violence in the media reinforces negative behavior in society, especially among children and young adults. "Three thousand studies have been done since 1955 on the link between television and violence; 2,980 of them found a correlation between the two. We hear little about that because we get most of our news from television" (Peterson). With this much research one must acknowledge that there is a problem in America involving sex and violence in the media. We cannot blame all societal problems on the media and its portrayal of these issues, but we can become educated, ourselves, in order to better facilitate the healthy lives of our children.
Video games are widely popular as a form of entertainment for young children and teenagers in the United States, and many of these games contain forms of violence. Because this causes exposure to such graphic images for many children, there has been a concern that these violent forms of entertainment affect these children. Numerous studies conducted by groups of psychologists have been directed on this particular issue, leading to evidence both for and against this claim. This is an issue which parents should acknowledge, as it greatly impacts their children. Therefore, parents must become aware of the issue of violence in video games and monitor their children’s access to such games because history as well as numerous studies and statistics to have shown that they have negative effects on children, causing desensitization due to the exposure to such intense images.
"Watching Violent TV Or Video Games Desensitises Teenagers And May Promote More Aggressive Behaviour."M2presswire (2010): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
“In 2005, out of 68% of TV shows that showed steamy sexual content, only 15% discussed risk and responsibility. And it’s not just movies and TV: Music, video games, and the Internet are also filled with sexually explicit, often-degrading messages that can shape kids’ attitudes about sex.” (greatschools.org)
In today’s society, highly addicting video games involving strong violence and language, explicit sexuality and crime often lead to inappropriate behaviors. Role playing games or RPGs allow us to step into a virtual world, cutting ourselves off from worldly distractions. Nowadays, the age range for people who play these extremely graphic games are anywhere from six to eighteen and are surprisingly hazardous to young children’s health. A study gave a group of players playing a violent video game the chance to blast a painful sound into their opponent's ear in order to get the upper advantage. They also gave another group playing non violent games, the same opportunity. The study showed that overall the gamers playing violent video games were more prone to inflict more pain on their enemies, unlike the other group who inflicted considerably less pain. Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D who did this study agrees, “violent video games desensitize players to violence, and makes them more violent in real life" (McGonigal). Young adults are exposed to these terrifying images, harming their mental health. In recent events, a young eight year old boy shot his grandmother after playing Grand Theft Auto. This game is the epitome of why young people should not be playing these games. It is comprised of murder, drug and alcohol abuse, criminal behavior, violence and general disrespect for women, and foul language. In summary, young people should not be playing these games in order to save their mental health. Furthermore, television contributes to desensitizing society with it’s ...
The allegation that videogames cause violent behavior in children has been present as long as videogames themselves. Some researchers said that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was one intense gamer. “Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech Shooter was seen by his roomates as odd because he never joined them in video games.”(Beresin) This debate will continue to go on in this country as long as there are horrific crimes that occur. There is much written in the research regarding this issue, and many differing views. The research that is presented in the next few paragraphs supports the theory that it is not the graphic video games that produce aggressive behavior, but other factors in a child’s life that create violent actions.
Violent video games are becoming more popular among children and adolescents of all ages since its debut approximately 30 years ago. This growing popularity is generating an increasing concern that these sometimes very graphic videos and life like characters can have a negative influence on the younger generation. Although never proven, there has been speculation that some of the high school shootings across the country were committed by students who were habitual players of violent video games. Due to these concerns, a non-profit, self-regulatory organization was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to appropriately rate all video games from EC (early childhood), E (everyone), E10+ (everyone 10 and over), T (teen), M (mature), and AO (adults only). While assessing the efficacy of violent video game ratings, it is unknown how effective these ratings are for the intended audience (Becker-Olsen & Norberg, 2010).
Young people especially the teenagers are sensitive and receptive to learning new things. The media provides more than they can handle. Access to different programs, shows, and movies affect the manner that the teenagers behave. Today, it is unfortunate to say that the media is becoming more sexual and violent than the older days, resulting in similar behaviors among the teens (Craig, & Baucum, 2001). By watching programs intended for the adults, teenagers are drifting even further. They start behaving like adults without the prerequisites of becoming one. This means that they have contents that do not match with their ages. And then terrible things begin – increased college dropouts, teenage pregnancies, and increased cases of suicides. Some teenagers who had bright future ahead of them will
Social scientists have been examining the effect that video games have on behavior. From the introduction of video games in the 1980s, there have been numerous research studies to this effect (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). The issue has become even more significant in the modern context because these video games have become bloodier and more realistic than ever before. Even though boys play these games more than girls in America, the consumption of video games has generally been high. Carey (2013) indicates that 32% of these gamers are below the age of 18. Therefore, it would be crucial to evaluate the effects that these video games have on the behavior of such children.
There is no doubt that the media can spin a story into a shocking and scary account produced solely with the intent to sell. This information, force-fed to the public, can cause fear and hatred to develop within our country and result in gun violence and bloodshed. One reason for the amount of youth violence in America is the violent content in many video games. The average adolescent spends a major part of the normal week watching or interacting with some form of the media’s products. Video games are one of these media-based mediums and have become increasingly popular since the 1980’s.
Does violence in video games encourage wild behavior on impressionable children? A lot parents believe that their children are being influenced by video games to act a certain disrespectful way towards others or commit crimes. Yet, studies show that the arrests of juvenile teenagers have declined 71.9% while sales for popular, and violent, video games have increased 49.3% ("Crime in the United States, 2008," FBI website, Sep. 2009). Plus, a link between violent video games and rude behavior has not properly been connected. Video games do not pressurize teenagers, girls or boys, into violent personalities or to reenact the main characters performances. Video gamers aren’t encouraged by actions in the games they play because they have a sense of reality, the games they play can actually be an outlet for the rage they might hold in, and there are reasons for why games have ratings.
By the time a child reaches the age of one, they see about 200,000 acts of violence on television. (Nakaya, 3). The Media has been becoming more and more violent over the years. A poll in an issue of Times Magazine, from 2005, showed that 66 percent of Americans think that there is an abundant amount of graphic acts of violence on televisions (Nakaya, 18). People are exposed to thousands of acts of violence through video games, television, and movies. Many studies show that media violence increases violent behavior in in humans. Studies show, violent video games, and graphic television have physiological effects on children. The government has very few regulations on media violence. Some people believe the government shouldn’t limit content because others might be insulted by its material. Media violence is such a broad topic and has such a large presence in daily lives, so we cannot simple get rid of it. The Federal Communications Commission stipulates, “By the time most children begin the third grade, they will have spent the equivalent of three school years in front of a television set.” Even though the government shouldn’t censor the media, Media violence is becoming a serious issue because it is becoming more violent, it makes people behave violently, and it has little regulations.
With the explosion of technology today, access to the media is at your fingertips, anytime, anywhere, and almost 24/7. Video games, movies, cartoons, daily news, websites, music videos, and even in commercials, violence is everywhere, and it becomes harder and harder to avoid. Violence in the media has been increasing and reaching dangerous proportions. According to Report of the Media Violence Commission, the effects are remarkably consistent regardless of type of medium, age, gender, or where the person lives in the world (336). Many studies and researches reveal the empirical evidence that links violence in movies and television shows to aggressive behavior in children, teenagers, and adults. Increasing aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, and fear are three types of negative effects contributed to by violence in movies and television shows. The article, “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” emphasizes that violent television shows, films, and music reveal unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood aggressive and violent behavior in both immediately, and in the long term (Anderson, Craig A., 81). Violence now has gone into the mainstream. The Hunger Games, one of the top grossing films in 2013 replete with blood, gore and violence. The Walking Dead was once voted highest-rated entertainment program on TV with horrific violent scenes, killing from stabbing into the heads, bloody corpses, and disturbing, haunting images shown in most of the scenes. CBS’ Criminal Minds is television show with series of scary scenarios showing the violent murders of psychopath people. Worst of all, Silence of the Lambs deals with a psychopath who ...