Although violent crimes among youth and adults have reached the lowest point in decades and is still steadily decreasing, youth violence can have a significant negative impact on school, grades, and social activities. In our modern day society, many people believe that the violence in real life can be directly reflected by the violence seen in media. As I am writing this essay, I don’t know which side of the argument I will side in, and I will find a conclusion once I have done my research.
Some argue that the media violence effects are rather symptoms of underlying problems within a person. According to Christopher J. Ferguson PhD, meta-analysis can provide a valuable tool for examining the assumptions that underlie the critical view of
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The main consistent risk factors of youth violence is seen through negative peer influences, unsociable personality traits, depression, and disruptive household internal affairs. Neighborhood quality, parental use of domestic violence in intimate relationships, and exposure to violent television or video games were not predictive of youth violence and aggression (“A Multivariate Analysis”). According to Christopher J. Ferguson, media violence exposure were generally not predictive of youth violence (“A Multivariate Analysis”). Only in the case of bullying was video game violence a significant predictor, and effects were negligible. Television violence exposure was not predictive of any form of youth aggression. While there is much debate on this topic, his results suggested that regulating media violence may not be particularly helpful in reducing youth violence (“A Multivariate Analysis”). Youth violence is not a side effect of violence in games or movies, but it is primarily caused by unfavorable …show more content…
Fear causes people to become more protective and defensive about their life, choices, and whom they interact with. In the film “The Mean World Syndrome”, it is observed that there is a relationship believe the gun industry and the crime rates in certain places. Guns are always shown as something stereotypically violent. But the film explains: as the violent crime rates went down in the past years, gun purchases have increased instead. This shows that guns are being purchased through the act of fear or defense, which can be a result of being exposed to a lot of violence in media. Violence in media can sometimes be seen as partial truths; in ways, people do believe that the things they see on television or the internet can possibly happen in real life. In response to that, viewers take slight precautions to this type of
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.
A "hot topic" of discussions today is the issue of violence in the media. After reading about the subject, I am convinced that media violence negatively affects the viewer. The most susceptible are the young.
Positive associations between media violence and aggressive thoughts, hostile emotions, and aggressive or violent behavior have been found repeatedly, in both children and adults, in studies using a variety of methods, including laboratory and field experiments, cross-sectional studies, and longitudinal research” (Jones, Cunningham, and Gallagher 11). Children are taken care of by those that are older. Children are taught what to do and what not to do. However, not all adolescents have the chance to be raised right. They become exposed to violence in or out of their household, and they capture the cruel acts through media and are persuaded into thinking it’s normal.
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.
While violence is not new to the human race, it is an accumulative epidemic that is taking over today’s society. With firearms, ammunition and explosives becoming more accessible, this is resulting into more violent behavior and less serious consequences. Violence in the media plays an imperative role in the etiology of violent and hostile behavior in the world today. While it is difficult to determine which age group have experienced more televised violence, studies have shown that the consequences of aggressive and violent behavior have brought a great deal of human agonizing, suffering, pain and financial destitution to our society, as well as an atmosphere of apprehension, distress and doubt. Research indicates that violence in the media has not just increased in quantity; it has also become more explicit, sexual and sadistic. Most acts of violence in media and on television are laughed off and there are no consequences for these actions.
Many psychologists have studied the effect of the media on an individual’s behavior and beliefs about the world. There have been over 1000 studies which confirm the link that violence portrayed through the media can influence the level of aggression in the behavioral patterns of children and adults (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001). The observed effects include, increased aggressiveness and anti-social behavior towards others, an increased fear of becoming a victim or target of aggressive behavior, becoming less sensitive to violence and victims of violent acts, and concurrently desiring to watch more violence on television and in real-life (A.A.P. 2001). According to John Murray of Kansas State University, there are three main avenues of effects: direct effects, desensitization, and the Mean World Syndrome (Murray, 1995, p. 10). The direct effects of observing violence on television include an increase in an individual’s level of aggressive behavior, and a tendency to develop favorable attitudes and values about using violence to solve conflicts and to get one’s way. As a result of exposure to violence in the media, the audience may become desensitized to violence, pain, and suffering both on television and in the world. The individual may also come to tolerate higher levels of aggression in society, in personal behavior, or in interpersonal interactions. The third effect is known as the Mean World Syndrome, which theorizes that as a result of the amount of violence seen on television and also the context and social perspective portrayed through the media, certain individuals develop a belief that the world is a bad and dangerous place, and begin to fear violence and victimization in real life (A.A.P. 2001).
Similarly, media violence is one that displays deliberate attempts to cause harm to others (Anderson & Bushman, 2001), and it includes dramatic television and movies, news, music videos and interactive media such as the Internet and video games (Anderson et al., 2003). The exhibition of media violence affects the individual’s internal state (Bushman & Anderson, 2002) and thereby presenting a significant and positive correlation, r = .19 (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). The undeniable claims that the media has the power to influence aggressive behaviours are supported by various theories, starting with the social learning
“Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence” by Craig Anderson is an argumentative essay of how and why violent games and media effect the youth of the world. The essay contains two major questions: 1.Is there a significant association between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior? And 2. Is this association casual? Over 50 years of research is reviewed while trying to get to the root of the topic. Anderson is not only a highly credible source; he also develops his essay in a manner easy to follow, and presents researched facts to back up the statements being made on such a controversial issue.
According to Craig A. Anderson and Leonard Berkowitz (2003, pg 81), for more than five decades, Americans have been concerned about the constant portrayal of violence in the mass media and the harm that these portrayals might do to youth. Reflecting to this concern, several major researches have been carried out to examine on the association between immature media users’ exposure to television violence and their aggressive behavior.
Drugs, poverty, and an unstable home life are some of the already factors that influence violence; if the already known factors are combined with media violence, “the result is an explosion of violent crime in any nation in which it takes place” suggests Lt. Col. David Grossman (par. 3). Most people who are often exposed to violence would argue, “Not all people who are exposed to media violence are murderers.” This is true, but most murderers have had some involvement with violent video games, rap music, or television. Kids tend to mimic the actions of others whether they are good or bad. For example, if a kid witnesses someone bullying someone else, they will, more likely than not, join them. Why wouldn’t this be the same if they observed someone committing violent actions through media? Some might also argue that the murder rate has decreased throughout the years. Grossman recommended looking at the assault rate rather than the murder rate be...
Exposure to media violence into an individuals game play correlates with individuals behaving aggressively or having aggressive thoughts. In other words, media violence is a direct cause for aggressive behaviors or thoughts. Media violence includes the internet, movies, explicit books, music/music videos, and video games along with many other forms. Most researchers believe violent movies and video games are the primary source of aggression because of how much violence in these sources of entertainment have increased over time. In order to prove this theory, a numerous amount of different studies were conducted ranging from the participants being children and adolescents.
Several studies display that video games with violent content are related to more hostile behavior in teens. This is a concern because most of the popular video games contain violence. Part of the upsurge in aggressive behavior is connected to the amount of time children are permitted
The regularity and asperity of media violence has dramatically increased over the years. The Media exists in almost every aspect of people’s lives and exposure to violence in the media is becoming a large concern. People are exposed violent acts in the media everyday between video games, movies, and television. Parents are distressed over the fact tha...
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...
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 ...