Media has impact on the lives of people, especially on children who are still developing their personalities. Media affects people in many ways and can lead to violence as well. Many young people commit mass murders if they are exposed to violence on television, but on the other side, television programs reflect reality so this relationship is reciprocal. Violence in the media has effect on the behavior of people in reality and it influences the way they speak and shapes their notions about the world.
People often identify themselves with what they see on television which is why the content has to be adjusted to various ages. The television program “glamorizes aggressive conduct, removes inhibitions towards such conduct, arouses viewers, and invites imitation” (Bok 224). This is exactly why television has so much impact on the real world which happens in the streets. Violence seems realistic and it is approved of when seen on television especially if it is committed by celebrities in films. Inhibitions are removed and the viewers get excited by wanting to replicate the violent behavior so that they would go unpunished and do something that would excite them. Television programs invite imitation because everything is much more appealing when seen in the media because it generates revenue and attracts attention. People who are paid to commit violence on TV shows are not really doing it, but people see it as real and they feel invited to carry on with such a behavior in reality. “Undocumented claims that violent copycat crimes are mounting in number contribute further to the ominous sense of threat that these crimes generate” (Bok 225). Media violence does have a hazardous effect and there should be done something to prevent it from happening or to diminish it.
Aggression is related to establishing dominant behavior and it is encouraged by violence in the media. “The ‘aggressor effect’ has been studied both to identify the short term, immediate impact on viewers after exposure to TV violence, and the long-term influences” (Bok 226). The influence is long-term because violence on TV establishes a pattern of behavior and it is also intrinsic in human nature to exert power over other people and to become the leader in the physical way. There is also a relation between aggression and pornography in the media because: “levels of aggression toward women have been shown to go up among male subjects who view sexualized violence against women” (Bok 226). The fact that the violence against women raises after watching violent pornography makes this kind of TV shows, that are usually described as ‘adult entertainment’, bad influence that encourages sociopathic behavior.
It is extremely rare for mass shootings or killings to happen because of the impact of video games on the psyche of the children. However, the society believes that the young who spend their time in virtual wars are inclined to kill people in reality as well. “Video games, those who play them, and those who create them have become contemporary folk devils because they seem to pose a threat to children” (Sternheimer 204). This is not entirely true because children play violent video games from an early age as well and they are used to such content. Moreover, there is much violence in cartoons as well and this does not lead to threat against public peace. “Some stories mentioned other explanations, such as the shooters’ social rejection, feelings of alienation at school, and depression, but these were treated mostly as minor factors compared to video games” (Sternheimer 206). However, it is more probable that people who feel rejected and alienated want to prove themselves though killing other people and although they could be practicing and getting ideas through video games, the games do not encourage them to kill people. Video games do not kill people because people who happen to suffer from aggressive and sociopathic behavior would commit mass murders even if they were not playing video games. “By focusing so heavily on video games, news reports downplay the broader social contexts” (206). Aggressive people seek aggressive entertainment which is why there can be no link established between the games and the behavior. Such people have problems with their personal traits, with their family issues and there is also the accessibility of weapons. They seek attention and put themselves on a mission that will make them famous and which will help them leave trace behind them. These people mostly come from underprivileged and poor backgrounds and their behavior has always been problematic. Moreover, there are also young people from the families that belong to the middle-class, who become violent and commit mass murder. Therefore, the human psyche is more important than the social impact which is why psychological counseling should be offered in schools.
Television has the most impact of the means of mass communication and entertainment spreads its influence through it. “As for the entertainment industry itself, its representatives also played their appointed role, noisily invoking the First Amendment and the prerogatives of ‘artistic freedom’”(Hymowitz 62). There is freedom in art and the viewers are not supposed to be indoctrinated to commit crimes just because they watched a fictional program. Most of the time, violent content is supposed to have a detrimental effect on the audience and discourage them from committing crime, since the villains usually get punished, and if they do not get punished, they suffer in some other way.
There was a code in Hollywood which promoted censorship in in 1930s and in spite of it, there was still crime in the streets. This was the Hays Code and “not only were brutal killings banned from the big screen but so too were any mention of childbirth, words like “eunuch”, and (most ridiculous of all in the eyes of critics) scenes of tender passion in which the paramours’ feet did not remain firmly planted on the ground” (Hymowitz 63). There was still violence in real life although violence in the media was prohibited.
There is a much worse effect of video games than killings which are rare and are not closely related to the violence in the media. “Compared with earlier generations, today’s children are fatter and more prone to diabetes” (Hymowitz 64). This is the real hazard of video games and violence that is related to it because it has a negative impact on the health of the children. Playing outside is not enough for children today because they need to be visually stimulated in order to be happy and they suffer from a short attention span because of that. When it comes to important things in life, they are quickly bored which is why video games have a negative impact.
The government also has a response regarding this matter and they have a certain point in their accusations. “White House officials lecture film, music, Internet, fashion, and pop-culture moguls and accuse them of programming kids to smoke, drink, shoot up, have sex, and kill” (Males 253). However, this is not completely right because killing people is completely different than looking up to role models and imitating a certain pattern of behavior that involves the use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco and having sex. However, there is the other side of the story, when the young miss the point of video games: “what happens is, both of these kids had played many, many point and shoot interactive video games and they were never, never, never conditioned to miss a target” (Massar, Slinger, White and Byrnes). These children did not have the intention of killing anybody, but to scare them. However, an accident happened and it can be related to the effect of video games, which is why children should be lectured about the impact of violent video games. Jones says: “what we call “creative violence” – head-bonking cartoons, bloody videogames, playground karate, toy guns – gives children a tool to master their rage” (Jones 232). This can be liberating, but it can also blur the line between what is real and what is fantasy.
Children need to be educated about the impact of the media and they should be supervised when playing video games. It is important for the educators, the parents and the psychologists to get involved in making the children aware of what the video games are all about. Moreover, playing instruments or sports should be obligatory because it would leave less time for engaging in virtual violent activities.
Works Cited
Massar, David, Helen Slinger, Michele White, and Jim Byrnes, dir. Harm’s Way: The Lessons of Youth Violenc. Films Media Group, 1998. Film.
Hymowitz, Kay S. "The Sex and Violence Show." Commentary (2000): 62-65. Print.
Bok, Sissela. "Aggression: The Impact of Media Violence." Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Ed. Katherine A. Ackley. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth publishing, 2011. 224-29. Print.
Sternheimer, Karen. "Do Video Games Kill?" Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Ed. Katherine A. Ackley. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth publishing, 2011. 204-10. Print.
Males, Mike. "Stop Blaming Kids and TV." Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Ed. Katherine A. Ackley. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth publishing, 2011. 252-56. Print.
Jones, Gerard. "Violent Media is Good for Kids." Perspectives on Contemporary Issues. Ed. Katherine A. Ackley. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth publishing, 2011. 230-33. Print.
