Media has been a part of people’s lives since the dawn of human civilization. From figurines of Venus that show signs of success of fertility, the printing press came about and gave way to what became the modern mass media. It is this modern mass media that became the focus of studies conducted by scientists and psychologists, determining how its effects on children can cause the development of negative behaviors. Researchers have conducted extensive studies regarding this issue through the years, and although correlation between media violence and the development of negative behaviors among children has been proven to exist, violence in media persists to this day. Efforts to eliminate violent contents on media have been conducted by stakeholders, strengthening campaigns and community programs that will help bring awareness and eventually mobilize them to contribute and show . However, media violence persists, which leads me to believe that instead of eliminating media violence, regulating it may be the best solution in order to protect children.
Media violence is defined as the depiction of violence in media sources (Gentile Anderson 131). As people moved towards the era of modern technology, people became more exposed to media violence. Media is a big umbrella from which modern communication tools that include newspapers and magazines, television, music, radio, movies, advertising, and photography are categorized. Among these forms of media, advertising was the first to exist. Since the beginning of printing, people have been exposed to media that were meant to persuade and influence human behavior. Copies of commercial messages and political campaign displays were reportedly found in the ruins of Pompeii and in ancient Arabia. The beginning of violence in media is not clear, but even religious writings like the Bible that went from its early writings in the Roman Empire to its native language translations in the late medieval period have been criticized. A study by Bushman, Ridge, Das, Key and Busath indicates that passages from the Bible with violent content “provokes aggression in the same manner as violent video games or television allegedly do.”
Among the various media forms, television is said to be the most common. Most households today have TV sets, with more than half of the total number of children all over America having their own in their bedrooms. 98% of American households have TVs, with adolescents having watched 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence even they reach the age of 18, this according to a report from the American Psychiatric Association. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the world’s largest psychiatric organization that has helped in ensuring humane care and effective treatment for all persons with mental disorders that also include intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders. Being at home most of the time, children were reported to have exhibited the negative consequences of television violence due to their prolonged exposure to violence on television. According to Beresin, on average, an American child watches TV amounting to almost 44.5 hours in one week. In most shows, the good guy is showed as the perpetrator of violence, sending the message that the use of violence to resolve problems is justifiable.
Movies, like television, is a form of media that children also get exposed to. In a study by Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski and Eron, exposure to television violence has similar effects with exposure on movies that portray violent acts (201). However, Jonathan L. Freedman states that researches showing that there is a causal connection existing between media violence exposure and aggression are flawed (307). According to Freedman, violence contained within a film or movie does not convey that violence is good or is correct. Both forms of media are just entertainment and do not include information that convince its audience that aggression or violence is good. As mere forms of entertainment, Freedman claims that both movie and television bear no effect on aggressive behavior or violence (307).
However, video games, a form of media entertainment that has become dominant in a short period of time. Studies show that during the mid-1980s, children were found to spend an average of four hours in playing video games at home and in arcades. In early 1990s, the number of hours children spent on playing video games on arcades has decreased, but has resulted to a considerable increase in video games played at home. In the latest study conducted on children activities that involve playing video games, children are found to be playing video games in an average of nine hours every week, with boys averaging 13 hours while girls were recorded to play an average of five hours per week. Popular games like Call of Duty and Grad Theft Auto are found to be violent, and like movies and videos, this theme and the considerable number of hours that children spend playing them have negative results on children behavior. Other studies have yielded similar results, and found that most children nowadays prefer to play violent games such as the two mentioned. Video game industry and the rating boards for it have claimed to have seen less violent scenes in their games than parents and other researchers did. These differing views about video game violent lies on how violent video game is defined.
Researchers perceive video games as violent when players can harm other characters in the game (Gentile and Anderson 133). In most video games, harming other characters appear to be the main activity. Games such as these wherein killing occur at a relatively high rate that prove to be a matter of concern to researchers, parents and groups focusing on child advocacy. Children’s expressed preference for violent video games is alarming to the stakeholders mentioned. With the findings establishing the effects of exposure to media violence and the development of negative behaviors on children, parents, researchers and child advocacy groups are propelled to take necessary actions to prevent further effects on children. After all, the idea that children get to act out violent acts while playing video games, rather than being passive observers that they are in movies and television, is enough to increase worries. The harmful effect of video games is illustrated in Ryan Van Cleave’s biography titled My Journey into the Dark World of Video Game Addiction. In the book, Ryan tells of how online game World of Warcraft affected his life. He was rendered incapable of functioning normally and at one point, he was almost driven to commit suicide (59).
Movies, music videos, and the recent addition of the Internet also show a high level of content related to youth violence. A study shows that 15% of music videos contain interpersonal violence, and access to such videos made possible by the Internet have increased the fears of advocates and politicians who expressed concern over the fate of vulnerable children and teens. Internet websites show a wide array of violence which include but are not limited to killing, shooting, and fighting. Information about creation of explosive devices or how to acquire firearms are also made available over the Internet. Researchers believe that among the new forms of media portraying violence, the Internet can become the most damaging, thereby pointing out to the importance of giving it more attention and research.
Albert Bandura’s study in the 1970s on social learning and the tendency of children to imitate what they see has brought about the concern exhibited by parents and other stakeholders on the portrayal of violence. As a preliminary action, the Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior was formed in 1969 with the goal of assessing the impact on the attitudes, values and behavior of behaviors of viewers. The results, which was also followed-up by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1982 indicated “children may become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others, that they may be more fearful of the world around them, and that they may be more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways towards others”. The NIMH explains two other deleterious effects specifically of TV violence on children, stating that chronic exposure to violent depictions may result to desensitization, making children more accepting of violence from others as well as perpetrate violence acts on themselves. Overexposure to particularly realistic portrayals of violence, on the other hand, may see the world as an unsafe place and that they will eventually become victims of violence, thereby giving them undue stress and anxiety. These two results are also similar with those results concluded by other researches conducted in the past 30 years which include a review of 600 studies shows that media violence results to aggression, desensitization, and fear.
History suggests two approaches in understanding the possible effects of media violence, the social learning approaches and the catharsis model. The social learning theory explains a similar idea that Bandura’s theory does. This model states that individuals are more likely to imitate what they see. General Aggression Model, a social learning model of aggression, gave birth to the idea of scripts. People who are exposed to more violent scripts will more likely respond violently toward hostile or ambiguous circumstances. Catharsis model, on the other hand, indicate that aggression is more of a biological drive which requires expression. This model explains that media violence may provide an outlet or release for aggressive drives, thereby making people who are exposed to violent media may react less aggressively. This model bears resemblance to Desensitization approach which states that repeated exposure to media violence should result to the weakening negative responses to violence characterized by anxiety, disgust or repulsion, ultimately resulting to viewing real-life violence as a common and acceptable occurrence.
Meta-analyses show that there are four effects of being exposed to violent entertainment: the aggressor, the victim effect, the bystander effect, and the appetite affect . Simply explained, the aggressor effect indicates that people exposed to violent entertainment are more likely to see the world as a scary place and exhibit self-protective behaviors in order to protect the self. Bystander effect makes people exposed to violence desensitized, a conclusion derived from previously discussed studies, which will more likely make people act more callous and less sympathetic to victims of violence. Lastly, the appetite effect states that people who are exposed to a great amount of violence will exhibit more appetite to see more violent entertainment.
Various studies conducted, be it clinical, in the field, or meta-analyses, conclude that media violence have negative effects on children and adult behavior as well. It is also clear that several of the results exhibit similarities, thereby strengthening the said results as they are found present in almost all studies and surveys conducted. However, results from other studies refute the said results. Freedman, for instance, contradicts the report released by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) about violent television programming and its campaign to restrict children from accessing such programs. FCC’s report was largely based on the report presented by Surgeon General’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Television and Social Behavior . Freedman states that the overwhelming evidence that researchers are claiming about the negative effects of violent media are incorrect and needs to be set straight. Statements released regarding the matter should be based on accurate scientific researches and not on the opinion of several individuals. The American Academy of Pediatrics’s conclusion that television violence exposure is harmful and that parents should restrict children access to TV violence and have children under two avoid television exposure was said to be based on 3,500 research. However, out of the great amount of research that it referred to, only 18 showed that there is indeed a positive relationship between television violence and the development of aggression among children, thereby making the report inaccurate and strikes more as an opinion rather than a scientifically-based research.
Savage, in her methodological review of results presented about the relationship of violent behavior and aggression with violent media, state that serious scholars do not address the inadequacies of the researches produced before publishing reviews and discussions (123). Several studies conclude that there is a correlation between exposure to violent programming and aggressive behavior; however the number of studies suggesting such results is not enough to relate its applicability to criminal behavior. Criminality is rare and with Savage’s review, concluding such from a few research results is not erroneous but is unreliable as well. In order to determine or reliably predict criminality and its relation to long-range impact of violent media, large samples from the general population is required. Similarly, the degree of violence that the subjects are going to be exposed to should also equate to the degree of violence portrayed in media these days. Media violence at times mirrors real life incidences as well as fictional situations. As time passes, life situations also change, thereby changing acts of violence as well.
The link between violence and negative behavior among children exists according to several studies. Although the relation is not strong, children should be educated about such things as a precaution instead of denying them access to television. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that watching television be limited to at least 1-2 hours daily and that parents should watch with them so that they will be able to address whatever objectionable materials are presented. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an American professional association of pediatricians which aim to address healthcase standards. Parents should also educate their children about media and teach children how to interpret what they see, hear and play so that children will be able to discern those media messages that are suitable for them. This way, children will eventually learn to practice self-censorship, as well as keep an open communication line with their parents should they have questions.
Analyzing researches has led me to conclude that eliminating media violence is not the best solution in protecting children. People of all ages access media, and eliminating violence on movies, shows, games and other media tools would be unfair to adults who enjoy fight scenes and see them not as acts of violence but as images of masculinity or strength. Regulating media violence appears to be a better solution over completely eliminating it, as well as proper parenting practices.
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