The Impact of Media Violence free essay sample

The Impact of Media Violence While violence is not new to the human race, it is an increasing problem in modern society. With greater access to firearms and explosives, the scope and efficiency of violent behavior has had serious consequences. Day after day children and adolescents are exposed to violent media including television programs, movies, and video games; as a result there appears to be a strong correlation between these and aggressive behavior within vulnerable at risk segments of youth. People need only look at the recent school shootings and the escalating rate of youth homicides among urban adolescents to appreciate the extent of this ominous trend. However, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a list of recommendations to address television aggressiveness. The causes of youth violence are multifactorial and include such variables as poverty, family psychopathology, child abuse, exposure to domestic and community violence, substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders, researches claim that childrens exposure to media violence plays an important role in the etiology of violent behavior. We will write a custom essay sample on The Impact of Media Violence or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Unfortunately, not only violent images on television but also movies, have inspired people to set spouses on fire in their beds, lie down in the middle of highways, extort money by placing bombs in airplanes, rape, steal, murder, and commit numerous other shootings and assaults. The Academy of Pediatrics says: â€Å"More than one thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in certain children, desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe that the world is a ‘meaner and scarier’ place than it is. It increases aggressiveness and anti-social behavior, makes them less sensitive to violence and to victims of violence, and it raises their appetite for more violence in entertainment and in real life. Another important fact, is how media violence is especially damaging young children (under 8) because they cannot easily tell the difference between real life and fantasy. Violent im ages on television and in movies may seem real to these children and sometimes viewing these images can even traumatize them. In addition, risky behavior by children and young adults can include violence against others, lack of remorse for consequences. The type of faulty thinking creates stressors in children which can lead to the onset of many different symptoms. Children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation. An example that the Child Development Institute gives is the television show â€Å"Jack Ass†. There have been several accidents related to young men attempting stunts that are done on the show. The act of imitating what they have seen on a television show causes injury to themselves or others around them. According to a research of the American Psychological Association, a typical child in the U. S. watches 28 hours of TV weekly, seeing as many as 8,000 murders by the time he or she finishes elementary school at age 11, and worse, the killers are depicted as getting away with the murders 75% of the time while showing no remorse or accountability. Such TV violence socialization may make children immune to brutality and aggression, while others become fearful of living in such a dangerous society. By the time the average child is 18 years old, they will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders. Acts of minors killing across the United States is sadly becoming trendy and familiar. School shootings are tragic and yet that is all that is said about them. It seems as though words of action to stop such tragedies are just that. Educated experts study reasons why such crimes take place, but the findings are rarely put into action. In 2001, Time’s article shows how 15 year old high school freshman Charles Andy Williams methodically shot and killed two classmates and wounded 13 others, smiling as he went and stopping at least once to reload the revolver he used in the attack before being taken into custody by sheriffs deputies. He was held without bond and he was charged, appropriately, as an adult with murder (Tragedy at Santee 2001). The violence and content that the media of the country displays to children causes hidden irreversible damage that most deny. Unfortunately, violent situations are all too common in everyday entertainment and there are far less programming choices that are non-violent than there are violent. A media violence statistic shows that the level of violence during Saturday morning cartoons is higher than the level of violence during prime time. There are 3-5 violent acts per hour in prime time, versus 20-25 acts per hour on Saturday morning. This fact alone should be enough for parents to become more involved in what their children are exposed to. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has created a series of suggestions to address television violence. It suggests that physicians talk openly with parents about the nature and extent of viewing patterns in their homes. Consequently, parents should limit the amount of television children watch per day from the average 3 to 4 hours, which is double the amount of recommended hours, to 1 to 2 hours. They will compel their children to do something more productive like reading a book or playing outside. In limiting TV time, parents also need to monitor what programs their children are watching and restrict the viewing of violent programs. Just because a child is not watching as much violence, does not mean he or she still cant be influenced by it. Another way to keep children away from excessive media violence is to teach them alternatives to violence. â€Å"Parents should not be so quick to let their children plop down in front of a TV set. They should interest their children with something much more productive and exciting to do† (Huesmann L. R. 218). However this task is complicated and it is important for children to be given the proper support in dealing with issues of violence. If not, they could end up like one of the thousands of criminals sent to prisons and on death row for mindless and unnecessary acts of violence. Finally, physicians should make parents and schools media literate, meaning they should understand the risks of exposure to violence and teach children how to interpret what they see on television and in the movies, including the intent and content of commercials. In doing so, children may be increasingly able to discern which media messages are suitable. Schools and homes should teach children conflict resolution. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, along with medical organizations, has been a strong advocate for television ratings and installation of chips to block certain programs. Physicians, in their role as health promoters, should become more active in educating the media to become more sensitive to the impact of violence on youth. The content of television is becoming increasingly vulgar and totally unnecessary. Murder, rape, profanity, crimes of all varieties as well as abuse are displayed on television, in movies, etc, just for the purpose of entertainment. Several precautions exist currently to help with the media violence issue and there are various more things that can still be done. Parental advisory labels, television rating systems, movie ratings are fluent and abundant. Even though the causes of youth violence are multifactorial, parents definitely play a significant role in their children’s education, that’s why they need to pay more attention and not sit them in front of the television weather it is for movies, video games, or general television shows. In addition, it is important the education to continue with each passing generation in order to avoid misfortunes like the ones mentioned before. Works Cited Media Violence. Pediatrics. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://pediatrics. aappublications. org/content/95/6/949. shortgt;. The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions. American Academy of Child amp; Adolescent Psychiatry. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://www. aacap. org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_children_and_adolescents_opportunities_for_clinical_interventionsgt;. Facts and Figures about Our TV Habit. Raw Living Foods Lifestyle ChiDiet. net. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://rawlivingfoods. typepad. com/1/2009/12/facts_and_figur. htmlgt;. Charles Andy Williams TIME. Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews TIME. com. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://www. time. com/time/nation/article/0,8599,101847,00. htmlgt;. Violence in th e Media Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects. American Psychological Association (APA). Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://www. pa. org/research/action/protect. aspxgt;. Huesmann L. R. , Moise-Titus, J. , Podolski, C. L. , amp; Eron, L. D. Longitudinal relations between childrens exposure to TV violence and their aggressive and violent behavior in young adulthood: 1977-1992. Developmental Psychology, Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 201-221. The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children. Psychology Classroom at AllPsych Online. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. lt;http://allpsych. com/journal/violentmedia. htmlgt;. Tragedy at Santee. House Editorial. The Washington Times. 03 Dec. 2011.