On June 24, 2008, six teenagers from Long Island, NY, launched a two hour long crime spree in which they committed a violent mugging and several break-ins and thefts before finally being caught after a carjacking attempt. According to the teenagers, they were re-enacting the actions of the protagonist in the video game “Grand Theft Auto.” Although this may seem a bit extreme, it shows the true effects of violence being portrayed in the media (Boxer). Violent media contributes to aggressive behavior such as school shootings, desensitizes violence and fear of being harmed into adolescents.
A dysfunction of the functionalist perspective in the portrayal of violence includes an increase in the adolescent's aggression and allowing adolescents to …show more content…
An example of this is when a student decides to be the shooter in a school shooting. They are taking justice into their own hands and getting even by taking action against those who have wronged them. Another dysfunction of media is the conferral of status that young people feel like they have to maintain. The violence in media gives a “one second of fame” to the kids that feel the need to do something violent to be noticed by the rest of the world, even if it is for something bad. Another dysfunction is the digital divide of lower income families. This digital divide proves to have a role in what media they use more often. These lower income families do not have the money to get luxuries such as the internet,so the television is where they receive most of their media exposure. Because there has been an increase in the violence in TV shows and movies, lower income families are being exposed to more obvious violence. This allows not only a digital divide but a violent gap between the …show more content…
Studies show that when adolescents watch violent media they will show an increase in aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreases in empathy and helping behavior (Anderson). The association between physical aggression and media violence exposure is persistent and very robust; the input media has on violence has a greater influence than other factors such as neighborhood violence, home violence, child mental health, and male gender (Gentile). Not only is the long term effect of violent media present and scary, but there are short term effects of seeing and hearing violence in
A dysfunction of the functionalist perspective in the portrayal of violence includes an increase in the adolescent's aggression and allowing adolescents to …show more content…
An example of this is when a student decides to be the shooter in a school shooting. They are taking justice into their own hands and getting even by taking action against those who have wronged them. Another dysfunction of media is the conferral of status that young people feel like they have to maintain. The violence in media gives a “one second of fame” to the kids that feel the need to do something violent to be noticed by the rest of the world, even if it is for something bad. Another dysfunction is the digital divide of lower income families. This digital divide proves to have a role in what media they use more often. These lower income families do not have the money to get luxuries such as the internet,so the television is where they receive most of their media exposure. Because there has been an increase in the violence in TV shows and movies, lower income families are being exposed to more obvious violence. This allows not only a digital divide but a violent gap between the …show more content…
Studies show that when adolescents watch violent media they will show an increase in aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreases in empathy and helping behavior (Anderson). The association between physical aggression and media violence exposure is persistent and very robust; the input media has on violence has a greater influence than other factors such as neighborhood violence, home violence, child mental health, and male gender (Gentile). Not only is the long term effect of violent media present and scary, but there are short term effects of seeing and hearing violence in