Gerard Jones Violent Media Is Good For Kids Summary

In “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” Gerard Jones claims that When we try to protect our children from their own feelings and fantasies, we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood. Jones points out that children need violent entertainment to explore the inescapable feeling that they’ve been taught to deny and to reintegrate those feelings into a more whole, more complex, and more resilient selfhood. Gerard states that children need violent entertainment. Violent entertainment helps kids meet their emotional needs, helps kids not feel powerless, and creates a tool to muster their rage. To follow up, he states that modern kids are far more likely to grow up too passive, too distrustful, of themselves, and too easily manipulated. To finalize, Jones states that when we try to protect our children from their own feelings and fantasies, we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood.
Currently, Media Violence is an ongoing issue that is prominent throughout many video games, television, music, and movies. Without the proper investigation of the effects, there is not a clear answer to whether violence is …show more content…
According to an article by James L Payne, there are several ways how the media can influence children and teens to commit violent crimes. First, there are cases where suicidal individuals have committed violent acts of popularity to boost their self-esteem. Chris Harper-Mercer, a suicidal individual who killed nine people at Umpqua Community College, posted online, “"Seems the more people you kill, the more you are in the limelight," and stated, "This is the only time I will ever be in the news I am so insignificant." In addition, terrorist violence is closely connected to the media; some perpetrators have believed that using the media during violent acts can give them enough attention to help their