Violent Media's Negative Effects On Children

Superior Essays
The rise and proliferation of media in modern society presents a problem to troubled parents: does violent media affect the growth of children? This question has been examined by numerous researchers and psychologists, either lauding or accusing the media, especially violent media, for the effect that it has on people. Some, like Gerard Jones, author of numerous comic books, say that violent media is empowering, that box office smash hits like The Avengers tell the tale of kid-friendly superheroes that defeat the “bad guys” and save the day. Others, such as Dr. David Moore, a professional psychologist, condemn violent media, labeling it as the cause of multiple tragedies, such as the ubiquitous school shootings. Morals are an issue at the …show more content…
Violent media can desensitize very egregious topics, causing indifference or a lack of emotive response in children when exposed to said topics. Television can be a waste of time, serving to placate the individual who sits on his or her couch without any motivation. It can dull the creativity of children, allowing them to follow the plot instead of making their own opinion. Video games advocate violence, with all of its digital blood and dark, antagonistic themes, and contribute to the obesity issue. Addiction is a very possible issue relative to video games (Emmons 3). The movie industry, full of violence and sexual content, corrupts many while glorifying the action of the “protagonist.” The Internet, while very helpful, can be very dangerous, flooded with criminals and those who would harm others given the chance. The Internet especially can influence the thought processes of constant users. Nathaneal Enwald, a professor at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point says, “A growing number of researchers are starting to uncover that the over saturation of stimulation and the constant distractions the Internet provides is causing us to become superficial thinkers” (Enwald …show more content…
"Is the Internet Making Us Stupid?." Is the Internet Making Us Stupid?. University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.uwsp.edu/pointeronline/Pages/articles/Is-the-Internet-Making-Us-Stupid.aspx>.
"Eyes - Poor Eyesight Can Lead To Bad Grades." MedicineNet. Vision Council of America, 24 July 2002. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. <http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20974>.
Gardner, Amanda. "Does Obesity Affect School Performance?." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/health/obesity-affect-school-performance/>.
Hatch, Orrin. "The Problem: Youth Violence." Children, Violence, and the Media 1 (1999): 1-7. Print.
Jenkins, Bill. "The Truth About Video Games and the Brain: What Research Tells Us." The Truth About Video Games and the Brain. Scientific Learning, 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. <http://www.scilearn.com/blog/video-games-brain.php>.
Manville, Bill, and David Moore. "What Role Might Video Game Addiction have Played in the Columbine Shootings?." NYDailyNews 23 Apr. 2009: n. page. Health. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Nihiser, Allison. "Body Mass Index Measurement in Schools." Executive Summary 1 (2005): 2-6.

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Controlling Your Inner Rage In Gerard Jones short essay, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” he argues violent comic books, bloody video games, and explicit rap is beneficial for youth. Jones believes violent media does not make a child violent, but helps them release rage and help develop confidence. Jones uses a personal example of how the Hulk helped him in his adolescence. Due to this experience as a child, he decided to research and discover if other kids had the same issues.…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Implementing changes to the MPAA, Motion Picture Association of America, rating system eliminates foul behavior, protects children’s environments, and models appropriate language expected from them. The current rating system hurts places such as school, streets, and the home environment. For example, if a teenager watches a NC-17 movie he will act older. Since the content is restricted from the teenager, it will instigate the teen to act more mature and want to act as the actors (Gustafson 1). He is now mimicking older citizens as if he was a young toddler learning how to speak.an easy fix to this is more security and cameras for the movie theater.…

    • 1243 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Violence is a major problem in American culture, and many people wonder about the role of media. With all of the gun violence happening across the nation at the hands of our youth, one must wonder where the cause of this violence stems from. In John Leo’s article, “When Life Imitates Video”, the author firmly believes that violent youth behavior is associated with media violence. Throughout his article, the author attempts to persuade his audience of the impact video games have on children. He begins to build his credibility with personal facts, citing reputable sources, and engaging emotional appeals.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Violence in the media is glamorized, showing youth that aggressive actions are permissible and in some cases proper to imitate. Television, entertainment, and media all together are a few of the sources for the glamorization of violent lifestyles. The media promotes aggression as well as invites for imitation. Specifically this imitation is leaned towards the youth, with a growing mind and changing psychology the youth are left vulnerable to the circumstances of reality and all the violence included with it. The question now arises, is violence in the media, proper for the youth?…

    • 600 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    · "Are Schools to Blame for the Childhood Obesity Epidemic?" The Nutrition Network. Web. 01 Mar. 2012. . · Elise, Abigail. "…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Violent Media

    • 1050 Words
    • 4 Pages

    1. What is the writer’s overall argument? What does s/he want the reader to consider? The author’s overall argument is that children, particularly those suffering from low self-confidence, should expose themselves to violent media because of its potential psychological benefits.…

    • 1050 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Television influences the health and behavior of adolescents. Television is describe as an electronic device which deliveries moving images and sound from a source to a receiver (Britannica, 2016). Adolescents’ not only have access of watching live television but have the capability of digital video recording (DVR) service. DVR service allows shows to be downloaded for viewing at a future date and time (Encyclopedia.com, 2016). Television can be a positive or negative learning source.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Everyday 30 people are murdered with a gun, 162 more are injured, and 53 use a gun to commit suicide.” (Erik Kain). In today's world real world violence has been becoming a bigger issue. Violent video games and violent role playing games may be to blame for this. Violent video games give people the ability to have a virtual gun and use it to do wrong, after years of addiction to video games they can influence people, resulting in increased violence.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Does video game violence cause aggressive behavior? No, it doesn’t. Violent video games are those that represent violence as the best or only way to resolve conflict, and they are games that don’t exist in real life. The term “violent video games is defined in the scholarly world. When we define violent video games it has a little meaning, but in the case of violent games, its alternative is a peaceful approach to resolving differences.…

    • 1246 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The essay, “Does the Internet Make You Dumber?” written by Nicholas Carr, addresses the negative impact that the internet has on us. He uses experiments from highly recognized universities and people to support his view. He emphasizes that the use of technology and multitasking distracts us which leads to lack of focus, “turning us into scatter superficial thinkers.” Carr conveys that while we may think we are good multitaskers, we need to focus to meaningfully understand and retain knowledge. He expresses how negative the loss of mental discipline and strength can affect our lives with the use of a hyperbole.…

    • 764 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    According to Carr (2010), reasoning has been fundamentally altered by the Internet into superficial thought processes through skimming, diversions, and facile learning. The research confirms that the ‘mental calisthenics’ involved in surfing the Internet, consequently puts even more of a strain on the brain, which then results in the lack of comprehension (Carr 2010, p. 3). For example, navigating Wikipedia, where there are numerous links to other sub-topics, have been found to considerably increase distractibility and oversimplified thinking because of the countless information the brain is inundated with, such as advertisements, formats, and others. In essence, screen technology through the loss of focus and depth of thought has radically changed cognition, which is pernicious to an intellectual…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The article “Violent Media is Good for Kids” by Gerard Jones is very convincing. Jones argument goes against the majority of societies opinions. Jones article first appeared on Mother Jones, which targeted many parents and their opinions on weather or not they agreed with showing their child media violence. Jones believes that media violence is not harmful for children, it is helpful. Jones also believes that when children see and use violent media it is helping them in a positive way so children meet their emotional and developmental needs.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As technology develops, some people worry about the effects of those changes upon our society. Mr. Nicholas Carr, the author of “Is the Internet Making Us Dumber?” (Wall Street Journal) claims that the internet as a medium for information is having a detrimental effect upon the human brain and changing the way we think in a negative way. He claims that the internet has an excess of information and distractors that detract from our ability to focus, concentrate, and consolidate memory properly.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Video Games Do Not Cause Violent Behavior Over the years there have been several incidents that have stirred up the emotions of people, parents and especially investigators. These incidents include the Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, the Columbine Massacre, and the incident in Colorado where a man went on a shooting spree in an Aurora movie theater. There was one key thing that aroused people’s emotions connected by investigators to all three incidents: video games. This led to the belief that if the parents’ children play violent video games that the child will become violent. Even though people have been led to believe that video games cause people to become cruel and commit violent actions, video games do not cause people to commit acts of violence because they don 't have time to…

    • 1737 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    Pp. 353-359. Barlow, Dudley. “Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy.” Education Digest, Feb2007, Vol.…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays