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. A child being exposed to violent media, the author contends, is a necessary and legitimate outlet for expressing suppressed emotions such as rage, fear, greed, and loneliness (“Fear, greed, power-hunger, rage: these are aspects of our selves that we try not to experience in our lives but often want, even need, to experience vicariously through stories of others.”). Void of an outlet to express these natural emotions, a child is left unequipped to handle them in a positive …show more content…
Parents would be the main audience for this essay because they have final decision as to what is acceptable content that their children can consume. The general consensus among the average parent is that children should not view violent media because they may imitate what they see, read, or hear, but by mentioning his personal experience as an unhappy child being exposed to violent media (which provided an outlet for expressing suppressed emotions) and its subsequent positive effects on his self-confidence, the author is challenging that widely held …show more content…
Conventional wisdom contends that violent media is harmful to children, but the author flips this assertion on its head by claiming that violent media, instead, provides positive psychological benefits to children. The evidence that he presents to support his argument is underwhelming, at best. He does not provide any empirical data to support his claims (his study is the closest thing to empirical evidence, but it’s lacking). He relies mainly on his experience as a child, his experience as a parent, his experience dealing with his son who, like he, suffered from low self-confidence, and his experience working with several troubled children who, in the end, benefitted from being exposed to violent
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. A child being exposed to violent media, the author contends, is a necessary and legitimate outlet for expressing suppressed emotions such as rage, fear, greed, and loneliness (“Fear, greed, power-hunger, rage: these are aspects of our selves that we try not to experience in our lives but often want, even need, to experience vicariously through stories of others.”). Void of an outlet to express these natural emotions, a child is left unequipped to handle them in a positive …show more content…
Parents would be the main audience for this essay because they have final decision as to what is acceptable content that their children can consume. The general consensus among the average parent is that children should not view violent media because they may imitate what they see, read, or hear, but by mentioning his personal experience as an unhappy child being exposed to violent media (which provided an outlet for expressing suppressed emotions) and its subsequent positive effects on his self-confidence, the author is challenging that widely held …show more content…
Conventional wisdom contends that violent media is harmful to children, but the author flips this assertion on its head by claiming that violent media, instead, provides positive psychological benefits to children. The evidence that he presents to support his argument is underwhelming, at best. He does not provide any empirical data to support his claims (his study is the closest thing to empirical evidence, but it’s lacking). He relies mainly on his experience as a child, his experience as a parent, his experience dealing with his son who, like he, suffered from low self-confidence, and his experience working with several troubled children who, in the end, benefitted from being exposed to violent