How Does Media Violence Affect Youth Violence?

Superior Essays
A casual player of Grand Theft Auto might find humor out in killing strippers on the streets because it is “just a game”. Over the past 30 years, there has been major research on the relationship between televised violence and violent behavior among younger children. Cross- sectional, longitudinal, and experimental studies have all confirmed this connection. Today, many youths have television in their rooms which could give children a greater opportunity to view programs without parental supervision. Researchers show that young children could copy aggressive and dangerous acts on TV in their play with peers. Before the age of 4, children are unable to know the difference between fact and fantasy and may view violence as normal. Media Violence does affect youth violence; if …show more content…
Throughout the world many young children watch violent television shows and play violent video games without their parents knowing. Many children think it is right to act out violently because they do so in video games like Grand Theft Auto. In television shows like The Walking Dead there are people killing, fighting, and doing crazy things to each other. Many times they end up getting hurt. Young viewers will sometimes act on what they see. If kids play Grand Theft Auto they might think it is right to steal cars, shoot people, or hit women.
Children will view more than 200,000 acts of violence and more than 16,000 murders before age 18. Many television programs display 812 violent acts per hour and children 's programming more specifically, cartoons will displays up to 20 violent acts hourly. It has been proven that the effects of TV violence have been summarized by the National Institute of Mental Health (1982) that violence on television does lead to aggressive behavior by children and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    McLuhan states that, “Our conventional response to all media, namely that is how they are used that counts, is the numb stance of the technological idiot. For the ‘content’ of a medium is like the juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.” People are susceptible to everything they see and hear. They will believe and do almost anything the media tells them to. +Using the foundation of McLuhan’s essay “The Medium is the Message,” one can see how certain mediums affect our reactions through daily encounters.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The adverse effects from violent media on youth have long vexed the American public. For decades, scholars studied the impact that TV and film violence had on children, and concluded that high exposure to televised violence may lead to an increase in aggressive behaviors and desensitization (Eron, Huesmann, Lefkowitz, & Walder, 1972; Josephson, 1987; Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, & Eron, 2003). However, technological advancements in the video game industry changed the media landscape, and it was expected that video game violence would have similar, possibly greater, effects on youth as TV and film; thus, video games that stimulated aggressive attitudes, feelings, and behaviors in children were of specific concern. Video games have become…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When parent compared the amount of violence currently accessible with the violence viewed when they were children, they would notice violence is more available to view today than in the past. Because of this issue, parents are becoming concerned with what their children are observing. The average American child spends about forty hours per week viewing media; therefore, media has a large affect on how the child will act (Simmons). Since children tend to copy what they observe, over time children believe violent actions are acceptable and are actually entertaining. Even young children are watching cartoons where innocent-looking animals are blowing up their friends with grenades (Ellison 296).…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Stricter Regulations

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Watching TV is one of the most popular hobbies in America. There are many different genres to watch everyday on television from romance to horror and comedy to action, there is something for everyone. During prime time television, the Parents Television Council logged 624 scenes of violence. Children under the age of 7 lack the ability to make the connection between a punishment and the crime that took place earlier in the show. Being exposed to violence can cause aggressive behavior in children.…

    • 659 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What do we know about the impact of TV violence and aggression on our children 's values, attitudes, and behavior? There is a growing body of research that has begun these very questions, and the results are. TV violence and promiscuity can negatively affect our children on some…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another view from the detractors of violence in the media says that video games are the most harmful media format to kids, because they are fully knowledgeable of what they are doing, and in the video games that promote murder, theft and prostitution, the kids imply that such things are “okay” and normal in the society so they don’t feel the need to be discrete about these matters, “it is believed that acting out such violence as opposed to just viewing the violence causes the children to become more familiar with how to act out violence without consequences.” - The Academy of Pediatrics.…

    • 1132 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Did you know something going on in your house right now can affect your child’s entire life? Several longitudinal studies over the effects of T.V. and media violence explain the risks taken when you expose young children to violence in media and T.V. Early exposure to T.V. and media violence can make longitudinal changes in a child’s whole life by altering the way they think, changing how they act socially, causing adulthood aggression, and chemically changing your brain. How does T.V. and media violence affect a child’s brain? In Sasha Emmons article “Is Media Violence Damaging to Kids?”…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Gun violence is an increasing issue creating many debates on what the probable causes are. America has had a focused cause among children and youth; video games. Many proposals alongside gun control include how violent video games cause tendencies of engagement in real and harmful violence, particularly within the youth population. The ongoing argument on whether the video game industry leads/induces violent or aggressive behaviors within youth and children. While parents should keep a vigilant eye on their children when playing violent video games is a good thing, a child playing violent video games does not increase the probability that child will cause real violence within their lifetime.…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The cable television network has been listed by several research agencies as the immediate type of media that a large number of individuals are able to access, most importantly identifying the minors as such group of people (Jusoff). Although, it has come with a lot of positives especially in the area of entertainment, scholars have pointed out that the information chunked out in large scale especially to the audience constituting of minors may greatly affect their development, behavioral attitude, health and learning or cognitive abilities of the child. The above debate has persisted for several years and numerous scholars have published journals documenting their empirical observations. Arguably, there is some sort of challenges when it comes to establishing the correlation between televisions and imbibing of violent tendencies among children, a few researches have pointed out that it is probable that minors could internalize and implement the scenes or messages that advance the culture of violence. (Jusoff).…

    • 1316 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Electronic Aggression

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Studies reveal that children watch approximately 28 hours of television a week, more time than they spend in school. The typical American child will view more than 200,000 acts of violence, including more than 16,000 murders before age 18. Television programs display 812 violent acts per hour; children’s programming, particularly cartoons, displays up to 20 violent acts hourly…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “The average 7th grader watches about 4 hours of television per day, and 60% of those shows contain some violence. The average 7th grader plays electronic games at least 4 hours per week, and 50% of those games are violent. According to the American Psychiatric Association, by age 18 an American child will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence.” Have you ever watched a movie or show that includes violence? Have you ever played a violent game?…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Children possess underdeveloped minds, thus making children more susceptible to the influence of violent television shows. Some studies have shown that most children have “a twelve percent increase in aggressive behavior after watching violent television…” (Heffner Allpsych.com). As seen in the data, any degree of television violence can cause problematic effects in children’s behavior and psyche. “A 2010 national survey of television-watching behavior in children showed that 72% of children reported no time restrictions over television viewing while 52% reported that they were free to watch any type of content they wished” (Novakdjokovicfoundation.org).…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Children Are Dying

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Youth violence can be triggered by many means including the media, insufficient parental supervision, and substance abuse. The media is a serious cause of youth violence. The media is anything we hear or see on radios, mobile devices, or televisions. Many times youth view things in the media that cause them to commit acts of violence. Video games with explicitly violent material can take over someone’s mind, especially a juvenile's.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The more televised violence a child watches, the more acceptable aggressive behavior becomes for that child. Even an innocuous object that has been associated with aggression may later stimulate violence. This explains why children observe one kind of aggression on television and commit another kind of aggressive act ( L. Rowell and Jessica). when kids are exposed to media full of aggression and violence, it can increase antisocial and bullying behavior and decrease their empathy for victims of violence(James P…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The twenty-first century is called the age of globalization. It is due to an active involvement of media. No doubt, the media is an important pillar of the state, at the same time it is causing some deterioration of society peace. It is the topic of many debates whether the media is a blessing or curse. The person linked with media research will argue both in the support and opposition of the media.…

    • 1163 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays