Violence in the Media The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut once again opened up the debate of a potential correlation between violence in the media and real life shootings.
Following the event, President Obama asked for a ten million dollar study on the effects that violent media has on our youth. Some politicians, such as Representative Jim Matheson of Utah, believe that laws should be passed to ban the sale of violent media such as video games to minors (Sasso). It is estimated that children in our country between the ages of eight and eighteen spend more than six hours a day using entertainment media such as music, television, and video games. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Research …show more content…
1. A cartoon showing how adolescents can learn violent behavior such as bullying from playing video games and how the Supreme Court refuses to address these issues (Summers).
Contrary to the evidence presented here, some researchers believe that violence in the media has no harmful effect on adolescents at all and some feel that mental issues have to be present in order for violence in music, television, and video games to lead to aggressive or violent behavior. Many politicians believe that banning youth from exposure to violence in the media is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has struck down laws from various states that have attempted to ban sales on violent video game to minors on the grounds that it is a violation of free speech (Sasso).
The debate over the correlation between violence in the media and aggressive and violent behavior in our youth has been going on for decades The evidence is now clear and convincing that media violence is a causal factors of real life violence and aggression. It is pretty apparent that exposure to violence in the media, including music, television, and video games, can present harmful health risks to children and adolescents. Parents need to help guide their children into making proper choices when it comes to entertainment
Following the event, President Obama asked for a ten million dollar study on the effects that violent media has on our youth. Some politicians, such as Representative Jim Matheson of Utah, believe that laws should be passed to ban the sale of violent media such as video games to minors (Sasso). It is estimated that children in our country between the ages of eight and eighteen spend more than six hours a day using entertainment media such as music, television, and video games. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Research …show more content…
1. A cartoon showing how adolescents can learn violent behavior such as bullying from playing video games and how the Supreme Court refuses to address these issues (Summers).
Contrary to the evidence presented here, some researchers believe that violence in the media has no harmful effect on adolescents at all and some feel that mental issues have to be present in order for violence in music, television, and video games to lead to aggressive or violent behavior. Many politicians believe that banning youth from exposure to violence in the media is unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has struck down laws from various states that have attempted to ban sales on violent video game to minors on the grounds that it is a violation of free speech (Sasso).
The debate over the correlation between violence in the media and aggressive and violent behavior in our youth has been going on for decades The evidence is now clear and convincing that media violence is a causal factors of real life violence and aggression. It is pretty apparent that exposure to violence in the media, including music, television, and video games, can present harmful health risks to children and adolescents. Parents need to help guide their children into making proper choices when it comes to entertainment