Picture this; a small ten-year-old girl cowering in the corner of her friends living room poorly attempting to hide her fear so she does not look lame in front of her peers. Tonight, the girl will lay awake for hours, the girl’s anxiety debilitating even the idea of sleep, and it will persist throughout the entire month. The source of all her fear is the film rendition of Stephen King’s The Shining, which was watched at the girl’s friends’ 5th-grade sleepover. However, one of the girl’s friends is now lying awake as well, but in excitement rather than fear. The movie made her heart race in an adrenaline rush in a way that is uncomparable to anything she has ever experienced before, and she cannot wait to experience this kind of rush again.
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These psychological effects include; sleeplessness (which can potentially be long-term), residual anxiety, fear (which may result in nightmares,) phobia, mental trauma, and behavioral changes that may even evolve into aggressive or self-dangering behaviors. These effects are prevalent to anyone who watches a horror film, but because children are more impressionable than adults it is much more likely that they will suffer from these side-effects. The insomnia that plagues many watchers of horror movies results from paranoia. One researcher describes it this way, “It all begins with the mind. If you saturate your mind with things you don’t want to think about, you’re not helping yourself (Lacap).” This theory is similar to the way residential anxiety can be implemented in the minds of children as well. “Whereas most adults have the capacity to separate fears generated from movies and television from fears incurred by actual trauma, a child 's mind is not fully developed or fully equipped with an adult 's defense mechanisms and sense of perspective (Russell).” So this basically means that one may suffer from fear of water or swimming after being traumatized by a movie such as Jaws. One of the of other most impactful results of watching a horror movie is behavioral changes. “People who watch a horror movie which includes bloody scenes in it have the chances of …show more content…
“Watching them (horror movies) on a regular basis tends to desensitize a person to violence which creates an impact on the behavior of the person. They become less startled when they face tough situations in real life as they are used to such anxious situations. These movies also become an effective tool to treat fears and phobias. While therapists search for a way to desensitize a person from fears and anxieties, this can be a perfect platform for such treatments (Effects of...).” So a naturally timid kid could help get over their fears, and grow braver as a person by just regularly watching movies with a scary
These psychological effects include; sleeplessness (which can potentially be long-term), residual anxiety, fear (which may result in nightmares,) phobia, mental trauma, and behavioral changes that may even evolve into aggressive or self-dangering behaviors. These effects are prevalent to anyone who watches a horror film, but because children are more impressionable than adults it is much more likely that they will suffer from these side-effects. The insomnia that plagues many watchers of horror movies results from paranoia. One researcher describes it this way, “It all begins with the mind. If you saturate your mind with things you don’t want to think about, you’re not helping yourself (Lacap).” This theory is similar to the way residential anxiety can be implemented in the minds of children as well. “Whereas most adults have the capacity to separate fears generated from movies and television from fears incurred by actual trauma, a child 's mind is not fully developed or fully equipped with an adult 's defense mechanisms and sense of perspective (Russell).” So this basically means that one may suffer from fear of water or swimming after being traumatized by a movie such as Jaws. One of the of other most impactful results of watching a horror movie is behavioral changes. “People who watch a horror movie which includes bloody scenes in it have the chances of …show more content…
“Watching them (horror movies) on a regular basis tends to desensitize a person to violence which creates an impact on the behavior of the person. They become less startled when they face tough situations in real life as they are used to such anxious situations. These movies also become an effective tool to treat fears and phobias. While therapists search for a way to desensitize a person from fears and anxieties, this can be a perfect platform for such treatments (Effects of...).” So a naturally timid kid could help get over their fears, and grow braver as a person by just regularly watching movies with a scary