Violent Media Is Good For Kids By Gerard Jones

Improved Essays
Gerard Jones is an American author and a comic book writer about media. Jones argued in his essay “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” to discuss several good reasons that violent media is beneficial to kids. In Jones’s essay, he talked about many good reasons that led me to be certain of his reasons why violent media are helpful to kids. Jones believes violent media assistances children to be more courageous to face their obstacles. Jones gave a very good example of his son, who was not able to play with his peers at school, because he was afraid to climb a tree with them. Jones knew he had to help his son to be brave enough to climb the tree, so he read him old Tarzan comics a fictional character that appears very strong and fearless …show more content…
Some people, especially parents may still disagree with him and say violent media has a bad effect on their children because it may cause them to act out of character or do harm to themselves or others. Jones would response to those parents telling them to stop over babying their children by not allowing them to get involve with violent media because they are scared to see their children act out there true feeling. Jones quoted an expert Melanie Moor, PhD psychologist that works with teen that “Children need violent entertainment in order to explore the inescapable feelings that they’ve been taught to deny, and to reintegrate those feeling into a more whole, more complex, more resilient selfhood”. Jones bring in an expert in the field of children is a good thing for people who are afraid for their kids to be involve with violent media are holding them back from learning new things on their own or making mistakes. Finally, Jones’s essay had some strong points made of why violent media is good for kids. Knowing that kids watching violent media may help them to be courageous to face their difficulties and may also be helpful in helping them to release their rage and be heard. The examples of his son, and Emily was well-supported and convincing because what

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The purpose of this study is to observe and identify the type and amount of violence that occurs in children’s cartoons and adult T.V. dramas. Since, children spent so much time watching T.V. usually about 7 hours a day they are exposed to violent and other antisocial behaviors. (Strasburger, 2010) We would like to understand how these violent actions portrayed in the media affect the development of the child as well as if it causes an increase in aggressiveness in children. Materials…

    • 1312 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jones uses a different approach when writing this article. Its not like most where he has a thesis statement, rather he is telling a story. Us as readers know what his thesis is once we start reading even though he does not directly state one. “Violent Media is Good for Kids” is what I believe to be a strongly written article about how a modest amount of violence and heroism can benefit a child’s development.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “Violent Media is Good for Kids,” Gerard Jones argues that children should not be sheltered from violent stories because they use them to “meet their emotional and developmental needs” (3). Jones points out that exposing children to rage helps them “utilize” (3) it, and overcome challenges presented throughout life. It is also shown that by channeling anger through violent medias, people are able to “pull themselves out of emotional traps” (2). Jones uses several children’s accounts to demonstrate his reasoning, and one in particular highlights his findings: that violent medias in fact help children become “more self-controlled and socially competent” (3). In spite of claiming that exposure to violent medias reaps many rewards, Jones also…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Zachary Long Professor Elchlepp English 103H Essay 2 October 12, 2014 Analysis of "Violent Media is Good for Kids" Within Gerard Jones' article, "Violent Media is Good for Kids", first published in Mother Jones on June 20 of 2000, Jones makes a claim explicitly within his title that violent media is good for children, specifically by allowing for children to form an identity and teaching them to overcome life's challenges using the tools they have i.e. channeling their natural, darker feelings such anger. Jones' argument carries with it many strengths such as the use of Melanie Moore as a source and his varied gender examples clearly showing no differentiation in the results of children exposed to violent media based on gender. However,…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jones primary goal in his essay was to convince the audience that violent media can have a positive impact on children and teens if used properly. He is very conceiving when speaking of his theory; he uses personal examples, a psychologist’s study, and other case studies on families. He states, “The dual-identity concept at the heart of many superhero stories helps kids negotiate the conflicts between the inner self and public self as they work through the early stages of socialization” (Jones 566). I find this statement to be the most convincing because it is relatable and realistic. I believe Jones accomplished his task of convincing the reader of his theory on the media and rage, and has helped spark new perspectives in many…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In an article about media violence, author Gerard Jones wrote book about the merits of exposure to violence in the media. Jones argues that, "young people love violence not because the media indoctrinates them, but because it gives them coping skills they desperately need" and that violence in novels and media everywhere teaches adolescents to "trust their own emotions, build stronger selves, and withstand the pressures of pop culture" (). It is the purpose of most books to entertain or inform, but they cannot do so if parents or teachers censor the information that best develops and emphasizes the awareness of violence. According to this quote, the very reason parents want The Grapes of Wrath to be banned is what potentially could make their child a better person. The violence in this novel brings attention to issues that readers should be made aware of and have a change to form an unbiased opinion about.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the modern world, violent media is one of many issues that concerns parents, teachers, and society on the effects of violent media on the developing generations. For example, there has been fear in our society that children exhibited to violent media will grow to become violent, creating a future for a violent society. Despite that, Gerard Jones in his argument “Violent Media Is Good for Kids,” says that he opposes to what society believes, or is made to believe. Jones argues that violent media can build strong and confident children in our society. Moreover, violence helps children learn the reality enclosed in our society by which he states that “rage” is “the emotion our culture distrusts the most.”…

    • 1065 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However, some have argued that there is no such thing as “bad media exposure.” Those who practice this philosophy stand by the belief that exposure to the real world is a good thing for young children. In a recent CBS article titled, Is Violence Good for Children? Gerald Jones, author of Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence, strongly believes that children’s exposure to all types of media will help them develop naturally. Jones says that, “Children choose their heroes more carefully than most think.…

    • 1774 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to the Livestrong.com article, How Watching Violence on TV Affects Kids written by Nicole Adams, children between the ages of 2 and 18 spend an average of three hours each day watching television. A three-year National Television Study found that children’s shows had the most violence of all television programming. Statistics read that some cartoons average twenty acts of violence in one hour, and that by the age of 18 children will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence on television. Since the invention of the television, as each year passes, children are spending more and more time watching television and using other electronic media that contains violence. Violence has become somewhat of a norm in American…

    • 2545 Words
    • 10 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

    One of the strongest parts of Jones is article is his counter arguments. Jones states, “I 'm not going to argue that violent entertainment is harmless. I think it has helped inspire some people to real-life violence” (Jones). Jones recognizes that he is going against what the majority on society thinks, instead of staying away from that he states what others opinions on media violence are and reflects how that could be true. Throughout Jones paper there was little bias, he went off of his self-experience and this is why he has such a strong opinion on this issue.…

    • 782 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper, I will be discussing the research concluded on the hypothesis of violent media causing aggression in people of various age groups. Review of Literature Media researchers and other reporters suggest that there is no consensus on the exposure to media violence and increased aggression in people of different ages. In 2014 an online survey was conducted to…

    • 1149 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Watching the violent programs with these heroes saving people this shows children that “Physical violence is an effective and appropriate way to solve conflicts.” (Vossen). Media violence may sometime have a good motive, but in the end only promotes aggressive behavior. Parents may not even realize or think twice about the media violence they are showing their children as bad or influential. Parents might not even notice that their children are all that aggressive.…

    • 1138 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Younger children become aware of what is happening around the world and in the public eye with having Fox News, CNN, or their local evening news on. While some believe children should be aware of what is going on in the world, all the news broadcasts these days is the violence around the world instead of the good. Violence on television is one of the most intense controversies for parents (Messner 1986). Children see people with guns and other weapons and believe they can be a copycat of those characters. The violence from the criminal television shows and the storylines that make “great television” is toxic to the youth.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Violence in media has been a controversial topic for some time now due to the idea that violent media causes aggressive behavior in children and adults. Mass media has been pointed to as the cause of adolescents committing crimes, because human beings tend to do what they see. However, there is no certain evidence that these claims are true, and I personally disagree with the argument. Some people say that exposing children to violent media such as television shows, movies, or video games, will cause them to display more aggressive behavior because they are imitating what they see people older than them doing. This argument is based on the thought that children follow the actions of people they view as role models, whether that be a celebrity…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays