Media Causes Violent Behaviors

Xiong Yang

Brian Lewis

English 1022.55

Collaborative Blogging Project

February 07, 2010

Media Causes Violent Behaviors

Media brings joy, laughter, excitement, and entertainment to our homes. It keeps us posted on what’s happening around the world. It gives us another perspective on our sense of imaginations and views. Although there may be some positive aspects of what the media provides, there are also negative impacts it has on our homes. Children and teens these days are acquiring violent behaviors and aggression from what they see on television, movies, and video games.

About 99% of today’s household has a television compared to only 10% back in 1950. This is a dramatic increase in the opportunity for youth to watch shows containing acts of violence. With the busy work schedule of parents these days, letting a young child sit in front of the television seems to be the solution. According to some parents, with the rules and regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), most television shows are controlled and violent acts are at a very minimal. Other parents may even argue that most shows such as Bugs Bunny, Tom and Jerry, or the Coyote and Road Runner do not show violence but only hilarious acts. A three year study known as the Television Violence Monitoring Project found that, “sixty one percent of television programs contain some violence and only four percent of television programs with violent content feature an antiviolence theme” (Media Facts and Statistics).

The truth is any show that has any acts of brutality or aggression from a character towards another is violence. At an early age children can easily learn and pick up what they see happening around them. Most children watch what they find is interesting to them on television with no or minimal parental control. Young children who are exposed to violent television shows or movies, has the tendency to develop violent behaviors or acts of aggression later on in life. At an early age, children are less able to distinguish what is fantasy or reality. In most case, children will imitate what they see on a television screen onto real life situations. For example, most children, mainly males, grow up wanting to be a hero. In some television shows or movies, the hero never gets in trouble for using any acts of violence. The hero is also rewarded for their acts of violence at the end. Thus, these children who are exposed to these kind of shows have the mindset that if their favorite super hero can do harm onto others, they too can do the same as well.

A good number of studies have shown that not only younger children are affected by violent television shows and movies, youth and teens are vulnerable as well. In several studies, children and teens are anticipated to have higher levels of aggression and likely to carry out acts of violence after watching violent shows and movies. Another finding is that, teens that are more aggressive and violent tends to like shows or movies that contain some sort of violent act than their peers, who are less aggressive and violent.

While there are many ways to help steer kids away from violent television shows and movies, video games is the leading cause for violent behaviors and aggression. Video games not only let a child or teen see the violent behaviors of the characters, but it lets the player become the character themselves caring out these violent acts. When an individual is not only watching these acts of violence unfold in front of the television screen, but is engaged in the violent acts themselves, the impact is greater.

For example, in the cartoon Tom and Jerry, Jerry, the mouse, places a bomb under the chair of Tom, the cat. When the bomb goes off, the screen lights up and flashes. Then a word is place on the screen of the television that says,” BOOM!” In contrast, in the video game, Metal Gear Solid, when the player throws a bomb at the enemies, the bomb explodes with a loud bang sound and everything around shakes. Blood is splatter everywhere and when the cloud of dust clears, the enemy is covered in a pool of blood. As one can see, the intensity of a video game is greater than that of a television show.

Mainly all makers and producers of violent video games argued that these violent games are made for adult use only. It is the parents who are to blame due to the fact that they are the ones buying their underage child such a game. According to the Federal Trade Commission, “eighty three percent of game purchases for underage consumers are made by parents or by parents and children together” (Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked).
In most cases, parents don’t even know which game consist of more or less violence. Parents generally think that games are made for all kids, thus, ratings on games aren’t really considered.

Some violent video games are made for the sole purpose of training soldiers for combat in the military. It’s a less expensive way of training as well as it provides a safer environment and practice for the soldiers. Yet, these same games are available for anyone to purchase from any local store to play. For insistence, the game “Doom” is played by most military soldiers as a training purpose. It gives the soldiers a real live like sense of combat. On April 20, 1999, there was a shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado where two teenage boys walked into their school, shot, and killed thirteen other students. It was found that these two teenage boys had been playing the game “Doom” prior to the shooting. Their patterns and acts during the shooting are well related to what is taught in the game.

All in all, one can see that violent behaviors and aggression in children and teens are learned from what is being watched on television, movies, and video games. These negative behaviors can certainly lead to lifelong consequences. Without the proper interventions, violence will definitely break out into our homes and community, where one does not know the different between fantasy and reality. One of the many solutions is that the media should educate the parents for which is appropriate or not for one’s child.


Works Cited

“Is Violence a Problem.”Enotes.com, Inc. 2010. Web. 05 Feb 2010. http://www.enotes.com/media-violence-problem-article

“Media Facts and Statistics.” National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. 26 Feb. 2008. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. http://www.safeyouth.org/scripts/faq/mediaviolstats.asp

“Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked.” Jenkins, Henry. KCTS, PBS. Web. 04 Feb. 2010. http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html

“Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression.” Shin, Grace. Serendip. 2007. Web. 05 Feb. 2010. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723

Are the Working Parent's at Fault?

Jazmin Kittleson, Brian Lewis, English 1022 55, Collaborative Blogging Project, February 7, 2010

Are the Working Parent’s at Fault?

With the more time parents spend away from their children it’s allowing more time for the mass media of advertising to get inside those minds of the children, which is also showing a greater influence on the many negative impacts in their lives. With the economy the way it is right now and with those fortunate parents who still have work available to them seem to be spending as much time in the work area as possible, allowing the time spent with their children to decrease due to this affect of work. Ever since the beginning of advertising in the media it has brought negative influence in our children’s lives, but more than ever before we have seen a growing negative impact on our children right now. We see more of our children spending more time in front of the television, playing video games, watching movies, and spending time on the internet. Many of these actions and images given through these sources of media are causing negative side effects in our children’s lives. It is about time to take in control of these negative side effects such as drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence and figure out what can be done to insure our children’s safety.

The number one source of advertisement that has had the greatest impact on our children today would have to be the television set. The percentage of United States households that posses at least one television set is at a high of 99%. “According to the A.C. Nielsen Co., the average American watches more than 4 hours of TV each day (or 28 hours/week, or 2 months of nonstop TV-watching per year). In a 65-year life, that person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube” (Television & Health). That is a lot of time spent in front of the television which otherwise could have been spent doing something else more productive. Within that average of four hours a day of television watched each day also includes any movies seen through the television. Along with the many disadvantages of watching television also comes some advantages, but disadvantages apply greatly compared to any advantage. Some advantages to watching television would have to be television seen as an educator and an entertainer. We see this by parents using television to keep up with current events on the evening news, grade schoolers can become knowledgeable on certain things shown on wildlife and nature shows, and television can also help preschoolers learn the alphabet on public television. Even though we do see some advantages to young children watching television we also see many disadvantages and these are the aspects that hurt our children the most in the long run. Children who are constantly spending more than four hours a day watching television are at higher risk of becoming overweight and obese. Many of the views seen on television by our children are violent acts which show aggressive behavior and can turn our children into being frightened of what could happen or into violent criminals themselves. Another disadvantage for our children would have to be how television often depicts characters of risky behavior, such as smoking and drinking, and also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes. There are many ways of transforming those disadvantages of watching television into many advantages. Some of these different ways include viewing the programs before your kids watch them, watch television together as a family and talk with your kids about what has been previewed before you and add a family television schedule or movie night, make it fun. Many parents can set good examples for their children by limiting their own television viewing, parents can also keep televisions out of bedrooms, turn the television off during meals, don’t allow their kids to watch television while doing homework, and limit number of hours watched by stocking the room with many books, magazines, toys, puzzles, and board games.

With television being the number one source of advertisement for young children’s viewing, another source of advertisement would have to be the video games that young children play. “Among elementary and middle-school populations, girls play for an average of about 5.5 hours/week and boy’s average 13 hours/week” (The Effect of Video Games on Children: What Parent Need to Know). These statistics are actually quiet high especially for the young boys. Many video games have become an invariable source for young children, it is a positive feeling when we see young children interacting in educational video games but in all reality we never see that as much as we hoped to. Video games allow for an array of positive and negative advantages in our children’s lives, but of course more we mostly see negative affects taking an effect than the positive ones. Not only are video games fun and entertaining for young children, but some other positive side effects would be how playing video games introduces children to computer and information technology, they can give practice in following directions, and the games can provide practice in use of fine motor and spatial skills. With those positive advantages does come many more negative disadvantages. “83% of kids, eight to eighteen, have at least one video game player in their home, 31% have 3 or more video game players, and 49% have video game systems in their bedrooms” (Effects Of Video Game Playing On Children). With this much video game playing in action we see many young children becoming over dependent on them and fostering into social isolation which is mostly seen in children who play alone. We also see children practicing violent acts and more aggressive behavior, the games can confuse reality with fantasy, they offer arena of weapons, killings, kicking, stabbing, and shootings. Video games also show women being portrayed as weaker characters, and the major issue seen that academic achievement has been decreasing in those children interacting with video games.

Another source of advertising that our young children are using would have to be the internet. I believe that the internet is the scariest place for a young child to be using and would rather see them watching a film. The internet provides many opportunities for learning while still exposing children to potentially negative content. “As of December 2003, 23 million children in the United States ages 6 to 17 have internet access at home, which is a threefold increase since 2000”and“ According to a survey conducted by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in July 2002, 78% of family households with children have Internet access at home” (Children’s exposure to negative Internet content: effects of family context). Weather your children are online in your home or out in the public it is not safe either way. The internet allows for many positive advantages, but along with those it has many negative advantages as well. A few positive examples of children using the internet would have to be an impact on their physical development, cognitive development, and social development along with the educational status the internet provides. There are also many negative side effects for young children to be using the internet which includes, social skills, the internet is making you less likely to talk with friends in face to face settings and to rather talk to a computer screen. This can also become negative if a child were to meet a new friend over the internet and the person was not really who they portrayed themselves to be. Even though the internet can be a helpful tool it can also be very dangerous for some people.

As we see there are many different types of advertisement that can affect our children such as television, movies, video games, and the internet. Children today are more specific on their needs and wants, as we looked at both sides and saw that the negatives make up for more than the positives. There are many things that parents can do to help these circumstances even if they work all the time. Many parents need to make more of an effort in interacting in their child’s lives, eliminate some of the forms of entertainment in the house, and have family meals, set rules and restricted time limits, along with adding in a family night. These few ideas can help in getting your children’s minds out of the gutter and on the right track to success.

Work Cited

“Children’s exposure to negative Internet content: effects of family context,” All Business A D&B Company, ed. Cheon, Hongsik John, 2005, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 07 February 2010 <http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-technology/867440-1.html>.

“Effects Of Video Game Playing On Children,” National Institute on Media + The Family, 07 February 2010 <http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_effect.shtml>.

Television & Health, ed. Norman Herr, 2007, California State University, Northridge, 5 February 2010 <http://www.csun.edu/science/health/docs/tv&health.html>.

“The effects of video games on children: what parents need to know,” BNET, ed. Douglas A. Gentile, 2004, Pediatrics for parents, 07 February 2010 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_6_21/ai_n9772319/

Who's To Blame?

Aaron Johnson

Brian Lewis

English 1022 55

Collaborative Blogging Project

January 31 2010

Who’s To Blame?

When a person acts out in a negative way, possibly with violence, the first thing looked at is why they acted out and what could have caused the act. One of the first things to be blamed is usually the influence certain types of media may have had on that person. The National Institute on Media and the Family states exposure to media violence is positively related to aggressive behavior, aggressive ideas and anger (Children and Media Violence). When movies, television or video games are blamed for being a bad influence on children I feel that is simply the first reaction to assign responsibility. There seems to be less responsibility put on the individuals involved, including the parents supervising their children and the children themselves. There should be less emphasis placed on the television content, movies and games, and more emphasis placed on the personal responsibility of the people directly involved. I also feel that if used correctly these forms of media can have a positive effect on the people who use them.

When looking into the reasons and causes for someone’s negative behavior, one of the types of media that gets a lot of attention is video games. Some people immediately assume that because of what a person saw occur in a video game, this caused them to act out in real life. In the online article “Video Games,” it is stated that games may be a contributing factor to aggressive behavior. However there is really no proof that it causes people to act out violently. Most people who act out with violence probably had a predisposition for such behavior (Glazer 12). This goes to show that unless you have an aggressive or violent disposition, you probably won’t be pushed to act out by a movie or video game. It seems a little ridiculous to think the main reason for a person acting out would be caused by something they saw in a television show, movie or game. I think if you are violent or angry to begin with you may be drawn to all types of violence, including violent forms of media.

Another point that is rarely appreciated is the rating systems for television shows, movies and video games. These rating systems are in place to make people aware of the content being inappropriate for certain age groups. The fact that some people still allow their children to see things that are out of their age group isn’t nearly focused on as much as the actual content of the media. If people followed the provided ratings, there would be less children being exposed to things that are meant for adults. Video games seem to get the worst reputation when it comes to rating systems. I feel this is because games are assumed to be for kids and not so much for adults. Even though games are rated much like a movie, if a child is in possession of a game rated for adults it seems somehow not as bad as if a child was at a rated R movie. I think people would frown on a child at an R rated movie, but parents allow their kids to have video games rated for 17 years and up like it is no big deal.

Now there are some real negative side effects of overexposure to electronic media sources. For example, “Excessive television watching has been associated with childhood obesity, poor school performance and more aggressive behavior” (Monitoring the Media, On-Screen and Online). This statement has a point but it fails to mention what could be considered the root cause, which is the lack of responsibility of the parents and individuals who are over indulging in TV. If the parents would assume responsibility and monitor their children’s television watching, this issue basically disappears. All it would take is for mom and dad to get their kids off the couch and outside doing something active. This is an example of how the blame is assigned to the TV instead of the people who have control over how much TV is actually watched.

When you think of television, video games and movies you most likely think of zoning out in front of the TV with little to no physical movement. Something that has more recently come to be part of electronic media are video games that involve physical movement. Although you can’t argue these are a substitute for all physical activities, the games can provide some degree of physical activity when people find themselves stuck inside. When compared to other physical activity, a game that involved movement was shown to be on the same level as moderate-intensity walking on a treadmill (Kids Wii Their Way Off the Couch). This is much more beneficial than just sitting there, but for some reason this aspect of electronic media doesn’t get nearly as much notice as the negative side does.

Electronic media may seem mindless when it comes to too much TV or too much video games, but some of the content offered on TV or in games can be educational or challenge a person’s mind more than you think. Playing some video games can actually challenge a player by putting them in situations where they must think their way through puzzles or strategy related problems. In reference to playing a football video game, Glazer states “To win, players must have a sophisticated understanding of strategy and make split-second decisions about which play to choose” (3). I think this goes to show that with certain games the mind is challenged in ways that it may not be in day-to-day life. It has to be good for you to think of things other than the every day routine many of us find ourselves in.

The debate on the positive or negative effects of media on people will go on and will be forever changing with the advancements of such media. Overall people are quick to look at the negative issues related to television, movies and games. If people would look just as closely at their own responsibilities and the measures put in place to insure the proper media reaches the proper people, they may realize there are many positives that are being overlooked. If more notice was given to the positive points of media people may not be so quick to judge in a negative way.

Works Cited

“Children and Media Violence”

mediafamily.org. National Institute on Media and the Family, June 2009.

Web. 31 January 2010

http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_vlent.shtml

Glazer, Sarah. "Video Games." CQ Researcher 16.40 (2006): 937-960. CQ Researcher. Web. 2 Feb. 2010.

http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2006111000

"Monitoring the Media, On-Screen and Online." Harvard Health Commentaries. Harvard Health Publications Group, 2006. Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.

http://find.galegroup.com.cenproxy.mnpals.net/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=mnacenturycl

"Kids Wii Their Way Off the Couch." Harvard Reviews of Health News. Harvard Health Publications Group, 2009. Health Reference Center Academic. Web. 30 Jan. 2010.

http://find.galegroup.com.cenproxy.mnpals.net/gps/start.do?prodId=IPS&userGroupName=mnacenturycl