Children and Violence An American Media Controversy Essay

Children and Violence: An American Media Controversy As censorship of the American media has broken down over the years, the amount of violence allowed to be shown in movies, on television, and in video games has skyrocketed. From coast to coast in our nation, this saturation of hostility in our media has caused many contentious debates between scholars, parents, students and government officials alike. In this controversy, the central argument revolves around the effects violent media has on our society. The question that most researchers strive to answer is this: does watching or participating in violent media cause violent or other harmful behaviors? There are those who would say yes, it does promote destructive behavior in†¦show more content†¦So then the question becomes, why and how do these adverse effects occur? My argument is quite simple—children and adolescents are an age group that can be easily influenced because they are progressing through an early stage of development in their lives. It is a time in their existence where their views, opinions, and ideas of the world surrounding them are being formed. Therefore, when impressionable young people view media drenched in violence, their minds begin to be badly affected by the actions, behaviors and attitudes they witness. An important researcher and supporter of my claim is the American Psychiatric Association. An astounding statistic that is worth repeating is this: the typical American child watches 28 hours of television a week, and by the age of 18 will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence (â€Å"Psychiatric† 1). The APA also states that they fully support the studies done by the National Institute of Mental Health, who have reported that In magnitude, exposure to television violence is as strongly correlated with aggressive behavior as any other behavioral variable that has been measured (1). Additionally, consider these significant statistics: 50% percent of murder victims are between 15 and 34 years old; 55% of those arrested for murder are under 25 years old; one third of all the violent crimes in the U.S. are committed by individuals under 21 years old (1). Another significantShow MoreRelatedViolent Video Games: Society’s New Scapegoat Essays1248 Words   |  5 Pagesgames contribute to the increasing level of violence that we see around us? Can we really attribute the shootings and bombings we see on the news to the increased violence and realism of video games? Every day, people are exposed to violence through the TV shows and movies they watch, the video games they play, and national media networks who bombard us with graphic information portraying violent and hard-hitting global events. To top it all off, the media frequently loves to make outrageous claimsRead MoreSouth Park Is The Third Longest Running Animated Series1636 Words   |  7 PagesUnited State; it is famous for its crude language, dark humors and satires on current global and pop culture events, in which create a lot of controversies on political, social and religions context. The following content will analysis â€Å"South Park† in the aspect of ci rcuit of culture. Production South Park is first on air on Comedy Central, which is an American basic cable and satellite television channel that is owned by Viacom, which is one of the world’s sixth largest broadcasting and cable companyRead MoreHow the Media, Violence, and Advertising Effects the Minds of Young Children and Adults1036 Words   |  5 PagesHow the Media, Violence, and Advertising Effects the Minds of Young Children and Adults Media, it’s everywhere you go, and plays a major role in our everyday lives. It’s the largest source of entertainment and the most powerful and influential invention in the twentieth century. The amount of violence and advertising seen in the media has posed a lot of controversy, and many studies have made clear that the media is responsible for much of the violence seen in our world we live today. Many of ourRead MoreThe Role of Television on Childhood Violence Essay683 Words   |  3 PagesRole of Television on Childhood Violence What does the world look like these days? It often seems like everywhere one looks, violence is there. We see it on the streets, back alleys, school, and even at home. The last of these is a major source of violence. In many peoples living rooms there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television, and the children who view it are often hypnotized by action that takes place in it. Violence is the use of ones powers to inflictRead More In Favor of Regulating Media Violence Essay965 Words   |  4 Pages Media Controversy With the nations violence rate increasing over the past few years, one must ask, why? Harold Lasswell formulated the core of questions of content analysis: Who says what, to whom, why, and to what extent and with what effect? The issue of media content has become an increasingly popular, as well as controversial, topic. There have been many concerns from parents regarding exposure of their children to inappropriate themes in the media. An overall increaseRead More The Negative Impact of Exposing Children to Media Violence Essay1448 Words   |  6 PagesImpact of Exposing Children to Media Violence On April 20, 1999 at Columbine High School, 13 people were killed and another 23 were wounded in one of the worst school killing incidents ever (Skeesis). Since the 1980s, overall homicide rates in the U.S. have declined. However, homicide rates for ages 14-17 have increased quite dramatically during this time period (Fox). Among other numerous potential causes, violence in the media may play a role in this increase in youth violence. Today, there isRead More Media Censorship Essay examples662 Words   |  3 PagesMedia Censorship Today there is much controversy over whether there should or shouldn’t be censorship of the media. Censorship should not be imposed on citizens by the government or other agencies; adults have a right to view or listen to what they choose. Additionally, if children’s media is censored, parents are the ones who should monitor and regulate it. Parents should be the ones to monitor children’s viewing of television and also what they hear on the radio, CD’s, and tapes. CensorshipRead MoreViolence in the Media in Richard Rhodes Hollow Claims about Fantasy Violence1289 Words   |  5 Pagesabout Fantasy Violence† expresses that the media’s portrayal of violence has no influence on those that view it. One of the first tactics that Rhodes used was by attacking the flaws of Organizations who blamed entertainment for the issues of violent behaviors. He claims that due to increased social control over the years has caused a decline in violence. Rhodes’ used thought-provoking tactics attempting to disprove that violence is influenced from the media instead he believes that violence is stemmedRead MoreThe Importance Of Video Games1106 Words   |  5 Pagesbecome the breeding ground for violence, particularly to the younger generation. Young minds exposed to violence through hours of soaking it in by playing graphic and beyond their age video games can possibly be the explanation of the rising number of crimes, with juvenile involvement . Whether video games are a link to the violence in kids or not is a rising debate between many. Some argue the point that video games are unrelated to the rising amount of violence in the juvenile world. That videoRead MoreShould We Blame Television1210 Words   |  5 PagesTelevision? The amount of violence shown in the media has posed a lot of controversy. Many video games, television programs, adverts, films and music lyrics depict different forms of violence. Some people feel that there is too much violence exposed in the media. Many studies have made the claim that the media is responsible for much of the violence seen in the world we live in. However, people have choices and responsibilities, we cannot allow ourselves to blame the violence in the world on such things