Children: Exposure to Violence Through the Media
The extent to which exposure to violence creates violent children and/or aggressive behavior is a subject which has been debated in a comprehensive manner. However, the fundamental research findings are consistent. The research continues to demonstrate that exposure to violence creates negative manifestations in the behavior of children. "While violence is not new to the human race, it is an increasing problem in modern society. With greater access to firearms and explosives, the scope and efficiency of violent behavior has had serious consequences. We need only look at the recent school shootings and the escalating rate of youth homicides among urban adolescents to appreciate the extent of this ominous trend" (Beresin, 2010). Given the fact that children are manifesting violent behavior in more and more disturbing ways, making places like schools -- previously dens of safety -- into places where children feel unsafe is a strong enough reason to study the various influences that can cause children to act violent. One of these factors, as it is well understood, is exposure to violence through sources of media.
Research Review
Chronologically, the research has pointed to the negative impact of violent television programs or video games and their impact on the mind of children -- even kids that don't have a history of violent behavior. "Researchers found nonaggressive children who had been exposed to high levels of media violence had similar patterns of activity in an area of the brain linked to self-control and attention as aggressive children who had been diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorder" (Grayson-Mathis, 2005). This particular study was so ground-breaking because it showed the first connection to violent media and the disruption of proper brain functioning. During the research study, researchers monitored the activity in the frontal cortex of the brain in a group of just under 20 children while they engaged in a task that needed concentration (less activity in the frontal cortex of the brain is connected with issues connected to self-control and attention) (Grayson-Mathis, 2005). The groups were composed of children who were made up of the following: one collective were kids who were deemed to be aggressive and laden with disruptive behavior, while the other had no history of behavior problems; half the children in each group were exposed to high levels of media violence which had clear representations of human injury (Grayson-Mathis, 2005). "As expected, the results showed that all of the aggressive children had reduced activity in their frontal cortex while completing the task, regardless of their levels of media violence exposure. But researchers found that nonaggressive children who had high levels of media violence exposure also displayed a similar pattern of low activity in the frontal cortex" (Grayson-Mathis, 2005). As researchers anticipated, the children who didn't have to deal with any amounts of media violence or depictions of human injury had a higher level of frontal cortex activity (Grayson-Mathis, 2005).
This study was so ground-breaking in 2005 was because it offered the biochemical processes behind the manifestations of violent behavior that would occur in children once they'd been exposed to violent forms of media. Essentially, this study offered an interior snapshot of what was happening inside of the brain when children were affronted with violent images and scenarios and demonstrated how the human body essentially dealt with this.
Another reason why it's so detrimental for children to witness violence on television or via video games is because children don't fully understand the difference between fantasy and reality, as other studies have demonstrated. This is no small issue. "Some researchers have demonstrated that very young children will imitate aggressive acts on TV in their play with peers. Before age 4, children are unable to distinguish between fact and fantasy and may view violence as an ordinary occurrence. In general, violence on television and in movies often conveys a model of conflict resolution. It is efficient, frequent, and inconsequential" (Beresin, 2010). Children just witness their beloved heroes saving the day -- using violence as an effective tool. Violence is seldom shown in terms of the devastating consequences that it creates; alternatively it is seen as something the "good guys" use as a means of achieving a just end. "Heroes are violent, and, as such, are rewarded for their behavior. They become role models for youth. It is 'cool' to carry an automatic weapon and use it to knock off the 'bad guys'" (Beresin, 2010). The fundamental issue is that children are malleable and exposure...
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