Media Violence
What impact does media violence have on society? How are children affected and how are adolescents affected by violence portrayed in movies, television, video games and in other forms? This paper reviews and critiques peer-reviewed articles that address the subject of media violence from several perspectives -- and takes positions on the arguments and research presented in those scholarly articles.
There is ample empirical research available to back up the assertion that violent video games, movies and television programs have a negative impact on young people. It is the thesis of this paper that ultimately the responsibility for guidance vis-a-vis violent media is not on schools or law enforcement but in fact is on the shoulders of parents.
The Influence of Media Violence on Youth
An article in the Psychological Science in the Public Interest (Anderson, et al., 2003) flatly asserts that there is "…unequivocal evidence that media violence increases the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior," and that aggressive behavior will manifest itself in both "long-term" and "immediate contexts" (Anderson, 81). Whether it is violent video games, film or television violence, when youths are exposed in a short-term context there can be verbally "…aggressive thoughts, aggressive behavior, and aggressive emotions" (Anderson, 81).
The authors explain that -- based on "large-scale longitudinal studies" -- there are long-term manifestations to "frequent exposure to violent media in childhood." Those manifestations include "aggression later in life" that can consist of spousal abuse and physical assaults against others (Anderson, 81). Media violence increases "…physiological arousal," Anderson explains. The authors point out that while "…many children and youth spend an inordinate amount of time" witnessing violent media" the research they conducted reflects the fact that "… parental-mediation interventions…" can in fact result in beneficial outcomes (Anderson, 81).
Anderson points to the Bjorkqvist (1985) study that exposed five and six-year-old Finnish children to violent media (and others in the class were not subjected to the violence). Two raters who didn't know which children saw the violent video watched the group playing and those who had watched the violent media were "…hitting other children" and "wrestling" along with other kinds of aggression.
Another study referenced by Anderson involved 396 boys (7 to 9 years of age); some watched a nonviolent film, others watched a violent film. During the ensuing game of floor hockey, witnesses (who didn't know which boys saw the violent film) clearly identified those who watched violent films. They were pulling each other's hair, tripping, kneeing, elbowing, and "…other assaultive behaviors" that go well beyond legal hockey rules (Anderson, 85). In Anderson's conclusion, the "troubling truth" is that "…violent media are entering the home and inviting active participation of even young children -- often with little parental supervision"; hence the thesis of this paper calls for far more attentive and consistent parental stewardship.
Meanwhile a 2011 peer-reviewed article in the journal Aggressive Behavior measures media violence exposure (MVE) by examining MVE and aggressive and pro-social behaviors at two different points in time during the school year (Gentile, et al., 2011). The study referenced by Gentile and colleagues had 430 students (3rd, 4th, and 5th graders) from five schools in Minnesota; 51% of the children were boys. The results were produced by questionnaires completed by both the students and their teachers.
In the early part of the school year ("Time 1") children reported an average of 20.8 hours a week watching television; 9.6 hours per week playing video games; and boys watched more television and played "significantly" more video games than girls (Gentile, 198-99). In the second half of the school year ("Time 2") the students reported watching fewer hours of television and fewer hours of playing video games; Gentile suspects that "…participants were beginning to guess the intent of the study" and may have "modified" responses to the questionnaire (199).
However, children who had viewed more violence in the early part of the school year demonstrated "…increased aggressive behaviors and decreased pro-social behaviors" later in the school year (Gentile, 205). The increased aggression shown (particularly by boys) could be "evidence of the beginning of a vicious cycle," Gentile asserts (205). This is because as children become more aggressive they then can become "…ostracized from the main group" which in turn pushes the aggressive children into cliques with others who have the same behaviors. While in that clique, they may "…reinforce each others' aggressive media habits and aggressive attitudes and behaviors,"...
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