Media Violence

“No news is good news.” This proverb simply means that most of the news, which media disseminate daily, is bad news covering wars, conflicts, accidents, murders, and other crimes, all of which are violent. Movies, films, cartoons, video games, and some advertisements often contain at least one plot of fighting or other acts of aggression. But have people ever noticed the violence depicted in those media? A report from researchers on media violence in 2007 suggests that by the time a U.S. child starts elementary school, he or she will have seen 8,000 murders and 10,000 acts of violence on TV (http://www.cybercollege.com/violence.htm). Does this violence exposure adversely affect human behavior or society? Some people say that it is irrelevant, but the following arguments will show how media violence causes people to be more aggressive.

First, media violence has physiological effects on people, which puts them at the risk of aggressive behavior. Actually, while people are watching action movies or films or playing video games, they often change their moods from a normal one to happy, satisfied, frightened, scarred, panicky, shock, or anxious one according to the conditions or situations that characters are in. Some of them even unconsciously stop breathing until the violent plot is over. As a matter of fact, while consistently exposing to violence imagery and changing moods like this, those people will experience increased heartbeat, faster respiration, and higher blood pressure. Researchers say that these stimulate the “fight-to-fight” response and predispose people to act in a hostile way in the real world (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence .cfm).

Second, media violence makes people become desensitized to aggressive behavior. With the repetition of violence portrayed in different media including newspapers, radios, televisions, and films, people, especially children who are more vulnerable, will believe that the whole society as well as the whole world is full of violence. They will assume that those aggressive activities are common and fine, for they have seen them a lot. As a result, they will be less disturbed and have less sympathy for the victims of violence when witnessing the real world ferocity. Professor V. B. Cline, R. G. Croft, and S. Courrier (1973) states “boys who watch more than 25 hours of television per week are significantly less likely to be aroused by real world violence than those boys who watch 4 hours or less per week,” (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence.cfm). What is more, the desensitization will accordingly cause those people to believe that violence is an appropriate method of problem solving which results in being more likely to act hostilely in the real world when encountering frustrating situations.

Last, media violence leads to aggression through imitation. Naturally, after watching acts of violence illustrated in media, children often imitate the vicious activities of those media heroes and villains who used violence to solve problems or to take revenge on each other. A study conducted in 2003 by the Kaiser Foundation finds that nearly half of parents with children between the age of 4 and 6 report that their children have imitated the aggressive behavior from TV (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/ effects_media_violence.cfm). Anecdotal evidence also suggests that the imitation behavior does take place. A teenager in Los Angeles, for instance, said the movie Scream (1996) inspired him to kill his mother; in fact, he wanted to wear the “grim reaper” mask and use the voice-distortion box featured in the film, but he could not afford to buy them (Rodman, 2006, p. 177). Some media, such as action movies and video games, also teach people how to fight and to use a stick, a sword, and a knife as a weapon. In addition, some of them even teach people how to handle a gun. The teaching from media together with the imitation of young children will result in altering their characteristics and behavior from non-aggressive to aggressive ones, and will negatively affect their developmental stage.

Critics may say that media violence is just an entertainment – a make-believe show –and people know it is not real so it should not have such a serious effect (Baran, 2006, p. 413). For a single show, that is probably correct, but for many shows, that is a problem. If media violence had no effect on aggressive behavior, why is V-chip – a device to control programs, in particular violent and sexual ones, on TV – created? The answer is by no means certain that the media violence does cause aggressive behavior. To illustrate, Professor Leonard Eron, University of Michigan, who in 1960 studied 856 grade-three students living in a semi-rural community in Columbia Country, New York, finds that the children who watched violent television at home behaved more aggressively in school. Studying the subjects again when they were 30 years old, the professor reports that those who had watched more violent TV were more likely, as adults, to use violence to discipline their children, and to treat their spouse (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media _violence.cfm). Thus, to deny that media violence has no effect on aggressive behavior is unacceptable.

All in all, there have been many researches and studies proving that consistently exposing to media violence causes aggressive behavior even though it is believed to be just an entertainment. It has the most influence on children through physiological effect, desensitization, and imitation. Children who have seen a lot of violence in media will become aggressive ones, and will continually become aggressive adults when they grow up, which will bring harm to not only family but also society. Therefore, all possible actions have to be taken immediately. Film makers had better think whether it is essential to include violent plots in their productions and if possible, try to eliminate them. Family especially should restrict children to those violence scenes demonstrated in the media. It is time to take action before the problem is exacerbated.

By Veng Rachana

References
Baran, J. S. (2006). Introduction to mass media communication: Media literacy and culture
(4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Research on the effects of media violence. (2009). Retrieved January 2, 2010, from Media
Awareness Network Web site: http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/
effects_ media_violence.cfm
Rodman, G. (2006). Mass media in a changing world: History, industry, controversy.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
TV and film violence reaches a new high in 2006. (December 27, 2007). Retrieved January
2, 2010, from http://www.cybercollege.com/violence.htm