MEDIA VIOLENCE.   Term Paper ID:29302 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: Issue of impact on young viewers. Escalating levels of violent and aggressive behaviors in children. Findings of studies. Concern of medical health and mental health professionals. Context in which violence is portrayed as having most detrimental effect: video games, TV, movies, music, Internet. Media content (violence, coarse language, sexuality). Other reasons for child violence. Paper Introduction: The Media Impact of Violence Two psychologists at Iowa State University recently wrote that “The link between television and violence in society is now as well established as the fact that smoking causes cancer” (Hathaway, 2002, 16). The link between media and violent behavior seems indisputable considering that of the more than 3500 studies conducted on the issue, only 18 did not show a positive correlation between media exposure and violence in society (Chatfield, 2002, 735). A recent study reported in Science claims that “children who watch more than an hour of television a day are more likely to commit acts of aggression later in life” (Hathaway, 2002, 16). The medical community has been concerned with the issue of media violence and its impac Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. As Sternheimer (2 1) argues, "studies have demonstrated thateven young children can discern fantasy from reality" (I1). Media includestelevision, commercial or self-recorded videos, movies, video games, print,radio, recorded music, and the Internet. (Feb 25, 2 1). The medical community has been concerned with the issue of mediaviolence and its impact on viewers since the 195 s. Los Angeles Times, I1. A recent study reported in Science claims that"children who watch more than an hour of television a day are more likelyto commit acts of aggression later in life" (Hathaway, 2 2, 16). The increasing level of violence in the media and the interactivenature of video games that reward children when they learn to besuccessfully violent have generated concern over the physical and mentalhealth problems they engender in children. Army Lieutenant, Grossman likens this to the sametactics used by the military in teaching a soldier to overcome natural andinstinctive barriers to killing: "The psychological tools of repetition,desensitization, and escalation, combined with the instinct for survival,all contribute to a solder's - or a child's - capacity for violence"(Lavers, 2 2, 28). TV in the crosshairs: Study links it to violence. The Media Impact of Violence Two psychologists at Iowa State University recently wrote that "Thelink between television and violence in society is now as well establishedas the fact that smoking causes cancer" (Hathaway, 2 2, 16). So, too, it must not be underestimated that a variety offactors contribute to violence in society, not just media content.Restrictions on media content strike at the root of the First Amendment'sguarantee of free speech. Many individuals also find such information worrisome because of thedegeneration of media content. The group is particularly irate over the amount of interpersonalviolence portrayed in the media, most of it in an entertaining andglamorous manner. The evidence that there is a correlation between violence in societyand violence in the media is growing and fairly indisputable. and Corrigan, S. This group argues that suchportrayals increase the legitimacy of using violence as a means of problem-solving among children and adolescents. The National Television Violence studyevaluated 1 , hours of broadcast programming from 1995 through 1997found that 61% of the programming displayed interpersonal violence in aglamorous or entertaining manner, with the highest proportion found inchildren's shows (Baron, et al, 2 1, 1223). In today's society, the media often takesthe place of teachers, parents and others who typically model behavior forchildren and provide information about the world. For example, most individuals who watch the Roadrunner cartoonsunderstand that Wile E. fare" (Lavers, 2 2,28). (Aug 14, 2 2). A study conductedat Columbia University tracked 7 people over an eight-year period andfound that several possible factors can be attributed to violence inchildren and adolescents, including low IQ, parental neglect, low familyincome and growing up in an unsafe neighborhood" (Hathaway, 2 2, 16). The study discovered that there is acorrelation between exposure to high levels of TV and video-game violenceand a phenomenon researchers labeled "relational aggression - behavior thatincludes name-calling, threat and rumor mongering" (Gorman, 2 2, 14). A retired U.S. Influence of media violence on children. The AAP estimates that childrenbetween 2 and 18 years of age spend six-and-a-half to eight hours a daywith media - more time than any other activity but sleeping (Lavers, 2 2,28). Hartford Courant, 16.Lavers, D. The above statistic takes on even more significance because of theincreasingly violent content of many media offerings. Despite such minority voices,even the researchers who conducted the Columbia University study found thatthe more television teenagers watch, the more likely they are to beaggressive in later life: "Just 5.7 percent of 14-year-olds who watchedless than an hour of television a day were involved in an aggressive act bythe ages of 16 to 22. While some individuals argue that media violence alone is notresponsible for violence in children and adolescents, a great deal ofresearch suggests otherwise. The AAP revealed statisticsthat show a damaging relationship between media violence and its effects onchildren: "Homicide, suicide, and trauma are the leading causes ofmortality, with a cumulative death rate for children between five and 14years and between 15 and 21 years of 22.8 and 114.4 per 1 , ,respectively" (Chatfield, 2 2, 735). Chicago Tribune, 4.Hathaway, W. D., Buttross, S. Astudy conducted on 219 Minnesota children in 3rd, 4t and 5th grades, showsthat children who watch lots of television and play violent video games arenot only more physically aggressive, but they are meaner and moredistrustful (Gorman, 2 2, 4). between 1937 and 1999demonstrated that 1 % portrayed violence (Baron, et al, 2 1, 1223).While many blame media organizations for such portrayals, others argue thatAmerican culture typically includes heroes who utilize violent means toresolve conflict or prevail over others. Such frequent and entertaining depictions of violence have manybelieving that the growing culture of incivility in society begins withchildren. US study links media violence with mean kids. ReferencesBaron, M. Pediatrics, 1 8(5), 1222-1226.Chatfield, J. Media violence. Others agree with this viewpoint. Coyote is not real and that no one is reallyinjured. The AAP recommends that a history of media useshould become a routine part of health maintenance examinations. (Nov 2 1). Some researchers are quick topoint out that many studies on media violence and violence in society onlypoint to a correlation between the two, not a cause-and-effectrelationship. Insight on the News, 18(17), 28-29.Sternheimer, K. Despite a growing body of evidence about the correlation betweenmedia violence and violence in society, there are some who feel suchconclusions are spurious at best. E., Broughton., D. In such instances the importance of context and meaningis lost. The verdict on media violence: It's ugly...and getting uglier. However, insuch estimations it must be kept in mind that all violence is not the same. Karen Sternheimer (2 1) believes the singling out mediaviolence as the cause of violence in children and adolescents isshortsighted: "To presume media can create violence where no other riskfactors exist is misleading. These kinds of findings are increasing worry among medical healthand mental health professionals who believe that the more media violencechildren are exposed to the more desensitized they become to violence. Thegroups 1998-99 study indicted media content as harmful for children, but arecent study called "The Sour Family Hour" showed huge increases in coarselanguage, violence, and sexuality: "TV violence was up a whopping 7 percent in the two years since the previous study. Parents,schools, medical professionals and communities can work together to educatechildren about how media operates, helping them to make responsible viewingdecisions. (Jun 9, 2 2). Because of this, it is likely that parents,educators and health professionals will be the leaders in trying tosocialize children in ways that help them cope with increasing exposure toviolence in the media. For example, some individuals believethat media violence is only one aspect in a host of factors responsible forescalating violence in society. For example, kids who spend large amountsof time watching TV and other media may point to the failure of parents tocreate the proper environment for children in the home. (Feb 15, 2 2). American Family Physician, 65(4), 735-736.Gorman, S. E. In lieu of such a culture of media violence, V-chips, parentalsupervision, and other methods of limiting children's exposure to violenceremain best practices. Dave Grossman, apsychologist and media researcher, argues that this kind of media contentand marketing strategy is creating a greater capacity for violence inchildren. Media isn't to blame for violence. Dangerously misleading, in fact, because itdiverts public attention away from more likely contributors, such asalcohol abuse, the deterioration of public education and the lack ofopportunity in impoverished areas" (I1). Researchers, parents, educators and lawmakersfind such conclusions disturbing because behavior is learned throughobservation and imitation which makes children more vulnerable toincreasing levels of violence portrayed in the media. Manyopposed to violence in the media argue that it is the context in whichviolence is portrayed that has the most detrimental impact on viewers. Many studies link together programs as diverse as cartoons, police dramas,and media games. These acts ofviolence are either observed or virtually perpetrated (video games) bychildren. The linkbetween media and violent behavior seems indisputable considering that ofthe more than 35 studies conducted on the issue, only 18 did not show apositive correlation between media exposure and violence in society(Chatfield, 2 2, 735). Furthermore, an evaluation ofall animated feature films produced in the U.S. (May 13, 2 2). The Los Angeles-based Parents TelevisionCouncil (PTC) has long advocated more wholesome content in the media. However, escalatinglevels of violent and aggressive behavior in children have promptedincreasing amounts of research into the issue by groups as diverse as theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Center for ChildrenExposed to Violence and Trauma. Despite suchbeliefs, it is impossible to ignore that we are exposed to a culture ofviolence when it comes to most media content. Sexual content fellinto subcategories - including homosexuality, oral sex, pornography,masturbation and 'kinky' sex practices such as phone sex, group sex andbondage - covering topics which a generation ago would seldom have seen thelight of day at 1 p.m. A 2 report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) entitledMarketing Violent Entertain to Children found that media industries areoften guilty of regularly and illegitimately marketing violententertainment aimed at adolescents and preadolescents. programming, let alone 8 p.m. Forinstance, media games help children learn to be violent because they areoften rewarded for successful violent behavior. Theimplications of such findings are troublesome because relationallyaggressive behavior is often a breeding ground for more violent behaviorwhen children grow older. But among those who watched three or more hours ofTV a day, the likelihood rose to 28.8 percent" (Hathaway, 2 2, 16). Baron, Broughton, Buttress, and Corrigan (2 1) estimates thatby the time a child reaches the age of 18, he or she has been exposed to anaverage of 2 , acts of violence on television alone (1222). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.