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Media Violence

Thesis: Young children should not be able to view media violence because it leads to

aggressiveness, depression, and imitation later on in adulthood.

I. Leads to aggressiveness later on in adulthood

A. Studies on how it happens

1. Children who watched many hours of violence on TV showed more

aggressiveness when they became teenangers

2. Also kids that watched violence on the media will more likely behave

aggressive or harmful ways toward to others

B. Studies on male and female behaviors

1. Males were more likely to engage into more serious physical aggression

and criminality

2. Females were more likely to engage into more indirect aggression which

is a kind of social manipulation: the aggressor uses others to attack the

victim

II. Leads to depression

A. Overall media exposure are associated with increased odds of depressive

symptoms in young adulthood

1. Since depression is so common in adolescence it corresponds with a

central period of physical and psychiatric development which can lead to

poor psychiatric functioning, greater need for a stronger support system

and more.
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2. Children who report high levels of exposure to violence report the highest

levels of depression, anger and anxiety.

B. exposure to electronic media influences the development of depression as it

cuts down their opportunity to acquire protective experiences

1. adolescents who spend excessive time engaging with media may not have

as much opportunity as their peers to cultivate protective experiences that

require active social, intellectual, or athletic engagement.

2. Distorts in their sleep and optimal development of executive functioning

and cognitive process.

III. Leads to imitation

A. Increased feelings through imitation leads to the response of violent behavior

1. The act of imitating what children have seen on the media causes injury to

themselves and others around them.

2. Studies have shown that children who have been exposed to imitation on

television begin to think that this is a normal behavior which can be harder

to change later on in life.

B. Children who view shows in which violence is very realistic, frequently repeated

or

unpunished, are more likely to imitate what they see.

1. Studies found that the effects of the TV violence on children and teenagers

have found that children may become immune or numb to the horror or

violence, begin to accept violence as a problem solver, imitate the

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violence they observe on television and identify with certain

characters/victims.

2. Catharsis effect and media, sociologists studies have identified three

theories regarding the framing and the approach of the media violence in

TV. The effect of social learning of getting close and imitating the violent

act and the violent heros.

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Estevan Servin

English 4

Mrs. Taylor

12/13/18

Media violence

Ninety percent of movies, sixty-eight percent of video games, and sixty percent of tv

shows show some portrait of violence. Twentieth century evidence that has been collected over

time suggests exposure to media violence increases the risk of violent behavior. Media violence

is defined as visual portrayals of acts of physical aggression by one human or human-like

character against another. As theories about the effects of media violence have evolved, this

definition has also evolved and represents an attempt to describe the kind of violent media

presentation that is most likely teaching the viewer how to be more violent. Research done by

pathologists ​L. Rowell Huesmann, Leonard Eron and others starting in the 1980s found that

children who watched many hours of violence on television when they were in elementary

school tended to show higher levels of aggressive behavior when they became teenagers. ​Studies

were conducted on male and female behaviors to see who would act more aggressive towards

people. ​Huesmann and Eron found men were more likely to engage in serious physical

aggression and criminality, where women were more likely to engage in forms of indirect

aggression which is a kind of social manipulation where the aggressor manipulates others to
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attack victims. ​Young children should not be able to view media violence because it leads to

aggressiveness, depression, and imitation later on in adulthood. (Huesmann)

Studies have shown that children who watched many hours of TV violence showed more

aggressiveness when they became teenangers. ​Aggression can be defined as any behavior

intended to harm another person who is motivated to avoid that harm. ​Also kids who watch

media violence will more likely behave aggressive or harmful towards others. Children are

increasingly becoming heavy media consumers. Research indicates that much of the media

directed at children contains violent content. Media violence exposure may have short-term

effects on adults, but its negative impact on children is continuing. Early exposure to TV

violence places both male and female children at risk for the development of aggressive and

violent behavior in adulthood (Huesmann). Research done by Ohio State University brought ages

8 to 12 year-old children into a lab where they showed a 20 minute version of a popular PG-rated

movie. The children watched movies which contained the characters using guns or they watched

a version where the guns were edited out. After the movie the kids were brought into a large

room that contained various toys including Legos, Nerf guns, and games. The children who

watched the movie with the guns played more aggressively than children who watched the movie

with the guns edited out. Although ​TV violence is not the only cause of aggressive behavior, its

effect was relatively independent and explained a larger proportion of variance than any other

single factor studied.

Overall media exposure is associated with increased odds of depression symptoms in

young adulthood. Since depression is so common in adolescence it corresponds with a central

period of physical and psychiatric development which can lead to poor psychiatric functioning,
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greater need for a stronger support system and more. A number of studies indicate adolescent’s

exposure to real-life violence, either as victims or witnesses, is associated with poor mental

health outcomes including anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Children who

played high violence video games for more than two hours per day had significantly more

depressive symptoms than those who played low-violence video games for less than two hours

per day. Children who report high levels of exposure to violence report the highest levels of

depression, anger and anxiety. (“Here’s How Witnessing Violence Harms Children's Mental

Health”) ​Exposure to violence could harm the emotional and mental development of young

children and adolescents. For adolescents, the front part of their brains is the last to develop. This

part of the brain is called the prefrontal cortex and it is responsible for processing information,

impulse control and reasoning. Adolescents exposed to violent video games experience a

decrease in activity in their prefrontal cortex, leaving them more helpless to having difficulty

with problem-solving and controlling their emotions. In addition, it is ​breaking healthy sleeping

habits and optimal development of executive functioning and cognitive process. Being exposed

to electronic media influences the development of depression as it cuts down their opportunity to

acquire protective experiences.​ Children who spend excessive time engaging with media may not

have as much opportunity as their peers to cultivate protective experiences that require active

social, intellectual, or athletic engagement.

Young children should not be able to view media violence because it leads to imitation.

Imitation is defined as an advanced behavior whereby an individual observes and replicates

another’s behavior. The act of imitating what children have seen on the media can cause injury to

themselves and others around them. Studies show children who have been exposed to imitation
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on television begin to think that it is normal behavior which can be harder to change later in life.

Other studies found that children that watched TV violence can become immune or numb to the

horror of violence, begin to accept violence as a problem solver, imitate the violence they

observe on television and identify with certain characters/victims(TV violence and Children,

2014). Sociologists studies (Rieffel) have identified three theories regarding the framing and the

approach of the media violence in TV. These three theories are The Aggressor Theory, The

Desensitization Theory and the Fear Theory. The catharsis effect mechanism is decoded through

that, that in their daily life people are confronted with frustrating situations which can lead to

acts of violence. Parents can protect their children from excessive TV violence by setting limits

on the amount of time children spend on watching television, paying attention to the programs

that children are watching, working with other parents to enforce the rules.

Works Cited

Aacap. “TV Violence and Children.” ​Adopted Children​, 2015,

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www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Children-

And-TV-Violence-013.aspx​.

Archer , Dale. “Violence, The Media And Your Brain.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 2

Sept. 2013,

www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/reading-between-the-headlines/201309/violence-the-

media-and-your-brain​.

Emmons, Sasha. “Is Media Violence Damaging to Kids?” ​CNN,​ Cable News Network, 21 Feb.

2013,

www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/living/parenting-kids-violence-media/index.html​.

Flannery, Daniel J., et al. “Here's How Witnessing Violence Harms Children's Mental Health.

”​The Conversation​, The Conversation, 14 May 2018,

https://theconversation.com/heres-how-witnessing-violence-harms-childrens-mental-healt

h-53321​.

Gross, Dr. Gail. “Violence on TV and How It Can Affect Your Children.” The Huffington Post,

TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Aug. 2013,

www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-gail-gross/violence-on-tv-children_b_3734764.html

Huesmann, L. Rowell. “The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and

Research.”

Advances in Pediatrics.​, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2007,

​www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704015/​.

Kaplan, Arline. “Violence in the Media: What Effects on Behavior?” Psychiatric Times, 5 Oct.
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2012,

www.psychiatrictimes.com/child-adolescent-psychiatry/violence-media-what-effects-beh

avior​.

Media, Council on Communications and. “Media Violence.” Pediatrics, American Academy of

Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2009,

​https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/5/1495​.