Media violence leads to real violence

A few short decades ago, the most violent scenes we were exposed to in the media involved Wile
E. Coyote and an anvil. The nightly news did not display graphic evidence of riots or murders or
even war. Movies did not market themselves based on the amount of gunfire packed into two
hours. Video games were little more than a bouncing ball controlled by a joystick. But, society
has changed and, now, violence is everywhere. Children and adolescents are exposed to violent
images every day and the line between reality and fiction is blurred. Now, the consequences of
such exposure are becoming evident and recent studies show neurological adaptations and
desensitization that lead to aggression and violence in real life.

Adolescents spend a significant amount of time watching violent television programs and movies
and playing violent video games. A recent neurological evaluation of adolescent brain function
reported an association between violent media exposure and decreased brain activation in
response to increasingly violent images and scenes. The adaptation was primarily seen in the
front-parietal network, an area that has been associated with decreased control of aggressive
behavior. Essentially, repeated exposure to violence blunts emotional responses to violence and
decreases the association of consequences with aggression, leading to more aggressive attitudes
and behaviors over time.

A similar study did report that the presence of innate aggressive personality traits or tendencies
does moderate brain responses to media violence. Adolescents with diagnoses of aggressive
behavior disorders with repeated exposure to media violence showed decreased brain activation
in response to emotional stimuli compared to healthy controls with low violence exposure and
compared to aggressive adolescents with low violence exposure. Still, another examination of
adolescents showed that brain activation and emotional responses to violence were similar
between healthy, non-aggressive adolescents with high exposure to media violence and
adolescents diagnosed with aggressive behavior disorders.

Violence is everywhere. As a society, we are desensitized to viewing aggressive and brutal

scenes every day. But, is it as simple as desensitization or does exposure to violence really
change who we are? The findings of the neurological studies suggest that brain function is
actually altered in response to violence and, as a result, individuals are less able to react
emotionally to violence and control their own aggressive behavior. Our choices in entertainment
are becoming self-fulfilling prophecies, of sorts, and the more violence we see, the more violent
we are.