Do Television Shows, Movies and Video Games Increase Violence free essay sample

While the public majority understands that the media has led to an increase in youth violence, factors such as poor parenting, violent victimization and social delinquency contribute to violence in society as well. The incident at Columbine, Colorado revealed that the shooters were avid video game players. Poor parenting creates an environment for violent tendencies in children. According to study done by The Centers for Disease Control, a child is likely to develop aggressive behavior as a means for craving attention from his uninvolved parents (Grossman). Such children throw tantrum to get what they want and even turn out to be bullies since parents are not there to train them as to virtues of good social upbringing. Maggie Cutler’s article entitled,† Whodunit – the Media? † explains that the juvenile crime rate was reported to have dropped 30% during the same period (1989- 1999) that the Parents Television Council announced a tripling in per hour rate of sexual and violent material and coarse language on TV (684). We will write a custom essay sample on Do Television Shows, Movies and Video Games Increase Violence? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This contradiction in facts can only mean that other factors were involved in this reduction in juvenile crime rate. The media is cited as a risk factor that works in conjunction with other factors to contribute to youth violence. Violent victimization of children includes abuse by parents or caregivers. A victim of child abuse is more likely to relate violence as a means for solving their issues in life. If such a child is exposed to violent media, he is likely to respond and imitate situations. On the other hand, a normal child exposed to the same scene through the media would most probably watch it passively as entertainment, since he can’t relate it to his immediate surroundings. Studies on media violence suffer the ambiguity of correlation. For instance the studies that show boys tend to watch more violent content on TV, yet the studies can’t admittedly show exactly why or how that happens (Cutler 686). The same study would not explain why a child who grows up watching Sesame Street ends up as a school bully. In the event, it is found that he is not getting enough attention or suffered abuse at the hands of the parents, but the media is not relevant to his behavior. Behavior in children can be linked to a variety of influencing factors, one of which is social delinquency. Social delinquency is promoted by negative peer pressure. To avoid social rejection, a kid would do what peers do. A child who hangs out with violent drug dealers and gun wielding gang members will most definitely be drawn into their antisocial behavior. Playing violent video games will not turn a child into juvenile murderer, but handling guns and hanging around a violent gang probably will (Cooke 2000). A report by the U. S. Senate in 1999 entitled â€Å"Children, Violence and the Media† explains that 50% of children have a television in their rooms, and 88. 7% of homes with children have home video games, a computer or both (Lawrence). The article concludes that while media contributes to youth violence, its effect is small compared with many possible causes like parental attitude and experience with real violence in real life. However, the role of media in increasing youth violence cannot be overlooked. From a tender age, children learn to imitate. Most parents admit that their children learned the alphabet from watching Big Bird and Elmo recite it on Sesame Street. What is to stop a child from imitating the violent shows of heroism in modern day cartoons like Power Rangers, or the stealing, beating, strangling and hacking shown in Grand Theft Auto III video game? According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescence Psychiatry, extensive viewing of television violence by children causes greater aggressiveness. Eventually, a child used to seeing violence repeatedly in the media becomes conditioned to think of violence as common behavior and would have no difficulty in displaying violent behavior (Lawrence). The violence committed by the youth has far deeper root in other causes. Much of the researches done on media violence has contradicting results. The questionability of statistical correlations used in these studies punctured their credibility. We are left with real life causes that are real pointers to the increase of violence amongst the youth. Poor parenting, juvenile delinquency and child abuse are just but a few of the factors of the social risks that increase juvenile violence. A stable family background would consist of concerned parents who monitor their children’s environment, including the media, and guide their behavior. The parents should not abandon the responsibility for the education of their children, they need to step up to the plate and be the primal guidance counselor for their children.