Communications_220

Media’s Affect on Child Aggression Media’s Affect on Child Aggression Media has evolved from having little or no violence to everything having to do something with violence. Before the age of five, children would have already seen/ heard 4000 acts of violence. Seeing and/or hearing this much violence believe it or not can make a child more aggressive. Even though many people believe that media doesn’t have a negative effect on youth, research has proven that media in fact does affect youth. In 1950 only 10% of homes had a television today 99% of homes have a television. Some homes even have more televisions than phones (Eugene V Beresin, 2009). An average child has access to any television which means they can watch whatever. Some ask, “How can media violence change a child’s behavior or aggression'” When a child of a young age see’s violent acts they tend to try and reenact what they see. There have been cases in the United States where a child will see on the television acts of violence where guns are involved and when they saw an actual gun they used it. Children at that age are not able to tell the difference between fiction and non-fiction. When a child sees one of their favorite heroes on television they start to think and believe that is a good thing to be violent and carry weapons. They see that the heroes such as batman, superman, wolverine, etc get rewarded for their violent acts which lead them to believe that it is ok to be violent. By the age of 18 a child would have seen over 200,000 acts of violence and about 16,000 of those are murders. Tests also prove that an average child will spend more time watching television then they spend in school. (Eugene V Beresin, 2009). Some think that media violence does not have any effect on children. 50 years have research has proven that media violence does in fact have a negative effect on children. Some critics argue that the violence that is shown in media is just for laughs. A child’s brain grows the most within the first five years of their lives. So when a child sees’s violence in any form, whether it is just for laughs or in a drama they do not know the difference so it will affect them. In 2005 five tests were taken on children in North America testing whether media violence did in fact affect children and their behavior done by Dr. Kevin Browne. Tests proved that boys were more affected then girls, and it also depended on age. Younger children from the ages 5-10 were more affected because their brains are still developing. Dr. Browne stated that, “There is consistent evidence that violent imagery in television, film and video, and computer games has substantial short-term effects on arousal, thoughts, and emotions,” write Kevin Browne, PhD, and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis in The Lancet’s Feb. 19 edition (Hitti, 2005). People argue that the affects it has on children are only temporary. For someone to make such an allegation they should know all facts about the situation. Tests have proven that in some cases when a young child views media violence is has made neurological changes in their brain. For some it was personality changes, for others it was aggression changes, and also emotional changes (Anderson, 2003). The effects of media violence are both real and strong and are confirmed by the careful reviews of research evidence by various scientific and professional organizations that are concerned with children’s mental health development. Some people believe that if it is a small effect on their children that it means that it is a minor issue and should not take it seriously. This is as far from the truth because if it is not taken seriously it can accumulate and turn into something very seriously. That is why parents should monitor what their children watch. Children’s exposure to media is very crucial and should be limited. In today’s modern America both parents work and usually children are at home alone. This means that television is not being monitored the way it should be. Studies by George Gerbner at the University of Pennsylvania showed that an average cartoon that a child watches contains over 20 acts of violence per hour. They also showed that a child who watches a lot of television will most likely start to look at the world as a bad place which will affect them in the long run. Gerbner also did studies in which he gathered 100 pre-school children and divided them in to two groups of fifty. One group he put on cartoons that had zero acts of violence and the other group he put on cartoons that had many acts of violence. After the cartoons were finished he observed the children and noticed definite changes in the children who watched the violent cartoons. They were playing mote roughly and had a very aggressive behavior. As for the other children they were acting normal. (Children and Television Violence, 1999-2008). In 1960 another test was done at the University of Michigan by psychologists Leonard Eron and Rowell Huesmann where 800 eight year olds were given the same test that Gerbner had done on his 100 pre-school children. They saw minor results when they observed them right after the tests were done. However they visited the children 22 years later only to see that they grew up to be very aggressive and have gotten themselves into a lot of trouble over the years (Children and Television Violence, 1999-2008). These tests just prove that when exposing young children to violence at a certain age they will grow up to think that it is alright to watch and participate in violent acts. This graph shows how media violence increased in a period of three years. [pic] One research project that was conducted was to see how much violence increased in a three year period. The results were phenomenal. In three years television violence increased in all aspects of the test. It showed that in three years programs including violence increased from 58% of programs with violence to having 61%. It also showed that programs decreased with an anti-violence theme. The biggest increase was television shows with bad characters that go unpunished which went from 37% to 45%. This graph proves that the speed of media violence is increasing year by year. Television shows are brainwashing the minds of children because as the graph shows the percentage of media violence that is in a realistic setting which makes children believe it is real and that it is also ok. In September of 2000 the Federal Trade Commission showed that over 80 % of rated “R” movies, rated M video games, and music with explicit content were marketed towards children under 17 1/2. If this is going to happen why even rate a movie or a game' Marketers are marketing towards children because they are the most immature and naïve of the groups of teens. This way it makes it easier for them to make money. For instance the highly criticized video game Grand Theft Auto 3 was initially banned in Australia for its graphic violence and sexual content. The game grossed $300 million in the United States by the end of 2002. America has done nothing to keep children away from the negative effect of media violence. (Violence in Media Entertainment, 2005). Some people wonder which television shows produce such violence' Tests have proven that almost if not all television shows has acts of violence. Watching media violence for children has surprisingly linked to higher blood pressure and higher heart rate. Many tests have been done on children on where they divided them into groups and different tests on them. For instance there was a test that was done where they divided pre-school kids into four groups of 25. The first three groups were viewing cartoons and video games that did not have any violent acts. Then only one group was exposed to violent acts. Later on in the day all the groups were given a difficult problem to solve the three groups were patient and focused and the one group became very frustrated and aggressive (Freedman). Children who watch up to three hours of Television everyday are 60% more likely to become more violent and grow up to be aggressive. All this research has cause a lot of controversy. Many researchers claim that the tests that are taken are bias and not correct. They believe that the results are on insignificant data. Though they think this way there has been so many tests that have all been in favor of media violence having a negative affect on children. How can they explain that when a child has a television in their room they start to have sleep problems' The tests that have been taken are very carefully taken and put together. (Freedman) Parents can take a stand against child aggression by putting limits on their children. They can limit the time their children watch television, play video games, and listen to violent music. They can also encourage their children to be more physical active. When a child is more physical active it will improve their health and will eliminate their Something that researchers also encourage parents to do is explain to their child the difference between fiction and non-fiction. Also explain that the violent acts they see are wrong. When parents take a stand against media violence it will help children. Parents can also help by talking to neighbors and/or friends about the affects of media violence so they can spread the word. People should be able to see that media violence has a major affect on children. It should be easy to tell when television companies are saying well if it is bad then turn it off. This just goes to show that they aso know that they are in the wrong and that the content they are presenting is negative. This is true but they should know that having violenet scenes every other scene is not a good way to market there televeision series. Media violence may not be able to be completely stopped but everyone should be aware of the consequences of media violence. The youth has shown major effects to the media violence that they see. The changes in aggression that a child experiences from partaking in the media violence can be changed. There is always ways to change and make sure that a child does not become affected by the violence. The affect it does have on children is a serious matter and needs to be changed. If a person believes that their child is being affected by media violence limit their time. People will soon realize that media violence does have a negative effect on children. Works Cited Anderson, C. A. (2003). The Influence Of Media Violence On Youth. In Psychological Science In The Public interest (pp. 81-105). American Psychological Society. Children and Television Violence. (1999-2008). Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Abelard: http://www.abelard.org/tv/tv.php Eugene V Beresin, M. (2009). The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions. Massachusetts, United States of America. Freedman, J. L. Research on the Effects of Media Violence. In Media Violence and It's Affect on Aggression. Hitti, M. (2005, February 21). Media Violence Spurs Fear, Aggression in Kids. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147986,00.html