The Impact of Media Violence on Children

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The media has a significant role in shaping our lives and even that of the society. Media is just a passage used to relay information which can either be positive or negative. The media has a way of shaping our day to day lives and at times determines the kind of people we are. Its impact is directly registered in the mind, and we rarely realize how deeply it affects us until things get out of hand. Negative effects of the media include violence, which is depicted in programmes with acts such as rape, fighting, murder, shooting, the use of explosives, torture and other forms of crime. I believe that the effects are detrimental, have long-term effects and affect us since childhood, through adolescence and into adulthood. The paper highlights the effects of media especially media violence and its effects on children.

Media violence comes in various forms including television programs, music, video games, movies, books, magazines and even adverts. Research has proved that violence in the media has a negative impact on children’s lives. Children exposed to media violence are more aggressive and violent in almost everything they do. These researches show that children and adults process what they see in totally different ways. The mind of a child is still under-developed; hence, most of the time they imitate what they see without judging whether what they see is right or wrong. These children believe beyond doubt that what they see in the media is what happened in real life. If left unsupervised, these children easily pick up most of what they view and even associate with some of the characters they see. Most of the casts become their role models as they admire their strengths and character. Many are times when they apply what they have seen in their schools or other social places and even influence the other children negatively (Brown, 1996).

The society has changed with time and people have also changed with it. Family values have diminished since families are not well knit as it was before. Parents allocate little of their time to their children, and this, in turn, leaves them with little time to interact with them. Violence in the family is on the increase making it a norm in our lives. The aggressive behavior in children is a major concern to sociologists who have concluded that a large percentage of aggression is influenced by the media. Most of the media sources show that most of the successful people got involved in some kind of illegal activity.

The media plays a major part in the increase of juvenile delinquency. The negative impact of crimes attracts children to join gangs. The gangs lure the children into practicing the violent activities that they pick from the media. Since peer pressure is common in children, most of them end up making unwise decisions of joining these gangs. With peer pressure, they believe that associating with the gangs prevents them from being alienated from their peers. Joining the gang for this reason makes them feel appreciated and comforted. These children believe that the gangs can protect them from getting harmed by members of other rival gangs, bullying in schools and in the communities. The children feel secure when they are in the company of big gangs. Some of the children in the gangs commit worse crimes like murder for they are already exposed to handling guns and other weapons. Other crimes that these children engage in include robbery with violence, buying and selling drugs, bullying and intimidating their peers and seniors. In addition, without proper counseling, the consequences to the crimes are long lasting for the perpetrators who get to understand their actions when it is too late (Carlie, 2002).

Viewing violent materials is very addictive, making children prefer them to other educating media materials. Continuous exposure to violence and violent behavior changes a child’s attitude, emotions and feelings. Children exposed to violence are prone to abuse or can be the perpetrators since they are seldom aware that it is wrong. When in a violent situation, a child becomes emotional and can react either in fear or in anger. Aggressive children are most of the time withdrawn and less interested in good activities (Bushman & Huesmann, 2006).

Everyone, including the community, parents, educators, media houses, psychologists and peers, has a role to play in controlling the effects of media violence on children (The Australian Psychological Society, 2000). Parents should monitor and supervise the programs that their children watch, the books or magazines they read, and the video games they play. Whenever possible, they should watch the programs with them and help them interpret the happenings by pointing out the morals. They can help them choose activities that will shape them to productive members of the society. Communities and society can control the negative effects by creating networks and forums that educate everyone on the negative effects of violence.

Educators should provide educative curricula on media that can be used in their schools. Good curricular educate children on key indicators on how to identify violence in the media they choose. The curricula may involve the participation of parents, children and the educators themselves. Media producers and journalists should not take advantage of the fact that violence is addictive and attractive and thus use it to pass information. Instead, they should exercise good work ethics by producing materials whose effects do not have negative effects on their viewers. They should ensure that media houses should broadcast programs with violent materials at an hour that children could not be watching the television. They should provide caution to viewers in advance, should the programs and materials contain violent or rated scenes. Explicit and violent programs should be labeled PG, to indicate that parental guidance should be provided to children watching the program. Some parents even go to the extent of first previewing the programs, and blocking any X-rated scenes. This reduces the chances of the children stumbling into such scenes. Lastly, psychologist should be on the lookout in identifying social trends and research on their underlying causes, effects and prevention. This way, societies around the world will be healthy right from children to adults (The Australian Psychological Society, 2000).

The effect of media violence on children is cancerous and a national pandemic. Being an issue that has been widely discussed and researched on, it shows that it has a major role in the way the society perceives and engages in violent activities. It is the responsibility of the government, and other stakeholders to control and regulate what people are watching on television, read on print media and listen to on the radio. Parental guidance is important, and every parent should take the responsibility of shaping the future of his or her children.

References:

Brown, M. (1996). Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice. Retrieved on 2nd December 2012, from http://web.comhem.se/u68426711/12/sem2/browne05.pdf

Bushman, B. J., & Huesmann, L. R. (2006). Short-term and Long-term Effects of Violent Media on Aggression in Children and Adults. Retrieved on 2nd December 2012, from Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescence Medicine: http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com

Cantor, J. (2002). The Psychological Effects of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents. Retrieved on 2nd December 2012,from Your Mind on Media: http://yourmindonmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/media_violence_paper.pdf

Carlie, M. K. (2002). Mass Media Portrayals of Gangs and Gang Members. Retrieved on 2nd December 2012, from Into The Abyss: A Personal Journey into the World of Street Gangs: http://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/what_i_learned_about/gangs/whyform/mass_media_portrayals.htm

The Australian Psychological Society. (2000). The Effects of Violent Media on Children. Media Representations and Responsibilities. Retrieved on 2nd December 2012,from http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/statements/media/