Media Violence Essay, Research Paper

Is the media to blame for society s problems? This is the question that has been asked ever since television became a household necessity. There are many different types of media today ranging from newspapers, to television programs, video games and stories. There have been many arguments upon arguments about this issue, and over thousands of studies have been conducted. Unfortunately there isn t one single result, there is only an array of supposed answers to this undying question. When presented with all the information, I think you the reader will agree with me when I say that media, is the most integral part of society s violence today.

There have been thousands of studies conducted by universities on the effect of violence on children and also on society as a whole. The most intriguing article I found was a study done by UCLA. The primary purpose of their study was to examine the violent content of television during the hours of prime time and Saturday mornings. Their study broke down shows into four categories: “Shows that raise serious concerns such as gory movies or films such as Faces of Death, which is a collection of real people being killed on camera. Shows that contains scenes of violence but raise few concerns such as Home Improvement. Shows that do not have high levels of violence but due to their context they raise serious concerns, such as general violence as a joke like South Park. Shows that do contain high levels of violence but due to the context there are no serious concerns” (TV Violence). With these four major statements in mind, many key findings were found in favor of my ideas. One out of every four violent interactions involves the use of handguns. Only four percent of violent programs emphasize an anti-violent theme. Perpetrators go unpunished in seventy-three percent of all violent scenes. The negative consequences of violence are not often portrayed in violent programming. And premium cable channels present the highest percentage of violent programs (eighty-five percent). Based on these substantial facts, it is apparent that media has a huge impact on violence in society.

Technology today is making media violence even worse than it used to be in the past. It isn t just movies or news reports someone can watch to see violence, but now in a new way with the new video game craze. “Video games have become an enormous industry in the past decade. People of all ages own a Sega Genesis, Play Station, or Nintendo. There are thousands of video games out there, but the one that grabs most of the attention is Mortal Combat. Now just the name “Mortal Combat” says it all. It is a very violent game that has the player trying to kill the other player with a weapon of some sort. The game also includes sound effects when someone gets stabbed or punched, and displays blood flying from the body. Children these days are playing video games at a very alarming young age. The average age is eight years old” (Stop Teaching). Now personally I do not want my children playing games that involves them trying to kill one another, it just isn t morally right. Parents have to take a stand and decide what is wrong and right. The power is in their hands to decide their son or daughter s fate.

What is the effect of violence in media with children compared to with adults? Children model behavior they see in the media and what they see at home. If children don t see the consequences of violence, it will teach them that violence doesn t cause serious harm. Adults see more violence in the media than actually exists. This is because television producers believe that they have to include extraordinary violence in order to keep the viewer. When heroes use violence, children think that violence is an appropriate way to respond to their problems. Children are younger, so they see things and apply that to their lives, because they are learning everything at that age (Viewing Violence).

I have covered a fairly large amount of information, but compared to media in society as a whole, I am just starting to scratch the surface. Is media to blame for society s problems? I think yes, but many skeptics out there say there is not enough information to judge whether it is or not. As for me, the information above talks for itself. I think children should learn what is right and wrong, and learn to deal with problems in a peaceful way, not by fighting. Fighting does not resolve anything. It just makes things worse. Hopefully you (the reader) will agree with me when I say that there has to be a stop to all of this.