Media and Violence

Paper Summary:

The paper shows how the recent spate of school shootings has focused attention once again on how the media portrays violence and how decades of studies have long supported theories linking media violence and antisocial behavior. It examines media violence by focusing on the effect of violent television programs on children and adolescents. The first part of the paper looks at the amount and content of violent programming on television. The second part looks at the detrimental effects such programming has on the health and physical well being of children and teens. The next part then examines the psychological effects of constant exposure to violent programming and the implications these effects can have on an adolescent's behavior as an adult.

From the Paper:

"Perhaps the most disturbing effect of a childhood exposure to violence is its implications on future violent behavior as an adult. People who were exposed to a significant amount of violent programming as children are more likely to become physically aggressive adults. Many men who commit spousal abuse or engage in criminal behavior viewed large amounts television violence as children. Women who are exposed to television violence as girls are more likely to assault other adults (Huesmann et al, 210). Despite the significant correlations between violent programming and behavior, the problem does not lie with the depictions of violence per se. After all, plays like MacBeth and Oedipus Rex contain deal with events like betrayal, murder and patricide. In these plays, however, viewers associate violence with its harmful results."

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