Effect of Media Violence on Youths - Assignment Example

Effect of Media Violence on Youths Since few decades, a rapid advancement has been observed in media and related areas that have modified and affected perspectives of human lives in an effective, as well as, adverse manner. Specifically, youth and adolescent group is the most affected group from media influence according to a number of studies. Media is not an issue, if it is viewed for a limited time; however, when an activity or a hobby becomes addictive, it results in the creation of a concern towards it. Similarly, when the youth start watching and relating with media all the time, it creates a sense of insecurity in terms of their behavior and future. In the year 1998, one of the faculty members of Simon Fraser University carried out a study on the teens that were interested in watching violent media. (Bryant, pp. 23-25) The results of that study showed that such media made twenty-five percent of teens addicted to it. In addition, all those teens showed great changes in their behavior, which was not in a positive manner. Furthermore, a number of studies have shown that worse academic results are shown by the youth that watch violent media according to the National Institute on Media and Family. (Gentile, pp. 39-41) It is indicated by the researches that violent media is preferred by more than seventy-five percent of teens in the United States that are interested in watching television and other available mediums. One of the schools in Texas carried out a study of adolescents that watch violent media, and it found out that teachers complained of frequent arguments from such students. In some cases, these adolescents were even involved in physical fights with their teachers and classmates that is a major concern of the schools, as well as, the parents. In specific, studies have shown that gender does not play a major role in the behavioral changes after watching violent media, which is another major topic related to the effects of violent media on youth that is not discussed in this paper. In another study, it was observed that eighty percent of adolescent girls that were involved in watching violent media argued with their teachers and classmates, as compared with the eighty-three percent of boys in the same category. Thus, it shows that gender does not play any role in such case. (Krug, pp. 45-46) The advent of violent media has prompted the researchers to go into the details of this medium of entertainment. In popular media, the topic of violence is quite controversial, as different people have provided different interpretations regarding the topic. For instance, one of the studies has indicated that when the development and learning process of an individual is slowed down due to repetition of a useless process, it is referred as a violent medium, (Katzmann, pp. 19-20) such as violent television programs, violent video games, popular rap music, etc. In this paper, we will try to understand different aspects of effects of violent media that affect the teenagers and youth in different parts of the globe. Recently, two different types of video games were played by the teens for a period of forty minutes. Increased activity and growth in the emotional arousal was observed in the teens that played violent video games. On the other hand, teens that played non-violent games showed normal activity of emotional arousal in their bodies. Amygdala is a substance in the body that is considered for the expression of emotional arousal, and activity of such substance is increased adversely at times of violence. (Jagodzinski, pp. 40) Similar increment was observed when the kids were playing violent video games. Therefore, it has been proved scientifically that violent video games do play a significant role in allowing the aggressive behavior of the teens. In order to prove the previous results, the Indiana University School of Medicine has carried out a research study to understand the role of violent television programs in the creation of aggression and violence in the youth. (Freedman, pp. 69-73) In order to acquire scientific results, brains of kids that watched violent television programs and non-violent programs were scanned by the experts at the laboratory. Similar results were indicated by this study, as an increment was observed in the emotional arousal of teens that watched violent programs with the help of brain scans. Moreover, brain areas that are used for the self-control and self-consciousness showed reduction in their activity, which showed that teens became more aggressive while watching violent programs. (Mattson, pp. 88-89) The results of such studies have shown that violent media creates a sense of aggressiveness in the youth; however, it is the responsibility of parents to monitor the activity of their kids while they are involved in some kind of violent media at home. Habit of watching television cannot be restricted by the parents, as it may create a communication gap between the parents and children because of the present trend of popular media in most of the youth around the globe. (Carrington, pp. 40-42) Most of the researchers and psychologists have indicated that adverse effects of violent media can be reduced, if the relationship of brain functions and watching violent media is monitored by the parents, as they spend the greater amount of time with their kids, as compared with the classmates, teachers, friends, etc. In another study, a violent rap song and a non-violent song were selected for acquiring results related to the effects of violent and non-violent songs on adolescents. The researchers selected forty-six adolescent girls and boys and they were divided into two groups. Random teens were assigned to hear any one of the songs. After the hearing sessions, brains of all the teens were scanned and they were provided with a questionnaire. A negative effect on the brains was showed by the scans, as well as, the questionnaires that were filled by the teens that heard violent songs for an hour. On the other hand, no negative effect was present in the kids that heard non-violent songs. In this study, violent content of the rap songs were considered responsible for the negativity of brain cells of the adolescents. As earlier discussed in the paper, parents can play a crucial role in reducing the negative effects of violent media by providing their children with alternative means of entertainment and discussions. On the other hand, appropriate activities can be provided to the children according to their ratings. Still, most of the television programs do not come with ratings. At this stage, it is the responsibility of parents to make some research and then make a decision to allow specific programs to their kids or not. At times, violent videogame playing cannot create negative effects, and often television watching can be allowed by the parents. In other words, violent media cannot be unconstructive, if the parents play a constructive role in their kids’ lives. Until now, the paper has discussed and analyzed some of the studies that have been carried out for the understanding of effects of violent media on youth. It is observed that video games, songs, television programs, etc. often have positive impact on the youth, as it is indicated by the researches that manual handiness and computer literacy is improved by the wide utilization of modern media. (Trend, pp. 67-68) A more realistic graphical experience is provided to the adolescents by the present information technology. Lives of a number of teenagers have become virtually qualitative with the help of media industry, which is improving day by day. However, it is shown by numerous studies that aggressive behavior of teens is adversely affected by the violent media, which can be ignored by none. In specific, amount of time that is spent in interacting with violent media also affect a lot on the aggressive behavior of youth. In the year 2000, it was admitted by majority of the parents that no time limit was imposed for the video gaming on their children. It was also indicated by the study that content of the videogames is mostly unknown by the parents, which creates greater chances of aggressiveness and violence in the youth. The study also observed that most of the video games reward their players for the violent acts, which creates thinking in the teens that tends them to perform similar aggressive acts in their real lives. In this regard, the Institute for Child Psychology has provided a checklist for the parents that observe aggressive behavior in their teen kids that put their time on playing excessive violent video games and watching violent media. In this regard, violent signs can be identified by the parents and adequate steps can be taken to reduce the aggressiveness in the adolescents. In other words, it is very imperative that such adolescents should get proper counseling from their parents, as well as, the schools, as violent media affect their mental health and thus, appropriate addressing should be provided to the children. (Kirsh, pp. 101-104) Nowadays, potential negative effects have been indicated by a number of health organizations that has created great concern from the parents. One of the researches has shown that violent rap songs are created according to a number of strategies that include child psychology, which helps the soundtrack companies to attract the adolescents in an addictive manner. According to a child psychologist, teenage girls and boys are likely to get addicted to things that allow or facilitate them to portray and express their skills that are not recognized by others. (Martin, pp. 38-39) Video rap songs and especially violent video games provide a platform for the teenagers to express their physical strength that cannot be expressed in homes or schools. In this regard, parents and schoolteachers must give proper attention to every adolescent, and it should be checked that every student should be encouraged, and be counseled in times of need. It is observed that teenage girls and boys are more likely to get addicted to the violent media, when they are not provided with any other source of energy such as sports, family discussions, co-curricular activities, etc. (Jordan, pp. 97-99) Nowadays, parents are very much busy, and they prefer babysitter to take care of their teen kids, in order to give time to their business or other activities. It is proved that more than fifty percent of adolescents do not get proper attention from their parents, which results in their endeavor to locate a new arena to express their inner feelings. The General Aggression Model is one of the effective methodologies that facilitate the understanding of aggressive behavior from the confrontation of violent media. An adolescent goes through a developmental process during his interaction with media, and different adolescents are affected on short-term and long-term bases. (Nash, pp. 53-57) In this regard, impact of violent media can be reduced by the proper study and understanding of different strategies that can be implemented to eliminate the aggression from a teenage boy or girl. In the year 2004, a study was carried out by a school in which, teenage girls and boys were asked to discuss about violent and non-violent videogames on random basis. (Arnett, pp. 56-58) The study selected fifty teenage students that comprised twenty-five boys and twenty-five girls. The students discussed different violent and non-violent video games for a month, and their behavioral changes were investigated and monitored for the period. It was observed that teenage students that were involved in discussing non-violent games showed positive improvements in their mental and physical health. In addition, they showed better academic results, and were able to create effective relationships with their teachers and classmates. On the other hand, teenage girls and boys that discussed violent games showed worse results, as compared with their counterparts that discussed non-violent games. (Moeller, pp. 33-35) Furthermore, teachers observed adverse changes in their behavior and complained of frequent arguments from such students. Moreover, parents observed similar behavioral changes in their children that were associated with violent videogames. In this regard, it was proved that violent video games play a vital and crucial role in the creation of aggression and violence in youth adversely. Conclusion As earlier mentioned in the paper, it is very difficult to restrict children from violent media from scratch, as the media have become very much popularized in the present era. However, the negative impact of violent media can be reduced by a number of steps that can be taken for the improvement of lives of thousands of youth, which are discussed in the paper. In this regard, rating of media should be studied by parents, and media related equipments should not be installed in child’s bedroom. Moreover, adolescents should be allowed to play video games and hear violent songs for a limited period, and media consumption should be monitored by the parents. Lastly, violent media plays a crucial role in the negative development of youth, and therefore, it is imperative that parents and teachers should play an effective role in the reduction of negative impact of the violent media. It is hoped that this paper will be beneficial for the students, teachers, experts, and nonprofessionals in the better understanding of the subject. Works Cited Amy Jordan. Children, Adolescents, and the Media. SAGE, 2008. Andy Nash. Through the Lens of Social Justice. World Education Inc, 2006. Arthur V. Carrington. Children at Risk. Nova Publishers, 2002. David Trend. The Myth of Media Violence. Blackwell Publishing, 2007. Douglas A. Gentile. Media Violence and Children. Praeger, 2003. Etienne G. Krug. World Report on Violence and Health. World Health Organization, 2002. Gary S. Katzmann. Securing Our Children’s Future. Bookings Institution Press, 2002. Jan Jagodzinski. Youth Fantasies: The Perverse Landscape of the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett. Encyclopedia of Children, Adolescents, and the Media. Springer, 2007. Jennings Bryant. Media Effects. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002. Jonathan L. Freedman. Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression. University of Toronto Press, 2002. Kevin J. Martin. Violent Television Programming and Its Impact on Children. DIANE Publishing Company, 2007. Mark Paul Mattson. Neurobiology of Aggression. Humana Press, 2003. Steven J. Kirsh. Children, Adolescents, and Media Violence. Sage Publications, 2006. Thomas G. Moeller. Youth Aggression and Violence. Routledge, 2001. Word Count: 2145 Words Read More