Media Violence Is Harmful to Children - Coursework Example

Media Violence is Harmful for Children Media Violence is Harmful for Children Introduction In human societies, the concept of violence is not very new; instead, the problem has been rising fast in our contemporary society. Many young people have been having a profound access to explosives and other forms of weaponry, which they have been using to cause various kinds of violence to people in the society. This kind of behavior has been having serious consequences, while some have been killed while being confronted by law agencies; others have been injured and even killed by the acts of these young people. The recent shooting witnessed in some schools in the United States and other rising incidents of homicide behavior in children and urban adolescents are just few of the cases recorded about violence among the minors. It is important to note that the causal factors for these forms of violent behaviors are multifaceted (Bushman & Cantor, 2003). In some instances, the actions are often caused by such factors like child abuse, family psychopathology, poverty as well as exposure to incidents of violent activities. Various studies and research have shown that exposure to violent programs on television have had a fair share of the causes of these violence (Bushman & Cantor, 2003). It is important to note that in many instances, it is sometimes difficult to identify which groups of children have had an exposure to televised violence. These children are deemed at the greatest risk of taking part in the violence. Currently, a strong correlation exists between aggressive children behavior and media violence in many of the television programs and games being developed (Beresin, 2014). This paper makes an examination of the effect of media violence on the aggressive and violent behavior displayed by children in our modern contemporary society. It also makes a counter argument on the fact that all forms of violent behavior arises from the influence of media programs in televisions and video games. Aggressive behavior in children and Media violence One of the questions that have been featuring prominently across several discussion forums on violence among minors is whether televised violence plays a role in influencing aggressive behavior in children (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). Most of these studies and researches show that most children often try to imitate what they see by practicing it with their peers at school and other social places. Before children reach their fourth year, they are often not able to make a clear distinction between fantasies and facts: in this case, most of them take violence as simply an ordinary and normal occurrence in life. It is important to note and appreciate the fact that violence that is televised, as well as video game offers a certain model of resolving certain kinds of conflicts. It is very efficient, inconsequential and frequent, something that children and adolescents want to keep watching. Most of the heroes in these programs are very violent and aggressive; for this reason, they are rewarded from their behavior. Later, these heroes become role models for the young people as they try to meditate on the programs viewed. The children and young people realize that carrying a weapon or any kind of tool is necessary and important, because it assists you to knock and punish people deemed to be bad. Additionally, the characteristic scenario where violence is used for various righteous causes may lead to a situation where people justify the actual use of violence in retaliating against their perceived victimizers. Therefore, in this case, young people that have been victimized in various ways often try to rely on violence as a means of solving their perceived problems. Unfortunately, in many of the media programs being televised, few or none of them display different forms of non-violent ways of solving various problems among people (Siegel & Welsh, 2011). This has made many children and young people to make a conclusion that violence is part of normal life. This has been because the televised programs on violence have made them insensitive to various issues of life. These children can hardly sympathize with those undergoing some painful experiences; instead, they love to see them suffer and experience the pain. Beside general forms of violence and aggressive behavior, children and young people are also exposed to different forms of violence because of watching televised violence programs and videos (Nathanson & Cantor, 2000). In one of the most recent research on the effect of television programs, it is clear that approximately 15% of the music videos on the television contain various forms of interpersonal violence (Massachusetts General hospital, 2012). In this case, children that watch some of these music videos develop interpersonal conflicts and end up engaging in behaviors that may not be in tandem with the societal expectations. Many children that suffer from poor parental responsibility end up using such programs to draw their inspirations either knowingly or unknowingly. Some of them that watch programs having themes like family abuse, divorce and other related themes find the concept so hurtful because it reflects their own life situations. Most of them tend to think that is the normal way of life and end up having to struggle to find meaning to this development. These children find it hard to draw a balance between the reality from the way they are taught in schools and that which they learn from these programs and others (Beresin, 2014). Other sources of aggressive behavior in children Another study has shown that another strong source of influence on children’s aggressive behavior is the internet and its social media. However, little or no evidence exists on the particular incidents of violence displayed on the internet. The point of concern with the internet is the specific sites that advocate for violence, provision of information on how to create explosive devices and other forms of weapons that can harm people, or ways of getting firearms and using them. Are all forms of violence in children attributed to media violence? On many instances, the media has been receiving many criticisms on the kinds of program they display and their effect on children aggression and other kinds of negative influences. While many researchers have shown a direct correlation between children’s aggressive behavior and the programs they watch on televisions and other forms of media, no scientific research is yet to be provided for these phenomena. The media has been blamed for its promotion of violent movies and video games, citing these as the fundamental causes of widespread violence among children and young people. However, it is important to understand that the idea of violent programs in the media cause violence among children and adolescents has not received any scientific research backing (Nathanson & Cantor, 2000). The youths that have various forms of aggressive traits and are also stressed often have high chances of bullying and showing various forms of delinquent behavior. These young people are sometimes attracted to these programs: However, it is hard to predict their behavior in real life by associating it to the influence of these media programs and others provided by the media. One of the important things to note is that children and young people in most parts of the world are protected against violence by a close supervision and supportive relationships from their peers, parents and caregivers. In the past, extensive research and studies have been conducted on the effects of violent television programs and movies on the behavior of children and adolescents (Massachusetts General hospital, 2012). However, none of them has come up with direct causal relationships on the violence in these youths and the violent programs and video games and programs they watch on the television. In fact, many centres that analysis violent crime shave not shown their direct support for the assertion that media violence has a role in the young people’s violent behavior. Practical Case A group of parents in some states in the United States set up to investigate the way children played and the kinds of activities they engaged in most. They realized that most of their children played and enjoyed violent games. In their observation, they noted that approximately, two-thirds of the 14-year-old boys engaged in at least one kind of violent game in comparison to the one quarter of the girls that were surveyed. Additionally, their research found out that kids engaged in different games in order to cope with various emotions, as a way enjoying various challenging situations and to match with their peers participating in similar games. Other motivations of playing these games included relieving stress from their homes or the highly demanding class work, as well as a way to develop their worlds. They also came up with some correlations between the self-reported physical behaviors like fights and violent programs on media, as well as other kinds of delinquent behavior, this was in particular to the amount of time they played or involved in such activities. However, the truth of this was only to a meager percentage of the children that already showed high levels of stress and other kinds of aggressive traits. They realized that the aggressive traits in these children were highly predictable from their delinquent behaviors and bullying and not necessarily from the violence in some of the media programs and video games. In this research, it was discovered that a great relationship exists about the kinds of children that are constantly involved in trouble in schools and the specific amount of time they spent watching the television and playing video games. None of the researches they conducted showed direct causal relationships between the violent media programs and their children’s aggressive behavior. Instead, what exist are mere correlations, an indication that several other factors are responsible for the aggressive behavior in children. However, it is important that parents and school educate their children on various media programs for their general learning, growth and development. Summary Recommendations It is important to note that media violence in their programming can be influence by the actions of various concerned parties on the side of children and young people. These people include child psychiatrists, physicians and pediatricians among others. On this case, pediatricians have been critical in the development of certain measures that can be followed to address the concept of programming in the television and other media stations. One of the recommendations by these professionals has been that physicians should discuss freely with parents on the nature, as well as the degree to which television-viewing patterns has to be done at home (Cauffman, 2008). Monitoring what children watch on television Parents are expected to put some kinds of limitations to their children to about 1-2 hours per day, especially for programs that they think have profound effects on the behavior of their children. Additionally, they should create ample time to watch some of the television programs with their children; this can help to address any kinds of objectionable content in the programs (Cauffman, 2008). By doing this, children can manage to make careful selection of the programs they can watch in order to limit their influence on their behavior towards their peers in schools and at home. Enhancing media literacy to parents and schools Another important recommendation is that physicians should try to make parents and schools media literate. This means that schools and parents should have a firm understanding of the risks associated with violence and educate their children on way of interpreting the things they see on television, as well as in movies, including the internet. By doing so, children can be better placed to make a discernment of the messages they see in the media and determine those that are suitable for viewing. Another important thing is that schools and parents have a duty to teach their children on various ways of non-violent resolution strategies. This way, children can grow knowing that they live well in a peaceful environment. References Beresin M, D. (2014). The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions. Retrieved from Bushman, B. J., & Cantor, J. (2003). Media ratings for violence and sex: Implications for policymakers and parents. American Psychologist, 58 (20), 130-141. Cauffman., et al. (2008). Bad boys or poor parents: Relations to female juvenile delinquency. Journal on Research on Adolescence. 18(4), 119-142. Massachusetts General hospital (2012). Research Shows Violent Media Do Not Cause Violent Behavior Research Findings and Tips for Parents. Retrieved from Nathanson A.I., & Cantor, J. (2000). Reducing the aggression-promoting effect of violent cartoons by increasing children’s fictional involvement with the victim. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(3), 125-142. Siegel, L. J., & Welsh, B. (2011). Juvenile Delinquency: The Core (4thed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning Read More