Restrictions in Accessibility of Entertainment containing Violence - Essay Example

Restrictions in Accessibility of Entertainment containing Media Violence Abstract: The world has turned into an era where digital technology is the leading key in living. It is no doubt that the world today is greatly influenced by the presence of machines, computers and gadgets. This is the age where people stay in front of their computers to do bank processes, shop online, get reservations in hotels and airplanes and many more. This time, people spend most of their time being in front of their desktops, surfing over the internet, playing video games, reading over tablets, and watching movies over laptops and televisions. The emergence of digital technology has also aroused the spread of violence very quickly. Violence is relayed in various forms. They can be seen from the televisions, heard on radios, read over the magazines, viewed from the internet, or even experienced it from real life. They are found in various forms such as cartoons, movies, advertisements, comics, words and many more. Access of violence from entertainment media is easy. Children can access them readily. They are exposed to them unintentionally due to its easy accessibility. Violence to some degrees has some effects to children. What they see can influence their psychological state thereby intervening their proper growth and conduct. The proper upbringing of children to make them good citizens for the next generation depends upon their environment. The greatest factors contributing in their growth start from homes, then in their educational institutions, and their community. People around them especially their parents and guardians must be aware on how to mold them. It is vital to take care of children. They should be protected from the harsh world for their proper upbringing. The influence of violence coming from media entertainment must have some restrictions for children for them to be protected from violence. These can be done hand in hand by the government, the direct people in the homes and the whole world. The Entertainment of Today The world is now on the digital technology era. There is no stopping the various machines and other digital innovations from making men slaves of technology. Man is uncontrollably under the influence of machines making the whole humanity dependent on computers and other gadgets to go through their daily lives. Digital technology has made man’s work easy and fast. It has provided entertainment that is easily accessible through various modes such as television, radios, computers, internet, video games, cell phones, and many more. Man finds optimum satisfaction in gaining recreational joy and happiness through this media entertainment. The internet is one big factor that hastens the entertainment media to prosper. The massive data from the World Wide Web creates this world smaller as data can easily be accessible. People all over the world spend their time surfing in the internet to get fast updates, to shop easily, to do processing online and so on and so forth. Gadgets and machines generated for the usage of humanity use internet for their maximum functionality. Entertainment is served worldwide fast and easy with just one click of their hands. Mobile phones, computers, laptops, iPads, iPhones, and other gadgets are easy means to go online. Video games, PSPs, Xbox, and others provide entertainment through games also with the help of internet. Entertainment media is in the hands of man. They are found at homes such as televisions, radios and computers. Some are handy that they are carried by individuals like the mobile phones, iPads, laptops and etc. Getting into the internet provides no hassle as well. It is only a click away. They can be accessed anywhere using different gadgets and machines. Children have easy access over media. Almost all homes have televisions. They can watch movies and television shows anytime they want. They are also provided with gaming consuls that depict some violence. They are provided with mobile phones where they can watch over the internet whatever they wish. This easy accessibility of entertainment over media is indeed within reach for children. The influence of entertainment through various media made easy through the internet is within the grasp of humanity today. Unfortunately, violence comprises majority of the entertainment. In the same manner, the violence contained in this entertainment is exposed without limitations as they are readily available for anyone regardless of age. Children can experience them through watching television shows and movies. They can also be exposed to violence in the form of video games that they play (American Psychological Association, 2014). Around 90% of the movies, 60% of television shows and 68% of video games depict violence (CNN, 2014). III Effects of Entertainment containing Media Violence to Young Generations Entertainment accessed through technological gadgets gauged the interest of the young generations at high peak. Children’s response to media such as television varies with age. Very young children below the age of two cannot process the “busyness” of the television shows. They are unable to process details of the show due to the sensory bombardment. Their attention would just be limited to the actions and series of colors appearing. However, as they grow old, the salient features like the dialogues of the television shows are already appreciated. According to researchers, the symbolic nature of television is totally comprehended at the preschool years (Kirkorian, et. al ,2008). Media through electronic devices especially television makes great impact to children. Children’s exposure to them influences their academic achievements and cognitive development. Children exposed to television and other electronic media can interfere with their social activities such as playing, exploring and interacting with people. Too much exposure to them also makes children overweight. The exposure of children to violence in television has psychological effects. According to the American Psychological Association, children exposed to violence manifest these effecs: Children gets insensitive to pain of others, They are fearful of their environment, They get more aggressive They tend to get violent towards other people around them. They manifest hostile behaviors. They imitate the violence seen over media. Violence in media has drastically increased. It even became more dynamic, graphic, sexual and sadistic. Video games involving physical battles played by children make them execute their physical battles in the real world towards other people. Music videos and music push them into violent territories as they try to copy what they see and hear. Virtual violence is also readily available from World Wide Web. Children can easily download violent lyrics, violent movies, and other censored images. Horror movies and other movies combined with sexual imagery and violence creates a disturbing effect to them. They are exposed to scenes of death, dismemberment, mutilation, sex and other morbid things. Violence from media can mold values. Children at early age tend to imitate what they see on their environment. Their upbringing would define the kind of man they would grow up to be. If at early age they are exposed to violence from television, internet, and video games, then this culture would be inculcated in their minds. They would manifest violent actions towards other people. They would be indifferent to other people not feeling pain and remorse for what they have done. With this kind of upbringing, it is dangerous that they would grow violent and harmful. They would be potential threat to society as they tend to hurt other people and can lose their conscience upon their actions. This can make them future monsters, criminals and law breakers. Children exposed to violence in various modes of media tend to increase in their aggressive behavior, cognition, thoughts and feelings. They also tend to be less empathetic and depreciating pro-social behaviors (American Psychological Association, 2014). This can also result to long term effects making children sadistic and show manifestations of misogyny. The long term exposure of children to violence in media can treat these violent actions as norms. They tend to do violent actions without regard to consequences. This can shape them into violent adults and becomes potential nuisance to the society. IV. Recommendations or Course of Actions Need to be Taken The children of today are the future leaders. They must be protected and provided with their needs. Violence in children must be resolved. This would require strong cooperation between the government and the civil society. This can help children in their growth and prevent abuse physically, emotionally, and sexually. It is unfortunate to note that violent situations are prevalently present in media especially in television. The number of violent video games is also increasing. They are easily accessed and played by children easily. This increase in violence in media is a threat to society especially to the next generations. The future of the world is in the hands of these children. What will happen to this world if the future leaders are influenced by violence at early age? What leaders will they become if they are violent themselves? How would they treat their sons and daughters if they are violent in nature? This and many other questions disturb various factions in the society. The increase of violence in media especially in television has urged lawmakers to consider policies and regulations restricting violent programs to be aired on television at specific times when the children population is expected to be watching. They proposed to have violent shows to be aired late in the evening when children are expected to be sleeping. This program is a movement by the technology to help parents in exposing children from offensive and violent programs. This is one movement already made possible by the Federal Communications Commission in Washington. Their proposal to put limitations on violence on entertainment programs in which children would have lesser chance of viewing them on their time for watching televisions has caused a stirring among the cable and television industry. Accordingly, this regulation will help the parents and guardians to safeguard children from getting the effects of violence seen on television (Labaton, 2007). There are many programs done by government institutions and civil society to help combat children’s exposure to violence in media entertainment. The EU and UNICEF initiated promising actions towards this concern. Some of their actions involve cooperation with social workers, teachers, health workers, justice officials and police in creating multi-disciplinary and integrated programs to address children’s protection from violence. Their programs stipulate the following: Promote family-oriented policies in violence prevention for children. Provide Ombudspersons for children that can give constructive and critical responses to children’s violence (UNICEF, 2013). Protection of children from violence must start at homes. This must be done primarily by the parents and guardians. They should monitor the activities of their children. Family is the foundation of society. They are also the first place where children are taught about life. Children at home must monitor the activities of their children. They can check the movies that their children are watching from time to time. The exposure of children to television must be limited such that they can be spared for specific time for viewing. Their time to spend on electronic media such as play stations, Xbox, PSPs and other gadgets must also be limited. Over exposure to electronic gadgets might make their eyes weak and can make their physical bodies unhealthy due to lack of physical exercise. There should be an allocation of time for them to play and interact with other children. They also need to have outdoor experiences, camps and trips for their full social development. It is but right for media industry to put actions over the increasing violence. Media is one powerful factor that influences minds of people. People spending time in various modes of media to get entertained are subtly psychologically influenced. They tend to adapt what they see, read, and hear. If there’s violence over what they are seeing, reading and hearing, chances are these ideas retain in their subconscious and tries to manifests as they interact with the world. Violence taken from media can be imitated by those who perceive them. As such, people would hurt other people , but yet, they would treat it as normal thinking that violence is naturally acceptable in society. Media over electronic devices are all creations of man. Man should develop innovations that are constructive in nature. They must not be detrimental to peoples physical, mental, psychological and emotional health. Violence over media can be controlled if the creators and industries think not only of profit but also for human welfare. Children must be their optimum concern. Media influences minds. People in the industry must be sensitive towards their responsibility to nurture the future generations in one way or another. Violence over media entertainment should be controlled. Restriction over media entertainment to provide protection for children against violence is indeed a good thing. It is the responsibility of man to mold our future generations. Children can be molded not just by parents alone, but also the world that they live in. The entertainment industry must turn their wisdom into action as they can manipulate the turn of what they are producing over the internet. This can be done hand in hand with the government, civic society, the community and the family. Children need nurturing from anybody they interact with. If they can be molded into good human beings, then they can be good leaders in the future. Works Cited American Psychological Association. 2014. “Violence in the Media – Psychologists Study TV and Video Game Violence for Potential Harmful Effects. Accessible through http://www.apa.org/research/action/protect.aspx CNN. 2014. Is Media Violence Damaging to Children?. CNN Global News View. Turner Broadcasting System. Accessible through http://edition.cnn.com/2013/02/21/living/parenting-kids-violence-media/ Kirkorian, HL., Wartella,EA., Anderson, DR.. (2008). “Media and Young Children’s Learning”. The Future of Children Vol 18. No. 1. Accessible through http://www.princeton.edu/futureofchildren/publications/docs/18_01_03.pdf Labaton, Stephen. (2007). “FCC Moves to Restrict TV Violence”. The New York Times: meida and Advertising. Published April 26, 2007. UNICEF. (2013). “Major Step Forward to end Violence against children in South East Europe”. Accessed through http://www.unicef.rog/ceecis/media_25179.html Read More