Controlling Adolescents' Exposure to Violence in Media

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The debate about violence in media, such as video games, has been going on for years now, however, there is no definite answer on what to do about it. Should adolescents be able to differentiate between video game fantasy violence and real life? Is it partially the parents’ fault for not controlling their access to these games? Perhaps there is more to it than just the scientific side of things. Adolescents should be able to differentiate violence in video games from real life and be able to recognize patterns in gender role and age. In turn, adults should be held responsible for what the adolescents play by controlling access to this media in the first place. Adolescents should be able to differentiate violence in video games, and any kind of media, because of the examples that their parents and elders set for them. If a researcher were to perform a study on the effects of media on adolescents, most people would find that the adolescents that the media does affect negatively probably have other problems contributing to their perceptions. These problems can range from a hostile household, to poor examples the parent or parents give, and even to mental illness. If most adolescents are shown a game like Mortal Kombat (made by Capcom ©) they will be able to differentiate that it is in fact only a game. Mortal Kombat does explain why each fighter is fighting and puts profiles in their games for the characters purposely. These profiles delve into the backgrounds of the characters and their origins. The game also has fantasy elements such as different realms, which makes it obvious that the adolescent should be able to distinguish that it is only a game for enjoyment and that they should not go out and repeat what they saw the ... ... middle of paper ... ...an truly be entertaining or educational. Role-playing games help enhance players reading skills by making most of the game text based. If critics are going to blame all video games for being violent, they should keep these kinds of games in mind. The new wave of video game consoles is upon us; likewise graphics are being advanced and will only continue to be portrayed in media. Then again, violence is portrayed in all media and the audience seems to accept and like it. “But violence isn’t learned from mock violence. There is good evidence—casual evidence, not correlational—that it’s learned in personal violent encounters, beginning with the brutalization of children by their parents or their peers” (Rottenberg 717). If the audience does not make a stand then things will never change. However, for those of us that do care, it is up to us to try and make a difference.

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