Media

Violence in the Media

Violence in the media has been a growing problem ever since the emergence of mass media. One wonders however, how violence has become so prominent in our culture, more so than other countries. More minors are being involved in heinous crimes such as murders and armed robberies. Even play on the school ground is getting rougher. There are many factors that play into the increasing violence, such as over population, religious struggles, and race. One factor that plays into the increase of violence would be mass media. Mass media has the power to reach and influence almost every American. Radio, newspaper, and television are all means by which media reaches people. Television however, can be considered the most influential. Ninety-eight percent of Americans have a television in their household. When it first came out it was considered a novelty, there were only a few channels and the signal was not very clear. Now it is available through air broadcast, cable, or satellite. Television has become part of everyday life. With the growing fixation and attraction to violence in the media, children in today’s society are becoming more violent and aggressive than ever before. However, to obtain a true understanding of this problem we must look at all aspect that cause violence, and not just put all of the blame on the media. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t forget the number one violence causing aspect, the media.

America was founded upon violence; and we have always been a society of power and control. This land was violently taken away from the American Indians. After this land was civilized, power and control was desired so much so that we rebelled against Great Britain to have this place for ourselves. We rebelled with violence and won. America ever since has always been the best at almost everything. America will achieve this most of the time thru violence. Both world wars and other political conflicts have been won by America using violence. Power achieved thru violence is one of America’s downfalls. People in America have the spirit that this country was founded upon, which has its negative and positive aspects. However, violence is finding its way into out culture everywhere, especially the television.

When it comes to children and television, there is much debate. Many argue that television is healthy for children. It opens up th...

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...oduction of television (Facts about Media). This only proves that people become more violent from watching television or more immune to it. Many people admitted after September 11th that when they watched the planes crash into the World Trade Centers that they were not fazed. This is because Hollywood has shown things crash and blow up so much that we confuse it with a Hollywood movie. When you watch something so much it becomes a part of your life. You do not know the difference of it being “real” or just “TV.”

In conclusion, violence in the media has been a growing problem for quite awhile. Mass media has the power to reach and influence almost every American. Radio, newspaper, and television are all means by which media reaches people. Through means of mass media, mostly television, violence is reaching Americas youth and turning our culture into a violent hungry society. Television has great influence on children. It opens their eyes to the world and violence on TV has a devastating effect that continues throughout their adulthood. Even though we can’t blame all of our flaws and problems on the media we should at least focus and fix this problem before too much harm is done.