Media Do Not Cause Violent Behavior

Violent media is everywhere, from commercials to billboards, causing parents to question if it is good for their children to be experiencing the violence. Yet, there is violence in everyday life, making it hard for parents to be able to shield their children from it. Educational tools contain items that are considered violent, such as the novel Odyssey by Homer, so video games and violent movies are not the only type of media that introduces violence to children. Still, some believe that violent media has caused school shootings, such as the one that happened at Columbine High School in 1999, but is this really the case?

According to the article from Massachusetts General Hospital, “Research Shows Violent Media Do Not Cause Violent Behavior”,

violent media and violent people do not have a relationship. Yet, a correlation between media violence and acting on the violence is happening because of other factors, such as a child already being violent and spending extensive hours playing a violent video game the child may continue to act violently. Which can cause many people to believe the small percentage of people who play video games and become violent are the majority. The study in the article claims that less than five percent of children become violent after experiencing any sort of violent media. Many children do not just play the violent games for the violence. In the study quoted in this article, many children said they use video games as a way to handle their emotions, to enjoy new challenges, to keep up with peers, to create their own world and to relieve stress. The author makes many good points. For example, the author says that every child is different and to know if the violent video games are affecting the child negatively since it may not all children.
Parents should cautiously decide when to introduce a child to any type of violent media. Many children develop at different rates, so it is important to know what is good for a child at the developmental stage he/she is in at the time. Young children live in a fantasy world due to how their brains develop, so it is difficult for them to determine the difference between reality and fantasy. Also, the article claims that having a close relationship with parents and peers will cause less violence in a child. However, there is no proof that a child who has no connection to peers will be any more violent than a child who does have connections. Also, the author does mention violent movies briefly, saying that an attractive main character can have a stronger impact on the child, but there is no evidence that this is the case.Many questions are still unanswered in this area of study causing the argument of this article to have weak parts. Yet, the areas that have support strengthen the argument with statistics and facts. In the end, this article brings insight on that violent media does not cause a violent outcry in every child who views the media.
The importance of knowing the child and how they are reacting to violence is the biggest key to know if the child should view the type of violence as they are. Since violent media is everywhere and is introduced to children eventually; it is better to talk to a child about violence rather than isolating a child from it. In the end, violent media and violence in real life do have a correlation and violent media will not help children who were already violent, but violent media does not fully cause children to commit horrific crimes, such as the Columbine shooting.