Media Violence Among Adolescents

It is often said that if a child sees someone do something they will repeat that action. So if that is true, would a child who sees violence through media think it is reasonable to do the same in real life? For many it is not a surprise that research has found that media violence can lead to societal violence among adolescents. From the violent video games to the movies where it seems okay to use violence, the youth today is continually being exposed to these things. Our nation needs to look at issues like this closer to try and reduce or even stop shootings and violence due to the things adolescents view through media. Throughout the years, adolescents have had constant access to the Internet, television, and video games to do whatever they

A person could have a problem associated with violence well before they started playing video games and if that is the case, they need to know the difference between what is not real in the games to handling situations in reality. Whether the shooter is young or old, male or female, it is severe mental illness, not their exposure to media that is triggering them to go out on a rage (Ferguson, 2013). Opponents believe that the children with depression and an abusive family account for actual violent incidents, while the exposure to media violence has only a minor effect on them (Cheney-Rice, 2013). Those who do not believe in these issues think that just because they have played a video game and are not a killer there must be no correlation between the two (Bushman, 2013). But the opponents have been trumped with their views about media violence, with those who believe it does increase violence among

Younger aged children are said to be more likely to imitate what they see on violent programs. If they see a ‘good guy’ is using violence to solve a problem, they will usually think it must be all right to do the same thing. Television programs will sometimes present violence as an appropriate form of conflict resolution (Cheney-Rice, 2013). Also having adolescents watch too much television can come with a price. A study from New Zealand reveled that excessive television watching is associated with an increased risk of criminal convictions and anti-social behavior. Long-term exposure is said to have much more disturbing outcomes than those of short-term exposure, which is unusual for it to occur (Emmons, 2013). Children who watch a lot of television are more likely to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place. They will tend to act differently after they have been watching violent shows on television. For instance, if a child sees a actor on the show shooting a gun, they may go around pretending they are shooting people because they think it is alright since someone else did it (American Psychological Association, 1999). All these aggressive acts from media violence can lead to a major lack of communication. Having these thoughts in their heads can consume their thinking and make it hard for them to even want to talk to classmates, friends or family, or even