Violent Media: A Double-Edged Sword?

It is nearly possible to avoid violent media in today’s culture. No matter what measures parents take, their children will be exposed to violence. There are countless studies that research the correlation between violent media consumption and aggressive behavior. Most of them finding that there is a connection between the two. With the increase in violent video games, movies, and television, many believe that children are at risk of becoming violent and aggressive which could stunt their development. However, there have been some recent studies that search for the benefits of this exposure. If delivered in the right way, can schools use violent media in a positive way to teach students? Gerard Jones makes this argument in “Violent Media is

Children have access to television, internet, and video game in “forty-six percent of all homes” (Goldberg). Since almost fifty percent of children could access negative content, schools will have to take action and teach students about the dangers of this content. Researchers have suggested if adolescents had better media habits, juvenile crimes would decrease by the thousands. Administration should make media literacy a required class in their curriculum which will educate students about the dangers of media. This will allow students to have proper exposure to violence and give them a better understanding of the pros and cons of media and how to use it in moderation. This change could hopefully translate to children forming better habits at home. These teachers will be able to use violent content to teach students valuable real world lessons. This is especially important to the children who are at a greater risk in an unstable household and have to deal with violence at home. Schools need to present the risks in violent media instead of just saying it is bad because “not teaching kids that there 's a difference between the two is the opposite of moral education”