Gerard Jones´ article “Violent Media Is Good for Kids” focuses on the many benefits that violent media can have on children. The article was published on June 2008 in Mother Jones. The author begins by telling a story about his own childhood, and how the Marvel Comics influenced him to later become a comic writer. Later on, the same thing happened to his son when he started seeing the Power Rangers and reading about Tarzan. Violent entertainment is helpful for children to understand the negative feelings parents have taught them to avoid having.
Violence is easily seen in today's culture through criminal actions in the media. Surprisingly, "on average, American youth view more than 1,000 murders, rapes, and assaults each year" (Rockefeller 2). This shocking fact demonstrates just how prevalent violence is in the young minds of Americans. As a result of these viewings, young adults are sure to have psychological effects. Studies have proven that "children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation" (Tompkins 1).
This behavior may seem odd because it is not expected from a child; however, this is only one of many cases of aggressive behavior inspired by violent media. We are exposed to violence on TV, the internet and many other sources of information more than we think, “Globally, more than 1.4 billion households now own at least one TV set, representing 79 percent of total households” therefore it is not surprising that a report made by the DOJ (Department of Justice) of the United States stated that “By age 18 an American child will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence” , still there is evidence that may say otherwise, according to a study titled “Violent Video Games and Real-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data” there is not a significant correlation between violence on media and aggressive behavior .
In the essay, “Violent Media Is Good for Kids”, writer Gerard Jones argues against parents and teachers by saying that violence is good for kids. Jones argues that violent media whether it be video games, movies, Television, or comic books is good for kids. Kids are often taught both in school and at home that violence is never the answer and cooperation was always better than resorting to violence because violence always leads to more violence. Jones starts off by describing the way he was raised by his parents. “At 13, I was alone and afraid.
Browne, Kevin, and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis. " The Influence of Violent Media on Children and Adolescents: A Public-health Approach. " The Lancet 365.9460 (2005): 702-10. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
In “Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior”, Greg Toppo uses studies, expert testimonies, and examples to persuades the audience that video games do not necessarily cause violent behavior; however, it can have an effect on a person’s health or attitude. He informs the audience that the connection between media and behavior has been around for a very long time, and it has become more robust in the 20th century. There are studies such as the one conducted by Albert Bandura that involved kids being surrounded with by aggressive and nonaggressive toys, which Bandura concluded that watching aggressive behavior makes people more hostile. However, critics argued that researchers have confused competitiveness and aggression for violent behavior.
Every day, millions of kids play violent video games and are influenced to behave badly. While kids are playing violent video games, the seed of violence becomes planted inside of them. Violent role-playing games promote sabotage, killing, and war, which are not good for children to be experiencing at a young, impressionable age. Studies have shown that playing games with violent components is linked to aggression in youth. Lastly, war is a real occurrence, and these games desensitize what war really is.
10 percent to 20 percent of real-life violence can be attributable to media violence. According to an article in 2013 in American Psychological Association Researches a report that was done in 1982 identified the major effects on children watching violence on television that included children may become less sympathetic to the pain and suffering of others, may be more fearful of the world around them, and may be more likely to behave aggressively or harm others. Nevertheless, later researches suggested that exposure to media violence is one of the several factors that lead to aggressive behaviour, while others found that watching violence on media is a form of entertainment and does not result in the concerned incitement that would be expected. The violence in the media is growing wider and wider day by day. There are three genres specially made that contain numerous of violent scenes which are horror, thriller, and action, and there are no specific prohibitions on this type of matter.
In certain games such as Saints Row, there are certain missions that the player has to complete that determine whether they are a hero or a villain. There are more opportunities to become evil rather than stay good which further proves the theory that media violence is a risk factor for increasing emotional arousal, aggressive behavior and violent thoughts. Besides videogames, television is a major source of informal observational learning. Children and teens are routinely exposed to murders, beating, and sexual assaults – just by turning on the television set. (Huesmann et al., 2003; Potter,
When a child develops they are keen on recognizing patterns and behaviors. Due to their age and short attention span children from one to four are more drawn to fast moving, dramatic sequences allowing them to be more easily attracted to violent action scenes. For young children around the age of two, it’s more likely that they will mimic the behavior they see in the media without thinking of the consequences it may have. If left without any repercussions the aggressive behavior will only increase leading to further development and an escalation of the bad behavior as the child matures. Studies show evidence that “short-term exposure to media violence [in viewers 2-4] stimulates immediate aggressive behavior with their peers at school.
There are games that literally replicate and give people the ability to score points for doing the very same thing that these students are doing inside schools, where you get extra points for finishing someone off who’s lying there begins for their life.” ( 6) There are several ideas that say young people benefit from these violent video games “Surprisingly, playing video games can help our physical, mental, and emotional health.” It helps them to improve hand eye coordination and thinking ability. These benefits are not worth the risk of being influenced by violent video games. (7) All in all the research and officials say that violent video games affect how children, teenagers and young adults act.
A recent content analysis by the research organization Children Now shows that a majority of video games include violence and about half of the violent incidents would result in serious injuries or death in the "real" world. Claim1 Research involving British primary schoolchildren found that the length of time young people spend playing games, rather than their content, could have an effect on their behavior or school performance. But it concluded that fears that generations of young people are growing up with their development impaired by exposure to violent video games are no more likely to be borne out than previous “moral panics” over television and other media. Playing one-player games is not always negative if you do it moderately.
As you know, violent media means TV show or game have violent acts in it. Nowadays, lots of children are recognized for having bad influence by violent media. Children may be more fearful of the world around them, or they more likely to behave in aggressive or harmful ways toward others (“Violent Media and Aggressive Behavior in Children”). Violence media has appeared in a long time, and it has a great impact on children.
Media violence has become a controversial topic in the world today. Owing to the rising technology, children are beginning to show increasing violent behaviors. The debates on the effects of media ranging from screen media, video games, and books have a long history. Due to this, there is a speculation over what is the leading cause of the increasing violence in children. Some people argue that there is a relationship between media violence and real-life violence.
Some researches admit that violent games may cause adolescents to become tremendous. Studies showed that video games increase psychological awakening, it could also increase aggressive behavior, emotions and thoughts and finally let teenagers lose the sense of helping others. All these effects will be carried by aggressive young people. It’s true that video games are violent, but aggressive adolescents are more likely to be more attracted to it. Some games reward players for doing violent actions, so this will affect them negatively, letting them think that violence is normal.
