Media Violence
Why are children our so violent? What has changed so much over the years to make today's children so angry, so aggressive? Many people attribute the increase in violent youth to the increase of violence in the media. "If people are fed a daily diet of murder, crime and violence, many come to believe that sort of thing is normal" (Foegen). There is a common belief that television, films, video games, and even the nightly news are to blame for making children believe that violence is not only acceptable, but a necessary way of solving conflict. Is the media to blame for this rise in violent behavior? It is possible that the media is being used as a scapegoat for the failing family unit which may be a more truthful cause of this behavior. There is no mistaking that television has become a household staple, much like bread or milk. The television, once a source of family entertainment, has become a babysitter, and even a parental figure in some homes. "The average seventh grader watches about four hours of television per day, and 60 percent of those shows contain some violence" (Violence and the Media 267). This means that when a child comes home from school, he
Kantrowitz, Barbara. "Is This Too Raw for Kids?" Newsweek 7 Feb. 2000: 52. Centerwall however, did not report all of his findings. He neglected to report that during this same time span in other countries, such as Italy, France, and Germany, murder rates also remained steady or even declined as the number of televisions per home increased (Rhodes 56). How can an increase in violence be attributed to an increase in television viewing when America is one of the few countries in which a correlation between television viewing and violence can be made? One popular example of "violent television" is professional wrestling. Many parents have chastised wrestling for encouraging violence and portraying it as glamorous. There is a concern that preteen and teenage boys will look to wrestling as an example of what a man should be, and this is a valid point. Teens and preteens are at the age when they begin to create identities for themselves. By watching wrestlers receive accolades and praise for engaging in acts of violence, children in turn could believe that this is an appropriate way to gain acceptance in society (Kantrowitz 52). In 1989 Brandon Centerwall conducted a study that has been used over the years to prove the effects of media violence on society. Centerwall followed the murder rates of whites in America and Canada from 1945 to 1974 and compared them to the murder rate of whites in South Africa for that same time period. It must be pointed out here that television broadcasting in South Africa was banned until 1975. Centerwall reported that while murder rates remained steady in So
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Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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