America, the nation with the highest homicide rate in the developed world, has seen violence soar to epidemic levels over the past several decades. During this time there has been passionate and ongoing debate about whether there is a causal relationship between media violence and aggression in society. Contrary to some claims, the medical, public health, and scientific communities

Bogart, L., (1995) Commercial Culture, Oxford University Press, New York.

Boyer, E., (Unknown) from National Telemedia Council, Madison, WI

are in agreement that such a relationship exists. Extensive reviews of more than forty years of scientific studies have led researchers to conclude that the media significantly contributes to the aggressive behavior and attitudes of children, adolescents and adults. (Donnerstein, 1993) In fact, the 1982 National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reports, supporting the Surgeon General's landmark 1972 conclusions, stated that, "In magnitude television violence is as strongly correlated with aggressive behavior as any other behavioral variable that has been measured." (National, 1982) In 1985, the APA endorsed the Surgeon General and NIMH conclusions that televised violence has a causal effect on aggressive behavior. The APA joined other professional groups such as the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child Psychiatry. (Donnerstein, Slaby, and Eron, 1993) A 1990 report following a major conference, Television and Teen: Health Implications, concluded that media violence can teach adolescents violent behavior as well as create and maintain societal attitudes that condone violence. Constant exposure to these depictions can also lead to emotional desensitization toward violence (Hoberman, 1990)

National Institute of Mental Health Television and Behavior:(1982) Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eighties (vol 1) Summary Report

The television is a major source of violence. In many peoples' living rooms there sits an outlet for violence that often goes unnoticed. It is the television, and the children who view it are often pulled into its realistic world of violent scenes with sometimes devastating results. John Langone has often called the television an "intrusion into a child's learning process, substituting easy pictures for the discipline of reading." He also believed that television will essentially turn children into lumps of coal or "hypnotized non-thinkers" who are just after the flashy pictures without any real intake. (Langone, 1984) The truth about television violence and children has been shown. In a speech before the U.S. Senate, Leonard Eron, one of the country's foremost authorities on media and children, said:

Eron, L.D., (1992) Testimony before the Senate Committee of Government Affairs, Congressional Record, June 18, 1982.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Responsibility Evidence, Entertainment Industry, Suggestions Let's, Eron LD, Tel Aviv, Evidence America, Colorado Columbine, Health Implications, Leonard Eron, TV Guide, entertainment industry, television violence, media violence, aggressive behavior, violence children, television children, tv guide, violence television, institute mental health, eron 1993, government tried, entertainment industry insists, eron ld 1992, national institute mental,
Approximate Word count = 2097
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)