Theorists argue that violence in the media's influence can lead to an increase in violent behavior in youth. Youth violence is a serious issue, and there are many things that contribute to youth violence. It is difficult to put a finger on just one single factor that contributes to youth violence. One fact is that if a child grows up in an unhealthy household that he or she will be more likely to grow up to be a violent person. Another fact that is linked to violent behavior is if the child grows up in a tough neighborhood. The list of contributing factors to violent behavior in our youths is never ending. One thing society should remember though is that not just one single factor can be linked to youth violence. It is the combinations of these variables that make our youth have the tendency to be more violent. The focus of this paper is how violence in the media contributes to the many other factors that lead to violent and aggressive behavior in youths.

The first time television was introduced in the United States was in the 1950's. At this time television was a very expensive luxury, and this meant that only a very few households had this

Gerbner, George (1996) "TV Violence and what to do about it." Nieman Reports, v50,

Television violence according to many psychologists, can lead to heightened aggression in people today. "Research shows that children who watch a lot of violence can become desensitized to real-world violence and less empathetic to the pain and suffering of others" (Chidley, 1996, 3). As children watch increased levels of violence on television they develop sort of a mean world syndrome. This leads the children to perceive the world as much more cruel and sinister than it really is. Many children might grow up being afraid of the world because of the violence that they see in the many hours that they spend watching television. This does not only have an effect on children, but also on the adults and the elderly. Adults and elderly people are becoming more and more afraid for their lives as violence in our culture increases. They are not used to these high levels of violence like is seen every day now. They are still adjusting to the fact that television has much more !

Chidley, Joe (1996). "Toxic TV." Maclean"s, v109, n25, pg.36 (6)

"Media and Entertainment Industry Violence"

Violent crime in the United States is up 560 percent since the 1950's and is still rising at an enormous rate. There was an 85 percent increase in the number of teenagers being arrested for murder from 1987 to 1991. The number of teenagers being killed by guns is rapidly increasing also. In 1990, there were a total of 4,200 teenagers killed by guns. "It is estimated that on any given day about 135,000 children carry guns to school across the United States"(Hattemer, 1994, 65). Many children are drawn to violence because it is a demonstration of power in their eyes. Once a child has that first encounter with the feeling of having complete control over someone it can be like a drug. They get addicted to that feeling and want to have that feeling over and over again. There are studies that show that after being exposed to many films containing pornography, men start to build a strong distrust towards women and begin to rape women. Many teen boys admit that they have alre!

Today there is more variety, and more sources of violence than ever before. In addition to violence in movies, and television broadcasts, violence has also been integrated into rap songs, music videos, commercials, and news broadcasts. It is estimated that... "The average American child will witness.... 200,000 acts of television violence by the time that child graduates from high school"(Gillespie, 2000, 2). A child between the ages of 3 and 12 who watches 28 hours of television a week (estimated at about four hours a day) will watch 8,000 murders and 100,000 violent acts. "More than 1,000 studies have found a connection between violence on television and people's real-life behavior"(Barry, 1993, 3). It is a fact that in an hour spent watching television there are up to 10 violent acts that occur, and even more violent acts occur in an hour watching children's cartoons which contains up to 32 violent acts (Hattemer, 1994,64).

There are many statistics that indicate that ever since television was introduced the rates in crime have increased, especially among youths. There is the belief that, "the increase in violent crimes such as rape, assault, and murder in the United States, committed mostly by youths, is directly related to the increasing amounts of violence shown on television"(Hattemer, 1994, 62). Researchers offer numerous explanations of how and why media translates into real life crime. Society must stop this violent epidemic. Not every person reacts to violence in the same way. Children who are poorly nurtured and that have little inner strength are more susceptible to its influence than children who are well nurtured and who have received a strong value system from their parents.

In studying how much violence in the media actually does influence behav

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