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
Foegen, J.H. "Newspapers as Behavior Modifiers?" Editor & Publisher 9 Sep. 1996: 52-53. EBSCOhost. CD-ROM. 11 Nov. 2000. There is another school of thought that says media is not to blame for increased violence, but a deteriorating family structure is. In some cases, it is not that parents do not care what their children are exposed to; they are simply uninformed as to what their children are watching. Parents need to be educated as to the potential impact that television and other forms of violent media could have on their children (Grossman). There have been suggestions to create a media campaign which would educate parents on the V-Chip and rating systems, as well as other tools to prevent children from being exposed to media violence (Violence and the Media 288). 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? Kantrowitz, Barbara. "Is This Too Raw for Kids?" Newsweek 7 Feb. 2000: 52. ize viewers, it does not mean that those viewers will be more violent than people who do not watch television. "Violence and the Media: Influence on American Youth." Congressional Digest Nov. 1999: 266-288.
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Approximate Word count = 1051
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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