Effects of Media Violence on Children

EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE ON CHILDREN The media can have a powerful influence on young, impressionable children. Growing up in the United States, a predominately richer country, most families own television sets and radios. Many children choose to spend their free time watching or listening to music on iPods or mp3 players. However, many lyrics and television programs are violent, and over the years media violence has changed for the worse. Various studies "have found that children may become ‘immune’ to the horror of violence; gradually accept violence as a way to solve problems; imitate the violence they observe on television; and identify with certain characters, victims and/or victimizers" (Szaflik 1). The media’s use of violence as a form of entertainment has had a negative affect on our society by desensitizing people, especially young kids, to violent behavior and bringing out aggressive behavior, attitudes, and values. As the amount of programs through television, stereos, video games, and satellite dishes increase, media industries are competing for the loudest, most shocking idea to get the attention of the viewer. Throughout the years society has become more liberal. No longer are couples required to sleep in different beds on TV shows and the typical “clean, happy, family” often represented in shows throughout the 60s and 70s had been replaced with more racy, sexual themes to catch the viewers attention. Violence and sex have become effective methods in promoting movies and television shows. Often these themes are used to the producer’s advantage as hooks before commercials, in avertisements, and in previews as a glimpse of something exciting that can be shown in a short period of time and interest the consumer. Action films have a high degree of fights, killings, special effects, and explosions to keep the attention of an audience. Violence is big in many action movies because it is not culture-specific and requires less complexity in