Media's Effect on Society

Public attention to violence in television has been evident since the early 1950's. Since then, some have come to feel that the portrayal of violence on television is an example of the moral breakdown of our once-great nation. Unfortunately, television is thought to have an impact on the beliefs and actions of viewers, especially of children and teenagers. Most boys and girls who see violent acts performed on television are more likely to become violent and aggressive in their own lives. Two Chicago doctors, Leonard Eron, and Rowell Huesmann followed the viewing habits of a group of children for twenty-two years. They concluded that watching violence on televisionencourages violent and aggressive behavior. Programs, advertisements, and even the news is giving the public a warped view of reality. Since most people have little experience with crime and violent acts, they are more likely to believe what they see on television. By distorting reality, television has caused the increase of violence because of learned behaviors and the desensitization of children.
One of the main reasons television creates a fair amount of violence in society is the fact that children learn the specific behaviors they observe. It has been established above all that children watch television to keep themselves occupied and for amusement. Television has and informative and social function. Children have said from television they get ideas, learn about good and evil, and get an idea of reality.
In order for a child to be influenced significantly by a particular program, they must find the programs credible. The child then develops opinions through different sources(parents, teachers, peers), and then the child will have their own experiences, relating what they saw on television with the similar situation they have encountered in their own lives. It is true that the programs that have the greatest influence are the ones that deal in matters we have no knowledge of. An example of this is the scenario of a child who has no experience with death, but is confronted with it on television. When he or she is told that their Grandmother has died, the child asks, "Who shot her?” This is just one example of how television can fill the gaps in a child's immediate experience, therefore altering the way they think about and understand certain situations, causing them to act a certain way based on what the television program has taught them.
Young audiences exposed to mass media portrayals of violence learn how to perform violent acts. Audiences who have learned violent behavior from television are likely to exhibit that learning, (or engage in acts of violence), if they encounter a situation similar to the portrayal situation, and expect to be rewarded for that violent behavior. Lab experiments performed on children and aggression have been done where children are randomly picked and observed alone after watching a violent film, a non-violent film, or no film. The children are then given the same toys as in the film and observed on their behavior. The results of this experiment showed that children who watch aggressive behaviors imitate the behaviors and are more aggressive than the children who watched non-violent films or none at all.
The most profound effect that television has on children is desensitization. When an individual watches a violent act on television the immediate effects are that they learn aggression, and also included in that is an increased arousal effect, increased excitement, and increased heart rate. However, with repeated exposures to displays of violence the strength of the arousal decreases. This is what desensitization basically is. As the person becomes less sensitive to certain acts of violence, they themselves become more violent individuals, and may even develop a moral approval of aggressive acts. All restraints are greatly reduced, including guilt, fear of retaliation, and the disapproval of others. Seeing a violent program also results in a reduced inclination to regard violence seen afterwards as actual violence. Experiments show that the emotional reactions of children decrease upon the second viewing of the same violent act or a new act. Seeing constant brutality, viciousness, and unsociable acts results in hardness, intense selfishness, even mercilessness, proportionate to the amount of exposure the child has to violence on television, and its play on the native temperament of the child. Some children cease to show resentment to insults and indignities.
Thus said, there are multiple alternatives other than T.V. that can be used to resolve the conflicts. There are many books, music, pictures that provide role models such as Tim Tebow or Emma Wattson. Overall there is no definite solution to the problem of media violence, nor will we completely delete violence from society’s views. Though there are multiple steps that parents and other elders caretakers can do to reduce the affect media violence has on kids.