Media Influences Violence

Media Influences Violence The advancement and introduction of technology has provided us with many valuable tools and resources; however, it also has the capability of negatively influencing our younger generations. Although media can offer a broad array of opportunities for teaching and learning, there are equally as many media entertainment focused on violence and inappropriate behaviors. Children are easily influenced in today's society through what they see and hear, making video games, television programs, movies, and music a prime resource for how they are influenced.”Gore for Sale”, argues the same beliefs of media contributing to the violence in the U.S. To start, children are little learning machines. They are constantly absorbing and internalizing what they are told, what they are taught, but most especially they model what they see adults doing. If adults are violent, then that becomes the norm for the child. If the child sees violence in movies or on television, that is what is their norm and that is what they will mimic. If just watching others perform violent acts on television or in the movies causes children to act out what they see, how much stronger is their likelihood of acting out violently when they are taking part in the violence. Yes, television in moderation can be beneficial. Preschoolers can learn the alphabet on television, grade schoolers can gain knowledge about wildlife on nature shows, and current events on the evening news allow parents and guardians to be updated. (Dowshen 1) For obvious reasons, movies and television programs can be a great educator and entertainer. But in spite of its advantages, a high amount of violence on television and movies can be destructive. Fearing the world and also showing signs of aggressive behavior come from children who view violent acts. Secondly, violent video games allow and encourage children to act violently. The person who "wins" in a violence oriented video game is the one who does the most damage, hurts or kills the most of the enemy, destroying the most buildings or cars. An example of this is my nephews, ages six and seven. They play all day, all night making it impossible to get them to turn off their games. They consume everything they see and hear and repeat it, whether it’s with words or by their actions. They pretend everything they hold in their hand is a gun and start shooting at anything. It’s a constant battle for us as adults to make them understand and differentiate fantasy from reality. We become what we contemplate. “The game’s story line: As either a ‘gangsta’ or ‘psycho bitch’ you will be ‘running over innocent pedestrians, shooting cops. . .” (Gahr 667) This quote demonstrates another fact that violent video games have bad contents. While some games have educational content, many of the most popular games emphasize negative themes and promote: the killing of people or animals, the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, criminal behavior, disrespect for authority and the law, sexual exploitation and violence toward women, racial, sexual, and gender stereotypes, foul language, obscenities, and obscene gestures. Evan Gahr does a great job by stating the obvious bad characteristics in video games. “With each new release players are promised seemingly endless amounts of blood and gore... It is an entire subculture that uses 3D graphics, spectacular sound effects, and other computer driven bells and whistles to blur the distinction between reality and fantasy-and to celebrate criminality.” (Gahr 667) We need to steer children in the right direction and keep an eye of what games they play to eliminate the possibility of having acts of violence burst into our society.
Lastly, we can all acknowledge the advantages that music lyrics and videos have on the world. For example, music wakes one up in the morning, makes one want to dance, soothes one when they are feeling sad and aggravates one’s nerves in the elevator. From infancy to adulthood, it is an important part of our lives. Mothers sing lullabies to babies, toddlers and