Media & Violence Essay
Violence in the Media and how it Affects Society
The effect of media is profound and far-reaching. All over the world, the media influences our values and intrudes upon our deep-seated ideologies and beliefs. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and more importantly, their behavior as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for their campaigns and support for certain policies and legislations.
Indeed, the power of the media to affect our behavior has long been proven. Among the most pressing issues about media nowadays is how the proliferation of media violence can affect society. People have long believed that constant and chronic exposure to violence through various forms of mass media can erode the values of an individual, especially if the person does not have a strong system of moral support. (Croteau & Hoynes 23) However while it is easy to say that violence in media has an adverse effect in society, there are scholars who argue that it is not media per se that causes the negative effects, rather it is a complex interplay of many elements in society, and media is but one element in the issue. (Freedman 54) Media violence and its effect on society cannot be separated from these other factors and therefore, media alone cannot be held responsible for violence in society. As such, this paper intends to understand media violence and its effects on society by understanding the issues that underlie the argument.
Violent behavior has long been a source of confusion among sociologists, psychologists and society in general. While there have been many extensive researches that have attempted to study, understand, and explain criminal acts, none thus far has been found to satisfactorily explain all the complex
The effect of media is profound and far-reaching. All over the world, the media influences our values and intrudes upon our deep-seated ideologies and beliefs. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and more importantly, their behavior as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for their campaigns and support for certain policies and legislations.
Indeed, the power of the media to affect our behavior has long been proven. Among the most pressing issues about media nowadays is how the proliferation of media violence can affect society. People have long believed that constant and chronic exposure to violence through various forms of mass media can erode the values of an individual, especially if the person does not have a strong system of moral support. (Croteau & Hoynes 23) However while it is easy to say that violence in media has an adverse effect in society, there are scholars who argue that it is not media per se that causes the negative effects, rather it is a complex interplay of many elements in society, and media is but one element in the issue. (Freedman 54) Media violence and its effect on society cannot be separated from these other factors and therefore, media alone cannot be held responsible for violence in society. As such, this paper intends to understand media violence and its effects on society by understanding the issues that underlie the argument.
Violent behavior has long been a source of confusion among sociologists, psychologists and society in general. While there have been many extensive researches that have attempted to study, understand, and explain criminal acts, none thus far has been found to satisfactorily explain all the complex
Cited: Bandura, Albert. Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall. 1977 Croteau, David. Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2003. Freedman, Jonathan. Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. University of Toronto Press. 2002. Partenheimer, David. Public Affairs Office. Childhood Exposure To Media Violence Predicts Young Adult Aggressive Behavior, According To A New 15-Year Study. 2003. Retrieved on March 7, 2008 from http://www.apa.org/releases/media_violence.html Trend, David. The Myth of Media Violence: A Critical Introduction. Blackwell Publishing. 2007. National Institute on Media and the Family. Children And Media Violence. 2006. Retrieved on March 7, 2008 from http://www.mediafamily.org/facts/facts_vlent.shtml