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The Effects of Multimedia Violence on Culture Are Preventable

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The Effects of Multimedia Violence on Culture Are Preventable
The average child has seen 100,000 acts of violence including 8,000 murders by the time they leave elementary school, according to Daphne White, executive director of the Lion & Lamb Project, a Bethesda, Maryland, organization created in 1995 to reduce violence in the media (Blakey 1). Other researchers have found that video games and movies expose children to similar levels of violence. The internet is also being blamed, with its easy access to information; it is becoming easier to access violence. The effects of violence in American culture seem to be elevating, along with increased aggression, with recent shootings and various other acts of needless bloodshed. We seem to be desperate to lay the brunt of the blame on to something and it seems that violent media may be the scapegoat we are looking for. The effects of violence in the media are apparently negative, especially on young children; however, parents are able to prevent them.

Television has become an integral part of American culture; it is being watched more now than ever, nearly every household has a television, and the shear number of channels available is astounding, it is becoming an evermore profitable market. Television is becoming increasingly violent with representation being seen in everyday life. However, it is not fair to blame TV for everything wrong with society; parents are using the television as a baby-sitter. Children's shows may not be violent, but they leave an opening for more violent shows to take the place of them later on in life. The fact of the matter is violent TV attracts viewers, who then make money for the networks, by buying products advertised by companies who pay millions of dollars to be shown on popular television shows. It may be a fact that children are becoming more violent with the excessive amounts of TV they watch. Parents who substitute television for parenting are reducing the amount of time of real influence in their children's lives and are unable to
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