The role of media violence in violent crime has been exaggerated is very much an issue Media violence has become a scapegoat, onto which we lay blame for a host of social problems. Sociologist Todd Gatling describes how "the indiscriminate fear of television in particular displaces justifiable fears of actual dangers—dangers of which television ... provides some disturbing glimpses." Concerns about media and violence rest on several flawed, yet taken-for-granted assumptions about both media and violence. These beliefs appear to be obvious in emotional arguments about "protecting" children. So while these are not the only problems with blaming media, this [viewpoint] will address four central assumptions: (Mass Media, 2010).…
There has been disagreement with Jacoby’s argument since some believe the media isn’t responsible for violence at all. In his essay, “Hollow Claims about Violence,” Richard Rhodes argues that society isn’t really desensitized to violence and that all those claims are wrong. Rhodes addresses the reasons why these claims are false and why society shouldn’t listen to them. According to Rhodes, there is no direct link between exposure to violence in the media and violent behavior performed by people. Rhodes provides data from experiments and factual evidence that contain numbers and rates about homicides and violence in all parts of the world for all ages of society. Richard Rhodes concludes his argument with the fact that violence is actually declining in America, implying that Jacoby’s claim is wrong. Although Jacoby presents a valid argument, Rhodes does a better job in convincing the reader that Jacoby’s analysis is wrong through his effective use of factual evidence, recognizing flaws in opposing evidence, and use of a formal writing style.…
In Roberts Peters’ article “Censorship of Violence in Popular Entertainment Is Justified”, he writes about his personal concerns and his personal solutions to combat obscenity and uphold decency standards in the media. He believes that due to the many graphic and violent depictions in TV, films, music/RAP, video and computer games, the children in present society are easily influenced into acting out the media violence and turning it into real life violence. He believes that there are four main problems with media violence. The first problem is that is too much of it. The glut of media violence desensitizes viewers and contributes to the “mean world syndrome.” A second problem with media violence is that it can be easily imitated. He believes that the characters being depicted in the media are mostly glorified, youth characters who are troublemakers and engaged in behavior kids can readily imitate. A third in media violence is the manner in which it is depicted. He believes that the media does not show the purpose of the horror of violence, but rather the media portrays it as an exciting, pleasurable and effective way to handle problems. The fourth problem with media violence is Hollywood’s infatuation with guns, in which I quote, “Why should we be surprised to discover that kids want a gun? If Hollywood stopped glorifying possession and use of handguns, there would be fewer crimes committed by youth with handguns.” Peters wants us to know that whatever minor flaws there may be in enforcement of gun laws permitting crazy people to buy them, the real problem is that our media is saturated with violence. Although Peters’ tries to make valid points about the corruption of youth through media violence, he misses many opportunities to use prime examples as if he hasn’t done much research into the subject himself. I believe that his arguments are ineffective due to his lack of statistical evidence, such as crime rates statistics, to support his statements.…
In US, people believe violent media corrupts the minds of the youth and provokes violent actions and behaviors. Whenever there is a violent crime or act being committed by children, the first culprit the media turns to are violent video games or TV shows. In the case of one of the most infamous school shootings, Columbine, the news immediately blamed the shooting on played violent video games and music. There was no conclusive evidence for this statement, but the public still believed it. Gerard Jones, author of several works of fiction and nonfiction, writes the article, “Violent Media is Good for Kids”, to counter this popular belief that violent media is the cause of violent behavior. He brings up points on the topic that states that creative…
Everyone is influenced and shaped by society. Society affects our perceptions, our consciousness, and our actions. A majority of the influence, especially on the younger demographic comes through the media; specifically through television. It is important to examine how violence in the media develops a pervasive cultural environment that cultivates a heightened state of insecurity, exaggerated perceptions of risk and danger, and a fear-driven propensity for hard-line political solutions to social problems. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the impact of television and media violence, as well as the human cost of violent media, and the overall effects on society from watching TV.…
Due to this fact, the connection between violence and aggression is self-evident, and the continual stream of violence through these forms of media do not help the matter in any regard. This is supported by Nancy C. Cornwell’s statement that “research supports a correlation between media violence and aggression.” Media can send many messages to those who are exposed to it, but this statement suggests that a less than savory ideal may be sent to younger audiences who happen to be exposed to it. As is evidenced by the fact that this influence from a form of media can be found in many cases where someone from a younger audience took the ideals portrayed too far. This is shown to be fact instead of speculation due to copycat crimes that can lead to devastating reenactments of fictionalized drama and horror being implemented in reality. There are many examples that support this statement like this given statement from Cornwell’s article “violence in Media,” “The numerous anecdotal examples of copycat rapes, suicides and violent crime, closely mimicking television drama, movie scenes and provocative song lyrics” (Cornwell). With the added perspective derived from this statement supplied by Cornwell, these ideas show the realistic evidence supplied by the facts given, which garners a far more vast well of knowledge, that leads to the…
In the united States, a lot of people still believe that the violent media cause violent behaviours, so people spend a lot of money for the sake of safety; for instance, some people may install sullivan camera around their house, build the safe gate and others. That make they feel highly nervous about their community. However, according to JS, in 20 years ago the study showed that the violent crime rate had been increased just because the population rate had been increased. (“Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death”) Therefore, people should think the other ways that the violent media can bring the positive…
In her Newsweek article “TV’s True Violence” Meg Greenfield argues that excessive fictional violence desensitizes viewers to the image of violence they see on television. Her discussion about this subject “generates hypocrisy and confusion”: the coarsening impact of violence on viewers, the effect on children, the volume of the violence, and the harm of dulling our response to the real thing. Everyone knows that there is too much violence on Television and that the networks must take action. Sex and violence are mixing on the screen and are becoming a “single phenomenon” and everyone knows that this phenomenon can have negative effects on the viewers’ behavior. Greenfield reveals that this “coarsening” makes “the unthinkable just a little less unthinkable, a little more OK.” Two objections Meg Greenfield has, the first is not to the violence itself, but to the volume and the way it is presented on Television. In the history of art violence has frequently played a role in , literature, art, and for example in Shakespeare’s plays, but violence back then had actually meant something. The second objection to TV’s fictional violence is that it will affect the viewer’s reaction to the real thing, for instance, the images of the wounded kids in “Sarajevo” and in other massacres and wars. Greenfield believes that We need to be able to respond appropriately to the images of violence. While every thinking person would agree there is too much violence on TV, the solution Greenfield offers is flawed. Watching more real violence on TV would complicate the issue, because real violence can be biased, desensitizing and manipulated.…
In our society today we are led to believe that we are living in a world of violence and terror, we are constantly being bombarded with everything bad that is happening in our world. While we might think that we are living in one of the most violent times, we are wrong. In reality “organized violence in the world has actually decreased in the last 2 decades” says Fareed Zakaria, author of The Post American World. Media plays into a huge factor as to why we believe we are living in such a violent world, we are constantly watching live broadcasts of terrorist attacks, people dying and everything else awful that is going on. If we look back to the 1990’s and the war in Congo, millions…
Youth violence and drug abuse has become a major issue in our society today. 1 in 7 teens said they have been in a fight on school property this past year. More and more teens are doing drugs because they see people doing on television or are influenced by their friends.…
The factors leading to young generation into gang violence can be explained with the help of…
It is important to know that influence is critical to a young child. Often times children who are exposed to crime and violence tend to follow down that same path. A path that leads to a life of gangs. In an article Youth Gangs and Adolescent Development: New Findings, New Challenges, And New Directions: Introduction to The Special Section is presenting five new studies being conducted on youth gangs. A broader developmental perspective, underscoring the need for ongoing inquiry linking the heretofore separate literature on youth gangs and antisocial peer influences from criminology and developmental science (Boxer 201). Gangs have been present in America for decades. All through only in recent years are local and national observation studies showing gangs growing at an increasingly rapid rate. Discussing the full range of youth involvement in gangs. From how gangs evolve, their entry, the significant amounts of activities that occur during their involvement, to their disengagement. Understanding the complexity as to why youth join gangs is very critical and this article gives in depth research and reasoning. Peer pressure and influences being two main leading factors. The importance of learning and trying to address these issues in order to put the gang rise to a halt is very…
The end result of peer pressure can cause an impact on the academic performance in school. According to an article in the Green Haven Press, one reason why some of those students will go on to use is because as students age, pressure increases. Most commonly, the pressure to use begins at about middle school, although some students said their first encounters with drugs occurred when they were as young as 8. That exposure increases and is especially strong in high school, when parties become commonplace and kids are more rebellious. (Dudley, 2002) Many teens said the need to belong underlies the appeal of drug use. High schooler Joe Felion of St. Paul wrote, "If you ask an adolescent what the most important thing to them is, the answer will probably not be family, school or religion. More often than not the answer will be friends.... It is no surprise that they will do anything to fit in." (Dudley,…
Gangs are becoming prevalent in today’s society and within our schools. More and more young people are turning to gangs in an attempt to escape their everyday lives and the future, which they perceive as dismal and bleak. They are initially attracted to the prestige and cash flow, which is glamorized by the street gang. Many gangs are actively involved in criminal misbehavior, such as drug and gun trafficking, burglaries and homicides. But, street gangs are not just a criminal justice issue, but a social problem, which is triggered by poverty, peer pressure, boredom, despair and lacking a sense of belonging.…
Media is all around us, including the thousands of books, magazines, television shows, and newspapers that are sold or viewed every day. Now imagine people around the world turning on the television set to see guns, blood, and more. It is not even only adults seeing this. Children of all ages are picking up books and magazines and seeing violence. Death and gore is everywhere, and because of imitation and priming people are reacting more aggressively than ever. Media violence affects people in a negative way, and should be banned.…