Against Media Violence

Claire Cassidy
Critical Thinking Paper
Red Group
3/15/16

Many parents are concerned for their childrens well-being when the children witness violent
acts in movies, television, video games, and the countless other ways that media is available to this
generation. Technology is growing at an unprecedented rate, and parents across the country do not
know how to censor this. Many surveys and studies have been conducted over the past few years
regarding the issue of violence in the media and the information that those studies gathered should
be shared everywhere. In addition, the more widespread use of electronic technology among this
generation makes violent acts and frightening news stories more available to kids on a daily basis. All
this violence has a significant effect on our youth. Violence in the media makes our youth prone to
aggression, encourages fear of the world around them by portraying it as a scary place, and is not
healthy for brain development. The FCC must put a regulation or age limit on what they show on
television and, in addition, have stricter regulations on video games.

Kids (ages eight to eighteen) in this generation are exposed to an unprecedented and often
unregulated amount of media every day. Today, 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38
minutes to using entertainment media across a typical day (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
survey). With all this media consumption, some parents have gotten it into their heads that if a child
sees even a single violent act on-screen, the child will want to commit violent acts. A 15-year-long
project done by researchers from Michigan University says that children's viewing of violent TV
shows, their identification with aggressive same-sex TV characters, and their perceptions that TV
violence is realistic are all linked to later aggression as young adults, for both males and females
(Television (TV) and Children: Your Child). The same study went on to specify, Violent scenes that
children are most likely to model their behavior after are ones in which they identify with the
perpetrator of the violence, the perpetrator is rewarded for the violence and in which children perceive
the scene as telling about life like it really is (Developmental Psychology Vol. 39 No. 2). Children are
affected negatively by identifying with people or characters on-screen who commit violent acts. And
this has proven to make those children more likely to be violent.

Video games encourage violence in our youth by conditioning them to associate violent
behavior with rewards. First person shooter games are the second most popular type of video games
being sold in this day and age. 21.7% of total games are shooter-themed, according to the
Entertainment Software Associations 2015 annual report. 26% of American gamers are under the
age of eighteen, and 69% of the parents of these gaming children regularly check the rating of a
game that their child is about to buy before the game is purchased. These first person shooter
games-such as Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto- are point or score based on how many things you
shoot or kill. As previously stated, this encourages the viewer or gamer to identify with the character
making kills onscreen. Games also create a system of constant reinforcement, rewarding behaviors
practiced again and again, states Brendon Keim writing for PBS. Rewarding violent acts is seemingly
fun, but for children who do not realize the consequences of their actions and that the game in
question is just that- a game- they will start to see the world as kill or be killed. With an excess of
screen time, children who play these violent games will have their brains forcibly and negatively
reprogrammed.

Brain development is negatively affected by violence in the media. Too much time in front of
the television or other screens impacts crucial development of social skills in a childs life. Michigan
University quotes, Spending time watching TV can take time away from healthy activities like active
play outside with friends, eating dinner together as a family, or reading. TV time also takes away from
participating in sports, music, art or other activities that require practice to become skillful (Television
and Children). The Indiana University conducted an experiment where children played violent video
games for a week and took MRI scans of the childrens brains prior to and following the experiment.
The extensive study found that there was a significant decrease in the activation of prefrontal
portions of the brain and a greater activation of the amygdala (Psychology Today). The prefrontal
section of the brain is the sector that controls decision making, inhibition, self control, and
concentration. The amygdala is the center of many different emotional responses but can be a trigger
for depression, anger, or other impulsive behavior. As this study strongly indicates, there is a

connection between playing violent video games and decreased attention and self control. If these
effects were in place after only one week of exposure, imagine the horrendous effects on kids who
have been playing these games for months, maybe even years. Parents have good right to be
concerned for their children.

As previously stated, many parents are concerned that their children are viewing graphically
violent material on television. While this technology does not yet reach to other platforms of media
such as video games and movies, a proposed solution is V-chip technology. It is a device implanted in
the television set that allows parents to set limits on what their children can watch. The chip is
passcode protected so that hacking in isnt as simple as one button click, as modern television
remotes have made it that simple for youth to view all sorts of inappropriate material. Parents can
either disable certain programs or only enable certain programs (such as only educational shows for
the smaller kids) and set their mind somewhat at ease knowing that their children have been shielded
from the seemingly endless stream of violence in the world today. While this is a step in the right
direction (American Psychological Association), ratings for movies, television programs, and video
games should be based on content rather than age.

In closing, since the brains of youth today are negatively impacted by violent media, the FCC
must put stricter regulations on television and video games.

Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- To 18-Year-Olds." The Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation, 20 Jan. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
"Violence in the Media." American Psychological Association. N.p., Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Mar.
2016.
"More Than 150 Million Americans Play Video Games - The Entertainment Software
Association." The Entertainment Software Association. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

Keim, Brendon. "What Science Knows About Video Games and Violence." PBS. PBS, 28 Feb.
2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
"University of Michigan Health System." Television (TV) and Children: Your Child:. University of
Michigan, Aug. 2010. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Archer, Dale, M.D. "Violence, The Media And Your Brain." Psychology Today. N.p., 2 Sept.
2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
Goodman, Stacey. "Boston University Arts & Sciences Writing Program." Writing Program
Violent Media and the First Amendment Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

Citation help:
Russell, Tony, Allen Brizee, and Elizabeth Angeli. "Purdue OWL: MLA Formatting and Style
Guide." Welcome to the Purdue OWL. N.p., 3 June 2014. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.