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Ivana Mears

Ms. Loffredo

Academic Writing

July 24th 2017

Violent Media and its Effects on Children

By Ivana Mears

For years, people have debated about the effects of violent media on children, especially

violent television and video games. About 90% of children play video games, and most of those

games have mature and violent content (Park par. 2). This has sparked a lot of controversy,

especially since aggression has almost always been linked with violent media. In spite of this,

many argue that violent video games and television do not harm children; but instead, they have

benefits. To some extent, I do agree with those statements. Numerous studies have shown that

violent media is not that damaging to children. In fact, in the article Violent video games for kids

have a surprising upside, the author, Lee Marshall, claims that violent video games can actually

sharpen many mental skills, such as multitasking and concentration (par. 4). And of course, its

unreasonable to assume that violent media is the reason certain children might turn into ruthless

criminals. However, there are plenty of negative effects and messages that children can pick up

from violence shown on television and video games. Most definitely, violence in video games

and television affects children in a negative way because they model aggressive behavior, limit

physical activity, and affects their social skills.

Young kids often imitate the behavior they see. Because of this, they might repeat some

of the behavior shown in the video games they play or the movies and tv shows they watch. If

they play games filled with aggressive and violent behavior, they may think it is acceptable to act
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in that way. For example, in the 1980s, psychologists L. Rowell Huesmann, and Leonard Eron

conducted a study and found that children who watched more violent television were more likely

to be more aggressive as adults when they grew up compared to other children (Violence in the

Media par. 3). This shows there is clearly some sort of connection between violent media and

aggressiveness. Not only that, but children could also have a hard time separating fantasy from

reality. I recall watching a documentary in which two girls stabbed one of their friends

repeatedly, claiming they did it to impress a fictional character. All evidence seems to indicate

that violence in media has the potential to influence kids in a negative manner.

Violent video games and TV not only have the potential to affect the mental health of

children but could also affect their physical health. Most kids this day and age spend a lot of time

on some kind of screen. If kids do nothing but sit and play video games and/or watch TV, there is

a risk of weight gain or even obesity. Experts claim that video games foster hand-eye

coordination, fine motor and spatial skills; yet, there still is the risk of kids gaining weight as

well as postural, muscular and skeletal disorders or seizures that are video-induced (The

Positive and Negative Effects sec. 3). Doctors always recommend some kind of physical

activity in order to raise healthy kids. It has been demonstrated that kids who are physically

active are more

self-confident, have improved brain power, improved thinking, higher self-esteem and better

psychological well-being (Fliedner par. 8). Unfortunately, violent media seems to get in the

middle of that process.

Children who excessively play video games and watch television revolving around

violence can pick up on the behavior shown in them, which could lead to poor social skills. If a

kid becomes too invested in violent media, they might spend less of their time on normal
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activities like doing homework and reading. Kids may treat their parents, siblings or friends

differently than before. With constantly spending most of their time watching violent media, kids

spend less time with their family, and their relationships worsen; they also tend to act less

prosocial because of the aggressive behavior violent media has been known to cause. The Argosy

University Minnesota School of Professional Psychology, for instance, conducted a study about

children who are addicted to video games and their behavior. They discovered that these kids

attain lower grades in school and argue more with their friends and teachers (The Positive and

Negative Effects sec. 3).

In conclusion, people will continue to discuss whether violence depicted in video games

and television has an impact on children and whether there are more benefits or disadvantages. I

strongly believe that children playing video games and watching TV with violent content hurts

them in many ways. They model aggressive behavior, are an obstacle to being healthy, and can

lead to social isolation. Violent media is not evil by nature, but somehow its content can change

and influence the way a child thinks and behaves.

Works Cited

Fliedner, Sapna. "Why Children Need Physical Activity." Raising Sages Pediatrics. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 19 July 2017.
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Marshall, Lee. "Violent Video Games for Kids Have a Surprising Upside." The Globe
and Mail. Phillip Crawley, 7 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 July 201.7

Park, Alice. "Violent Video Games Change Kids to Think More Aggressively." Time.
Time, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 July 2017.

"The Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games." Raise Smart Kid. N.p., n.d. Web.
20 July 2017.

"Violence in the Media: Psychologists Study Potential Harmful Effects." American

Psychological Association. American Psychological Association, Nov. 2013. Web. 19
July 2017.