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MEDIA VIOLENCE

Violence in the Media and its Exposure to Children

Eric Wetzel

Rutgers University

Abstract

This report outlines the use of different media forms in America and uses the results of previous studies to show the violent nature of many of these outlets. Television, video games, and the Internet are all widely used, and exposed to young children. Through these media sources children become exposed to simulated violence that is becoming increasingly more realistic. The violence is widely going unregulated and doesn’t seem to be a concern of our society. As technology increases these trends are only going to do the same, and it is important that we begin to regulate what the youth in our country are exposed to in electronic media.

Violence in the Media and its Exposure to Children

Introduction

In our world today, technology is advancing rapidly. Different forms of media are forming and evolving on a daily basis, and exposure to these media outlets is expanding as well. A debate that has been around for years is the content in these outlets and the exposure of the content to the youth of America. Violence on television and in film has always been something that censors have worked to lessen, but the exposure of children to violence is expanding. In recent years children are becoming more exposed to the internet. Perhaps an even larger debate is the role of a relatively new form of technology in the development of children, which we all know as video games. Over recent years studies have been done to trace the effects that violent forms of media have on children to attempt to settle the debate. Some people, including myself, feel that the effect of this violence on children is exaggerated, while others feel that this violence is having negative effects on the development of youth, leading them to be violent. While there are independent studies to suggest a relationship, they deal with un-measurable findings. One thing that can be studied is the exposure of people to violence in America. I believe that people are overly exposed to violence and that the further use of electronic media forms will only increase that.

The form of media that has come under fire most recently is video games. There has been a trend of violent video games with enormous popularity among young males. While there is a rating system in place regarding these games, 53% of children in a study published in the Journal of Adolescence said that their parents never checked the rating of the games that they play (Gentile, 2003). Even worse, only 31% of children said that their parents understand the rating system. These children are playing 9 hours a week, almost triple the amount of time spent reading (3.4 hours). While these statistics show the clear exposure to violent games, the same study also says that the children become more aggressive. There has been evidence of this in some studies, while other yield none, however the majority believe that violence in video games increases aggressive behavior. Clearly there is widely unregulated violence in video games, and it is having an effect on children.

One of the key issues with exposing children to violence, as opposed to adults, is the desensitization toward violence that can be enhanced in years of development (Funk, 2003). This happens because the children come to think of violence as normal. By the age of 18, children will have witnessed 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence (Osofsky, 1999). The more times that they see violence in movies, television, or even real life, they become desensitized and react less to the stimuli as they grow older. Another study of children and violence shows that there is a link between witnessing violence and such things as immature behavior, emotional distress, and regression in language (Osofsky, 1999). Clearly there is evidence to support the detrimental effects of violence on children, but once again there is no solid statistics to support the claims. Such statistics simply don’t exist.

Another way in which children are being exposed to violent content is on the Internet. One study showed that 36.6% of households with children age 8 – 17 had Internet access in 1999 (Subrahmanyam 2001). That number was more than twice the percentage reported only three years earlier, demonstrating the rapid rise in Internet access in America. Many parents, from the same report, said that they have Internet access to provide “educational opportunities for their children”(Subrahmanyam 2001). However they admit that the children do not use their Internet access for those intended reasons. This shows that children around the country are using the Internet in ways other than what is intended by their parents. By being allowed to freely surf the web these same children are being exposed to material that could be intended for older audiences, such as violence and pornography.

In each form of media discussed, children are viewing violent content that is most likely not regulated by their parents. Even many programs that serve to regulate television and Internet viewing seek to mostly prevent sexual content, not violence. With the results seen in these various studies it is clear that it is not a priority in our country to avoid having children exposed to violence. While it is debatable what exactly the effect of this exposure has on our children, it is clear that they are viewing material that could possibly be detrimental to their development.

Results

This graph illustrates the relationship between trends in both crime and television viewing since 1975. The results of this survey show no signs of a relationship between the two trends. Television viewing has remained very steady over the time period, while crime has seen trends in both directions. From 1975 to about 1981 crime was rising. It fell in the following 3-4 years, only to rise substantially until around 1992. Since 1992, crime has been on a steady decline. On the other hand, the number of people who watch three or more hours of television in a day has not seen any substantial rise or decline in the same time period. While this graph does not show the type of television being viewed, whether it is violent in nature or not, it proves that as an overall trend, crime and television viewing are unrelated.

Time watching television and Time with child by Age

Age

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