evaluating a particular subject

Running Head TV Violence and How it Effects Teens

TV Violence and How it Effects Teens

Today , the problem of TV violence and its impact on teens becomes an issue of the day . Looking at the entire range of society 's current attempts to deal with this problem , there are tensions in the system wherever one 's glance falls . It was proved by psychological studies that teenagers are apt to borrow media identities and follow examples of bad film heroes and violent actions . Thesis TV violence increases aggressiveness in teens , influence formation

of anti-social behavior patterns and negative image of a social hero

TV has a great impact on teens as the main communication tool that shapes views and controls circulation of ideas , identifies tastes and social priorities of millions of viewers around the world . Recent studies state that the average American teen-ager spends 1 ,500 hours each year sitting in front of a TV set . In comparison , they will have spent only 900 hours sitting in a classroom (Horn , 1998 ,

. 2 . These findings show that TV becomes the main form of entertainment appealing so much to everyone through its simplicity and animation . Psychologists prove that TV violence affects emotions and behavior of teens increasing their aggression and hostility . Watching violence on television might not cause aggressive behavior per se but might do so in interaction with one or more other variables (Moeller , 2001 ,

. 127 . It is important to note that there is no direct correlation between TV violence and teens ' aggression , although psychological researches state that TV violence inspires young adults to act aggressively . For instance according to the selective exposure hypothesis , young adults and children with a biological or psychological predisposition toward aggressive behavior might find violent television shows more interesting . than children with a low predisposition toward aggression (Freedman 1984 , 1986 Zillmann Bryant , 1985 cited Moeller , 2003 ,

. 141 . This proves the fact that many TV programs are insecure and rather dangerous for young adults portraying violent and cruel scenes . For this reason parents should be conscious about possible effects of TV on their children reviewing and controlling products their children are going to watch

On the other hand , it was found that TV violence has a very negative and even dangerous impact on forming identities and ideals of teens Unfortunately , TV violence becomes a common thing creating false ideals and behavior patterns in the mind of young adults . Most of them build their identities based on hero 's actions trying to imitate and copy them . The problem is that many teens do not understand the difference between violent and non-violent actions just borrowing anti-social behavior and enlarging their vocabulary (Herron , et al 1998

Violence becomes a common thing for media used as an integral part of masculinity and social conflict . The stereotype of the man as cruel and aggressive is typical for media . Taking into account psychological studies , it is possible to say that teens do not identify themselves with positive heroes only , but...