media Violence impact on children

Running Head : Media Violence

The Impact of Media Violence on Children

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Media activist Kalle Lasn (1999 ,

.12-13 ) observes that the fundamental reason why society collectively does not worry about the effects of media on individual psychology and physiognomy is that , despite an abundant amount of research that has been conducted , there is a general lack of consensus in terms of results and findings . theless , the effects of media cannot be dismissed simply because of aggregate inconclusiveness . Lasn cautions that just under two decades

ago , society never questioned the levels of chemicals in consumer goods , dismissively assuming that they were within acceptable limits . However , the subsequent `uncooling ' of manufacturer claims reversed this attitude Similarly we cannot let media consumption go unquestioned by judicious application of skepticism . Such caution has never been more important than it is now and will continue to be . As Columbia University professor Todd Gitlin (2002 ,

.12-20 ) notes , there is a sheer plenitude of media that engulfs our way of life . This is equally as distressing as its content , for Gitlin remarks that media has swelled from a mere accompaniment to life ' to become a central experience of life ' He urges that we consider the place of media in the lives of children , who are uniformly exposed to an abundance of it in the form of television film , music and the Internet whether they are black or white , Hispanic or Asian , girls or boys

As such , it becomes difficult to believe that we can mitigate whatever effects media have upon our youth by controlling their effects . Their sheer ubiquity and ability to penetrate all manner of spaces , public or private , electronic or print , means that perhaps the only fundamental aspect we can control in this arena is how the youth interact with and receive media . This is perhaps best accomplished by way of a critical and responsible engagement with the consumption of media , rather than presuming that some individuals are less impressionable than others or that some media are more harmful than others . Make no mistake : exposure to media , particularly violent media , has its effects . As mentioned above , the consensus on the effects of media is not universal , but the fact is that such effects actually exist

In the case of violent video games , Dr . Craig Anderson Dr . Karen Dill (2000 , pp . 772-790 ) examined their link with aggression in the youth by conducting studies on college students and asking them to appraise their levels of aggression . From the results they concluded that young men who are habitually aggressive may be significantly affected by continuous exposure to violent video games . In the second part of the same study they asked 210 college students to play either Wolfenstein 3-D , a violent video game that revolves around shooting down Nazis with chainguns and automatic rifles , or Myst , a non-violent game that revolves around puzzle solving . They conclude that brief exposure to violent games can lead to a temporary increase in aggression . However Anderson...