Jaime McMurtry Media Critical Issue
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Jaime McMurtry Media Critical Issue Intro to Mass Communications May 10, 2007 Violence in the Media Violence on television has been progressing since television's invention in early 1927. Now that it's the 21st century, violence in the media is considered one of the most critical issues in the mass media. Whether or not the media is responsible for the effects television violence has on young children is heavily debated. Should the media be more conservative when it comes to violence for the sake of better upbringing? Should the parents be responsible for allowing the child to be affected by the violence that's available to them on the screen? Does violence on television even make an impact to the physical and mental growth process of a child? In addition to others, all of these answers could potentially lead to solving this critical issue. Violence, including homicide, suicide, and trauma, is a leading cause of death for children, young adults, and adolescents, over diseases, cancer or congenital disorders. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2001) Is television responsible? In 2000, four national health associations linked the violence in television, music, video games, and movies to increasing violence among children. The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have based over 30 years of research to discover that viewing entertainment violence, especially on television, can lead to increasing aggressive attitudes, values and behaviors, to all people but especially children. A joint statement concluded that the effects of violence are measurable and long-lasting. From their research, the health associations concluded that children who see a lot of violence are more likely to view violence as an effective way of settling conflicts and are more likely to assume that violent acts are acceptable. Also, children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than those who are not so exposed. (The Associated Press) The 2003 March issue of Developmental Psychology, released by the American Psychological Association, had a different focus on the violence/children relation. They pin-pointed the major issue is that children view the violent television shows, and easily identify themselves with same-sex television characters. The young children's perception allows them to feel that television violence is realistic and acceptable. Violent scenes that children are most often to replicate are the ones when the perpetrator of the violence is rewarded for the violence. (The Associated Press) A study done during 1977 surveyed 557 children, ages 6-10, on which violent shows they viewed most, whether or not they identified themselves with the violent characters, and whether they thought the violent situations were realistic. A current study re-surveyed 329 of the original boys and girls from the 1977 study. They were asked about their favorite television programs now as adults and also about their aggressive behaviors. The participant's spouses or friends were also interviewed and asked to rate the participant's aggressive behavior. Researchers also obtained the participant's criminal conviction records and moving traffic violations. Their results showed that men who were high television-violence viewers as children were more likely to have pushed, grabbed, or shoved their spouses, or committed a crime or moving traffic violation. Some men were even convicted at the rate of three times more than other men. Women who were high violence watchers when they were children were shown to have been more likely to have thrown something at their spouses, to have responded to someone who made them mad by punching, shoving, beating, or choking the person. They were also more likely to have committed a criminal act or a moving traffic violation. Such women, who watched a significant amount of violence as a child, reported that they have punched, beaten, or choked another adult. This act is four times more common with these women as compared to other women. (Partenheimer) Can the results of the APA study really be possible? Some psychologists think so. According to psychologists at the APA from a 2003 study, a typical child in the United States watches about 28 hours of television per week, allowing them to see as many as 8,000 murders by the time he or she finishes elementary school at age 11. 75% of the time, the killers are shown to get away with the acts of violence while showing no remorse. (American Psychological Association) The focus of research on young children rather than adults is primarily because of the vulnerability children could have towards the violence compared to older children or adults. Young children are more easily impressionable, have a harder time distinguishing between fantasy and reality, cannot easily discern motives for violence, and most often learn by observing and imitating. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000) Young children do not process information in the same way as adults, nor do they have the experience or the judgment to evaluate what they see. (Ledingham) There wouldn't be a debate without a second side or opinion. Is the media the only thing to blame? Is eliminating or decreasing television violence by the media the only possible solution? If you ask some people, they might say yes. Others, however, feel that the effect of violence on an individual as a child is placed mostly in the parents' hands. Well-rounded adults who watch violent television shows are surely entitled to their decision to view the program. However, it becomes an issue if the adult finds it okay to let their child watch the same shows without their supervision. Some television shows send the message that violence in the media is okay and is a part of life. Sometimes violence in the media is even used for humor. Some researchers and psychologists think it's the parents' role to either not allow the child to watch the program, or watch it with them to inform them which acts are right from wrong. Research has shown that parental co-viewing of and commenting on the programs seems to reduce the effects of television violence on children, probably because it reduces the child's identification with the person committing the violent act. It also reduces the child's perception that the violence is real and reduces likelihood that the child will act out the violent act in fantasy or play after seeing it on television. (American Psychological Association) Parents are considered the most compelling and prominent force in children's emotional and social development. The key factor is communication. One example to back up this suggestion is the "death topic". Death is not a topic that parents like to discuss with young children because of the fear of scaring them. But maybe discussing realistic topics like this with children could separate realism from fantasy when it comes to violence. If the child is able to understand the pain and suffering that a death or violence act could cause to an individual or a family, they might think twice about performing the aggression seen on the screen. The value of parent/child co-viewing is that parents need to point out the positive sides to violent television shows. When a child is watching Power Rangers, for example, they are entertained by the jumping around and kicking aspect of the show. They often don't thoroughly understand the moral that may be at the end of the program. It is the parents' job to point out the positive side rather than just the fighting. They need to encourage their children to watch the whole show to get what's intended out of it. (Cooper) A quote by Marjorie Stromberg, a news editorial major at West Virginia University, said, "If you see a TV commercial about McDonald's, you're probably going to want to go out and buy a Big Mac. You might even do it. If you're watching "What Not to Wear", you might have a slight inkling to buy a new wardrobe. But if you watch a movie one night where people are shooting one another with machine guns, you're probably not going to wipe the chips off your lap, jump off your couch and go out and buy a revolver, take it to the mall and shoot the first person you see." This quote seems a little disturbing, maybe even inappropriate, but it's true. And if it isn't true, most would argue that the parents are to blame. Even good parents can't be around for everything their child sees, but they could be there to teach their child right from wrong. If this message is taught at an early age, the child will be more likely to use better judgment when it comes to violence in the future. (Stromberg) So what could parents do? A guide of tips for parents was formed to follow in order for their children to not be affected by television violence. Some of the tips included: Parents need to realize that watching one television show with violence isn't going to damage their child. Since they can't be there for everything their child is introduced to, they should tell other parents and babysitters how they feel about watching too many violent programs. Parents need to set rules and stick to them, but still leave some room for compromise, in order to have a happier, healthier relationship with their child. They need to influence their child's exposure at an early age. It's easier to enforce rules with younger children than with older ones. To control how much violence their child watches, parents should limit what their child watches rather than how much their child watches. However, they should make sure the child is doing other activities to well-round them rather than just watching television. If they have more activities to participate in, they have less time to see violence on television and even less time to argue about it with their parent. Parents should talk to their children about television, and get them to tell how they see it. And if all else fails, parents should realize that they may have to change their television viewing habits. If the shows they are watching too much could influence their children too highly, they may have to consider taping the programs and watching them after the child is asleep or not around. (Ledingham) So if the upbringing of youth is safe if placed in the parent's hands and executed properly, what's the issue? Not all parents are good parents. So should people who could handle watching the violence without being affected negatively be punished with the censorship of their favorite television shows because of bad parenting? A lot of parents think they should have another option besides changing or blocking the channel or program. In 1989, Terry Rakolta, a mother from Detroit, was devastated when she was watching an 8:00 PM episode of Married..With Children for the first time. 8:00PM is surely an acceptable time for children to be awake and watching television with their family. Although Married...With Children wasn’t threatening her children with violence, she found the language and partial nudity unacceptable. She called Married..With Children advertisers and questioned whether they really wanted to be related to a show with such messages. Several advertisers, from movie studios to retail stores, pulled their ads from the FOX primetime network. (The Museum of Broadcast Communications) Many people are trying to accept the parenting solution and shy the blame from the media. But in this example, you can’t always be sure where you will experience violence in the media. Terry Rakolta said that “Married..With Children” sounded like a family show for all ages. Some could argue that parents shouldn’t be on the tip of their toes when they are watching television with their children, worrying about what they’ll hear or see. Media violence is always one of the first to blame for school shootings such as those at Columbine and Virginia Tech. However, a media effect Gallup poll research survey discovered that in order to prevent further occurrences, 32% said kids should have more parental involvement, while only 4% said media violence needs to be more controlled. Another asking “What is the main reason why kids commit violence like that which we saw at Columbine High School,” 42% said a poor upbringing, and 26% said media violence. (Navarro) Is parenting to blame, or is the media? The media can be controlled, but it seems that parenting is the bigger issue. Parenting can’t be controlled, so if the media does become more conservative and censored, there will still be a problem. This issue is a difficult one, for there are solutions that cannot be followed through. Not every parent is a good parent; therefore not every child has a good head on their shoulders. Children will be exposed to violence whether it’s in the media or not. However, a controlled media could be the start of a great help. On April 26, 2007, less than a month ago, the FCC released a report that laid out the ways that government can regulate violence on television, including cable, satellite, and broadcast. The report suggests that Congress could create a law that would let the agency regulate violent programming the same way it regulates sexual content and profanity – by banning it from when children may be watching. (Dunbar) The bottom line may be: what’s more important, watching our action packed violent television shows, or saving our schools from continued violence? A step has finally been taken to solve the media violence issue, and it may be up to parents to take care of the rest. Works Cited American Academy of Pediatrics (2001, November). Media violence. Pediatrics, 108 1222-1226 American Academy of Pediatrics, "Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children." 26 Jul 2000. American Academy of Pediatrics. 7 May 2007 American Psychological Association, "Violence in the Media - Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects." 19 Feb 2004. American Psychological Association. 7 May 2007 Cooper, Bernard. "Kids, Television, and Violence." 31 Jan 1997. 7 May 2007 Dr. Jane E. Ledingham, C. Anne Ledingham, John E. Richardson and. "The Effects of Media Violence on Children." (1994) 07 May 2007 Dunbar, John. "FCC: Govt. Could Regulate TV Violence." ABC News. 25 Apr 2007. 7 May 2007 Navarro, Joaquin. "Public Opinion." Violent Media Effects. 2000. 7 May 2007 Partenheimer, David. "Childhood Exposure to Media Violence Predicts Young Adult Aggressive Behavior, According to a New 15-Year Study." APA Press Releases. 09 Mar 2003. American Psychological Association. 7 May 2007 Stromberg, Marjorie. "Violence in the Media: Who's to blame?" 09 Apr 2007. 7 May 2007 <http://www.thesop.org/article.php?id=4983>. The Associated Press, "Health groups directly link media to child violence." CNN. 26 Jul 2000. 7 May 2007 <http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/children/07/26/children.violence.ap/inde x.html>. The Museum of Broadcast Communications, "Married..With Children." 7 May 2007 <http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/marriedw/marriedw.htm>. Download 25.93 Kb. Share with your friends:
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