How Media Promotes School Violence?

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Literature review

Researchers have established a connection between exposure to media violence and school violence. Almond (2007) noted that effects of media violence on children and adolescents are determined by the length of exposure, age, and parental influence.

Exposure to media violence encourages violent and aggressive behaviors in children, introduces new concepts of violence that children have been unaware of, and augments negative experiences of violence and abuse. The Columbine High School massacre is an example of the effect of exposure to media violence of young people.

Research revealed that the two gunmen had great exposure to violent movies and video games. A survey by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also showed that the music, video game, and motion picture industry made the children exposed to violent content due to poor ratings.

The commission found out that children and adolescents get more exposure violence easily because ratings of media content do not show the quantity of violent content. Media violence affects brains of young viewers and replaces reality with fiction.

Children learn by imitating, observing, and adopting behaviors they consider appropriate (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009). Therefore, they imitate what they see in the media in order to understand the world. They are unable to differentiate between fiction and reality.

According to Anderson (1997), violent content in media exaggerates occurrence of violence in the world and depicts the world as an unsafe place.

This prompts children to develop aggressive behaviors to protect themselves and avoid being victimized by perpetrators of violence. Moreover, children are unable to differentiate between media fiction and reality (Cornell, 2006).

Introduction

Violence at schools is a disturbing youth delinquency that often affects today’s society. Many reasons have been given to explain the cause of the problem. One of the reasons is the effect of media violence on children and young people (Almond, 2007).

Exposure to media violence is an important study topic for psychologists. Studies have been conducted to ascertain the effect of media violence on young people, and the relationship between media violence and school violence.

Results have revealed that short-term and long-term exposure causes aggression and violence in children (Almond, 2007). Effects of exposure can be explained using cultivation and framing theories. Cultivation theory states that the media makes significant contribution towards shaping viewers’ perceptions of reality.

On the other hand, framing theory states that media controls the thinking of viewers by deciding what they watch or read. The two theories can be used to explicate the relationship between media violence and school violence.

Negative influences in the media

The media has been on the spotlight for its contribution to school violence. Researchers have established several ways through which media violence influences the behavior of young people.

As such, they have divided media violence into two classes that include passive violence and interactive violence (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009). Passive violence is displayed in television programs, news, music, and movies.

On the other hand, children are exposed to interactive violence through video games and other interactive activities that contain violent content (Anderson and Bushman, 2002). Any amount of exposure to violence in films or television programs causes aggression and destructive behaviors that can harm others.

Influencing factors

Factors that determine influence of media violence on children include the length of exposure, age, and parental influence (Cornell, 2006). These factors determine the degree of aggression or violence on actions of exposed children.

For example, the age of a viewer determines the extent to which violent content affects their behavior. Older children are more intelligent than younger children and practice more caution in aping what they see in violent films, movies, or games.

Short-term exposure increases the probability of developing violent behaviors (Gentile, 2003). Parents are an important factor in determining the effect of media violence on behavior of children. Parents are responsible for regulating the content that children are exposed to.

Therefore, they should ensure that children are not exposed to violent media content because it affects their emotions and behavior negatively (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009).

In addition, the social environment in which a child grows and the perception of the child determine the degree of negative influence. Many children perceive what they see in media as a representation of reality (Cornell, 2006).

How media violence fosters school violence

In order to understand the relationship between media violence and school violence, it is important to understand how exposure to media violence affects children. Research has revealed that media violence affects children in many ways.

First, it encourages imitation of violent behaviors by children because of the way violence is portrayed (Gentile, 2003). Secondly, it augments negative experiences, such as child abuse and domestic violence.

Thirdly, it introduces certain aspects of violence that appeal to children and they are unaware of (Gentile, 2003).

Encouragement of violent behaviors

Depiction of violence in the media encourages imitation of behaviors that result in aggression and violence. The media portrays violence as a source of great achievements and solutions to problems. According to Jones (2001), children are very curious and experimental.

Therefore, they imitate violent actions and behaviors shown in the media as a way of learning. For example, they ape actions of their favorite movie stars in order to be successful or victorious like them. They copy violent actions with the sole aim of receiving recognition from their peers for being daring (Jones, 2001).

Copying what they see is one of the ways through which children learn and interact with the environment. Therefore, exposure to media violence presents children with a learning opportunity. They learn by copying what they see and repeating it in real life through their actions and behaviors (Kirsh, 2006).

Research studies have established a strong relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behavior, bullying, depression, nightmares, and violent behavior (Kirsh, 2006).

The media influences children because of their modes of learning. Children learn effectively by imitating behaviors they consider appropriate. In addition, young children cannot differentiate between fiction and reality.

Exposure to new aspects of violence

Children learn many things concerning violence when they gain exposure to it in the media. For example, use of weapons, such as guns and knives, use of violence to solve problems, and use of violence to gain victory are common themes in the media (Murray, 2006).

As children watch them, they are attracted to depiction of violence as a way of solving problems and gaining victory. Psychologists have shown that children learn better through the use of visual and verbal forms. They learn easily through watching.

The media focuses more on negative perspectives of situations than on positive perspectives. According to cultivation theory, the media has great influence in determining how people perceive reality (Roskos and Monahan, 2007).

In addition, the theory explains that long-term exposure to media leads to construction of reality based on the reality model depicted by media (Roskos and Monahan, 2007). The media depicts violence as real being part of life.

As such, children embrace it and practice what they see as a way of synchronizing what they learn from their actions. The context in which violence is portrayed in the media encourages children and adolescents to become violent other than learn about violence (Murray, 2006).

The media uses violence for entertainment without considering its short-term and long-term effects on children who lack parental guidance. It desensitizes young people’s emotions towards violence.

Augmentation of negative experiences

The media augments negative experiences, such as child abuse and domestic violence. Children with these experiences learn that violence is part of life and reality. According to Schier (2008), children make sense of the world by associating what they see on the media with what they experience in their lives.

According to the framing theory, the media determines how people think by deciding what they see, watch, or read (Roskos and Monahan, 2007). Most films, movies, and video games choose violent themes to make them more exciting.

Children spend a lot of time consuming violent content not realizing its negative effects on their behavior and actions (Schier, 2008). Media violence augments existing aggressive cognitions in children due to past violent experiences. As a result, this increases arousal that causes imitation of observed behaviors.

In addition, observed violent behaviors turn natural emotional responses to violent thoughts and behaviors (Tremblay, 2000). Violent content in media exaggerates occurrence of violence in the world and depicts the world as a dangerous place where violence is necessary.

As a result, fear of violence motivates many young people to carry weapons for protection or become more aggressive in order to avoid being victims (Nagle, 2008).

Case studies

The killing of 13 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in 1999 was the proof that exposure to media violence causes aggressive behaviors and violence (Freedman, 2002).

Twenty-one people were injured in the incident. The attention that the media accorded the incident proved that media violence was a main cause of the shooting.

An evaluation of the lives of the two gunmen, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold revealed that they had been exposed to media violence for a long time (Freedman, 2002). For example, they were both fans of murder-simulation games that contain high depictions of violence.

In addition, they were fond of watching the movie “Natural Born Killers” which stars a murderous couple. According to reports, the two gunmen knew the dialogue in the controversial movie verbatim. Violent imagery creates an arousal effect that has a negative outcome on proper functioning of the brain (Freedman, 2002).

A 2007 report by the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry revealed that Harris and Klebold were highly exposed to media violence. Exposure to violent behavior on the media was a motivating factor in launching the attack on students in Columbine.

The report added that the two were affected by the numerous video games they played. Overuse of media had augmented the negative effects of violent content they were consuming. According to the report, police had confiscated their computers two months before the shooting.

A sudden withdrawal from a virtual world to the real world was a strong factor in initiating the killings. They were unable to deal with the real world and they had to act in accordance with what they were used to in the virtual world that represented their reality.

After the incident, a survey by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revealed that the music, video game, and motion picture industry exposed children to violent content due to poor ratings.

The commission found out that children and adolescents access violent content easily because content ratings do not reveal the quantity of violent content in movies and music.

The commission recommended proper content ratings and parental guidance as ways of reducing the negative effects of media violence on children and young people.

In 2012, another gunman, Adam Lanza shot twenty children and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut. This incident was largely attributed to a psychological disorder. However, further investigations revealed that the gunman had been exposed to significant amounts of media violence.

He had earlier killed his mother before the shooting. These killings have been attributed to exposure to media violence.

In 2000, a report presented to the Congress by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Academy of Pediatrics revealed that there is a connection between media violence and youth violence (Anderson et al, 2003).

A study by Stanford University showed a reduction in aggressive behavior such as physical and verbal aggression when children watched less television (Anderson, 1997). The study involved third and fourth grade students from two elementary schools in San Jose.

The study introduced a curriculum to one of the schools that discouraged television and video games.

The results of the study showed that aggression levels of students who had watched less TV and played fewer video games had decreased by 50%. In addition, verbal aggression had also decreased by 50% (Anderson et al, 2003).

Conclusion

Researchers have tried to establish the connection between media violence and school violence over the decades. Studies have shown that exposure to violence in the media causes violent behaviors and aggressiveness, which promote violence in schools.

For example, the two gunmen who executed the Columbine High School killing were great fans of violent movies and video games. Media violence promotes school violence through its negative effects on young children and adolescents.

It encourages violent behaviors, introduces new concepts of violence to children, and augments past experiences of violence. Children are easily influenced because they learn easily by observing and imitating.

The effect of violence on children behavior depends on length of exposure, age, and parental influence. Cultivation and framing theories have been used to explain how media violence causes school violence. According to framing theory, the media determines how people think by deciding what people watch and read.

As such, the media incorporates a lot of violent content in movies, films, news, and video games without considering the adverse effects the content poses on young people.

On the other hand, cultivation theory states that media contributes significantly to shaping viewers’ perceptions of reality. Children are the most adversely affected because they are unable to differentiate between fiction and reality.

References

Almond, L. (2007). School Violence. New York: Greenhaven Press.

American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009). Media Violence. Pediatrics, 124(5), 1495-1503.

Anderson, A. (1997). Effects of Violent Movies and Trait Irritability on Hostile Feelings and Aggressive Thoughts. Aggressive Behavior, 23, 161–178.

Anderson, A., and Bushman, J. (2002). The Effects of Media Violence on Society. Science, 295, 2377–2378.

Anderson, C. Carnagey, L., and Eubanks, J. (2003). Exposure to Violent Media: The Effects of Songs with Violent Lyrics on Aggressive Thought and Feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 960–971.

Cornell, D. (2006). School Violence: Fears versus Facts. New York: Routledge.

Freedman, J. (2002). Media Violence and Its Effects on aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. Canada: University of Toronto.

Gentile, D. (2003). Media Violence and Children: A Complete Guide for Parents and Professionals. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Jones, J. (2001). School Violence. Chicago: Lucent Books.

Kirsh, S. (2006). Children, Adolescents, and Media violence: A Critical look at the Research. New York: Sage Publication.

Murray, T. (2006). Violence in America’s Schools: Understanding, Prevention, and Responses. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group.

Nagle, J. (2008). Violence in Movies, Music, and the Media. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Roskos, D., and Monahan, J. (2007). Communication and Social Cognition: Theories and Methods. New York: Routledge.

Schier, H. (2008). The Causes of School Violence. New York: ABDO.

Tremblay, R. (2000). The Development of Aggressive Behavior During Childhood: What Have We Learned in the Past Century? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 129–141.

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