Category: Media

The Extent Press and Media Influence and Shape Public Perceptions of Crime

Social media was created in 1997 and since then it has been one of the most pervasive forms of control over the public’s perceptions of crime. The press has shaped and influenced the public’s perceptions of crime for decades now as the public learns about crimes from many different sources, such as: the news/newspapers, magazines, movies, TV shows, books and many other forms. Usually these sources don’t present the complete reality of those crimes. ( Media, Process and the Social Construction of Crime – Gregg Barak) Violent crimes are more often presented as the ‘norm’ by the news, TV shows etc. This provides the public with daily doses of information about murder, kidnapping, rape and many others. This impacts the societal views negatively, thus resulting in heinous crimes such as murder and rape being classified as normal.

‘Moral panic: it is a reaction by the majority of the population based on false or exaggerated perceptions that are fuelled by the media who amplify or overstate antisocial actions.” (– Stanley Cohen 1972) For example, the “Watts family murder” case, it has been widely broadcasted even landing its own documentary. The case was reported by many news channels such as ‘The Sun’ in these news reports, it was presented that Chris Watts murdered his wife and two children because he had a mistress who he wanted to begin a new life with but he didn’t know how to end things with his wife.

However, ‘The Sun’ and many other news articles failed to present the martial problems that were occurring between Chris and his wife such as: his wife being extremely controlling. This impacted the societal views of this crime extremely as the press failed to authentically portray the unseen and unheard ongoing issues between Watts and his wife, in addition influencing the public to believe that the murder of both his wife and two children was a spontaneous act of rage with no real reason behind the murders. While there is never a reason respectable enough to justify a murder, it is important to recognise that Watts’ murder rage was fuelled by his marital problems that he felt he could not escape. However, this does not aid the public in any way to believe Watts’s was right in committing these murders but, it does provide essential background information deemed critical to his case. In the long run, information like this can help people form their opinion on worldwide cases as such. Given that sources such as ‘The Sun’ do not depict the case with false information or, leave out information which hinders the validity of the details open to the public eye.

Media on numerous distinctive events has contrarily impacted the public’s sees of police officers’ violent experiences with African American men but they have not set up wide-ranging contributing variables. This also impacts the societal views negatively as a high number of media associates crime with a certain race. Specifically, when it comes to protests a few media outlets tend to present these as ‘looting and rioting’ . The case of George Floyd is an example of a distinctive event including a police officer and an African American man.

How and Why Does the Mass Media Attempt to Define Youth Culture as a Social Problem?

In todays society with a wide-ranging mix of complex issues, there are multiple cultures all developing with dominant values. This system is never homogenous; Instead, entails constant modifications and adaptions of dominant ideas and values (Brake 1985:6). The introduction to social media to the young has both a positive and negative effect on the growing culture. The convenience of enhanced communication means friends don’t have to be face to face to communicate. According to Lievrouw (2011:222), the rise of new media had led to shifts within communication. Kear (2010:31) argues that “a significant difficulty with online communication is that participants don’t always get a very good sense of other people in the group”. Although wonderful for keeping in contact with friends and family, it can be argued that this form of communication is developing an anti-social generation. In the present day, cyberspace has invaded the minds in public (Simmons 1995: 147). The media portrays that this form of cyber interaction, where we are limited, told what is trendy and popular and defines what is important in our daily lives. Stuart Hall suggests that, ideas are dependent on effects of the conclusively determining levels in the construction of society (Morley and Chen 1996:29). It could be said that this is the normal platform for social media to condition the minds of the youths and their way of interacting and general lifestyle today. Due to this, youths are struggling to comprehend and interact in the normal world and with real people. Brake (1985:6) defines youth culture as the way adolescents live, and the norms and values they share.

Youth culture is seen everywhere because it is the way that adolescents live their lives. Youth culture can be seen through the values, norms and practices people share or have in common. According to ACT Youth Culture (2019), culture is the shared symbolic systems, and processes of maintaining and transforming those systems. Youth culture is different from the culture that is involved or seen in the older generations because of the difference in age and how they have been brought up and what they have seen, and what they think is normal. Youth culture includes what we believe, how we behave, styles and fads and similar interests. Although youth is defined by culture, its greatest influence is social media because everyone these days use social media. Social media can define a whole culture by its own development and the use of the culture upon it. The more the youth culture feels that social media is important then the more power social media has in developing every aspect of the evolution on youth culture. We see this massively since the development in social media increased over the past 30 years. Never has a whole culture been so reliant on the interaction with social media to the extent of social behaviour and interactions changing massively. Everyone does simple things using social media instead of going into the real world to do the same things. Laziness is becoming more and more usual because you can do simple things like doing the grocery shopping on your phones and getting it delivered to your house.

A showing aspect of the problems with social media is the way youths change, update and enhance their virtual profiles, trying to find consent and approval by their online peers. This triggers massive problems as the reality of themselves is dependent on how virtual people see them. They are removed from the everyday world and its realities and the virtual world grows more and more important as a new ideology form. The media presents the virtual world and its need for the youths to partake in it as they sell the much need communication and communication in which young people crave and enjoy. Overtime, youths have become so attached and used to having social media around, they think their lives would be very different without it. This has led to addiction of social media. Lessnoff states that ‘Man was born free; and everywhere he is in chains (1990: 108)’. Todays youth think its normal to check their phones the second their eyes open in fear of missing out on some event or just to reply and see what messages they have received. The more messages a person receives, the more valued and accepted they feel.

The social media controls and challenges the ideological meaning of the youth’s everyday life. McLellan (1986: 1) argues that ideology is the most unique concept in the field of social science and questions the originality of our most important ideas. In the individual within the collective, the virtual ideology and the realization of collective principles controls and constructs lifestyles. Jan Fernback illustrates ‘cyberspace as an arena of power (1997: 36)’. The amount of time a youth communicates in the virtual world, with not only their peers, but also at the forefront of ideology for the age group, shows the power and importance the youth feels social media has over them. Lessnoff states that ‘Man was born free; and everywhere he is in chains (1990: 108)’. Entertainment plays a vital role in ideological meaning and control within youth, as a cultural entity. Music as a brand of entertainment is perceived to have the ability to greatly impact its audience. Athique outlines that; audiences create particular structural forms in relation to the media around it (2013: 54).

The digital revolution has brought about a shift from a mass to a virtual society. Social media has led to youths trying hard to fit in and do what everyone else is doing, as well as seeking online approval by friends and peers. As a way of seeking friendship, youths engage in this platform. Social media present youths with the idea that, they do not need to go into the public for this purpose making youths social interaction skills go down. It does this by providing a wide audience for youths to interact globally at any time without making plans to catch up.

Racial Profiling In Australian Media

In July 2018, Channel Seven presented a report on ‘African gangs’ in response to a riot that had recently taken place in the Melbourne CBD. This event triggered a rapid increase in racialised reporting and racial profiling in Australian media, that would have a detrimental effect on the South Sudanese community of Melbourne. Political researchers found that the words ‘Sudanese’ and ‘african’ were used in relation to the word ‘gang’ in around 130 news stories in Melbourne’s papers the two years following the riot, with only four stories as such in the two years prior. Seven news titled their report ‘African gangs’, but Africa refers to an entire continent, not only the sudanese community. The number of crimes that were reported as being committed by sudanese, or African gangs increased rapidly, and following these publications not only people of Sudanese descent, but members of the wider african community as a whole began to find themselves unable to walk the streets without receiving side glances and wary looks from passers-by. Through the association of gang violence with an even wider community, a bias is created against anyone who looks somewhat ‘african’, if that can be defined as an adjective.

A teenager living in Sunshine Victoria described the ostracism that followed the reports, “Sometimes if I’m walking with my friend, I’ll notice people crossing the road to avoid me.“You shouldn’t stereotype people based on their looks, and you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

These phrases are well known and used often, but it becomes difficult to adhere to them when the news tells people that their lives are in danger. Many people are easily influenced by media that too often targets minorities in order quickly assign blame, and avoid dealing with the deeper issues in our society. By including the race of an offender in media, journalists imply that the race of the offender is related to the crime, creating a prejudice in our society against entire communities of people, and creating stigmas within our society that support a culture of fear and condemnation of any cultural minority that is assigned blame.

“These kids are born in Australia, but they’re South Sudanese,” says a father of two. What do we define as Australian? Often what truly defines a person is not their passport, or their citizenship, but their own self identity. How can second generation Australians define themselves as Australian when they are constantly referred to as South Sudanese? With the addition of being referred to as criminals and gang members, the self identity of these individuals becomes blurred and unclear. This ostracism could be a reason that the stereotypes persist, and possibly a factor in the crime committed in the community.

Looking back at the arrival of first generation Australians from South Sudan, they were escaping war and gained citizenship in Australia as refugees. At first the focus of the government was humanitarian, the public urged that these people should have safe settlement in Australia. However, this soon changed as research was released to the public, stating that Sudanese people had low IQ and were therefore more prone to crime. At the same time, the number of crimes being reported as committed by Sudanese people increased, along with the labelling and stereotyping, the assumption that Africans were more prone to crime than other cultural groups grew virulent.

Although the level of education of these first generation Australians was much lower than other groups of refugees, the causes of crime are numerous and complex. The factor of socioeconomic status plays a large role as a cause of crime, and is not exclusive to immigrants, and immigrant children. Looking at the treatment of another minority group, Muslims in Australia have faced similar ostracism, stereotyping, demonisation, and isolation. Terrorist attacks by radicalists in Australia, and all over the world led to the fear and distrust of Muslim Australians.

The Effects Of Media Violence

Through the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century media has played a substantial role in shaping the minds of today’s youth. There has been an increasing belief that violence in the media poses a threat to public health due to the suggested increase that media has the ability to cause violence and aggression. There are three main forms of media which are regularly viewed and used within studies to determine the different effects they may cause, these include video games, television and video. Many sources suggest that their research has found that this form of violence contributes to a number of short and long problem in the minds if young viewers (Huesmann & Taylor, 2006).

However, there are a number of research articles and researchers who have studied the relationship between violence in media and violent behaviour but have not yet been able to prove any form of relationship to suggest that exposure to violent media can cause an individual to commit violent crime. Instead, there is a risk that exposure to media violence will increase the likelihood of subsequent aggressive behaviour, which could be increased or decreased through a number of factors such as family life or mental state (Brown, 1996). Although, in order to prove whether or not exposure to violence within different forms of media could subsequently result in the ability for people to commit violent crime, more research may need to be done. One form of violent entertainment includes video games, which has been investigated in order to help prove if there is, in fact, a relation to violent crimes people commit. This is due to the increasing concern amongst communities that players have been becoming more aggressive as a result of violent games or have been becoming desensitised to the violence.

Although, there is very little evidence that proves the relationship between playing violent video games and becoming violent in real-life (Brown, 1996). Some researchers depict that a link between video games and aggression is likely due to a suggested ‘third’ variable in relation to an individual’s family environment or innate aggression, although this lacks research and remains unaddressed (Ferguson et al., 2008). One research article examined the effects of violent video games by separating them into two categories, correlational and experimental. An experiment was done testing the relationships between violent game playing and self-reported violent crime among 227 undergraduate students. Results from this correlational study show that a relationship between violent video games and violent crime exists, third variables, such as innate aggression and gender have the ability to possibly influence such relationship. This is seen through a genetic predisposition, which develops from a potential violence-prone personality resulting in an aggressive personality through maturation. Meaning that as a child grows there is a possibility of more violent behaviour if they have more exposure to more violence and aggressive behaviour.

However, violent video games have the opportunity to act as a stylistic catalyst, through which an individual high violence prone environment decides to act violently, this person will then model violence seen in the media. Although, the violence would still occur in another form if the video game had been taken away from been removed from the individual (Ferguson et al., 2008). Television is a high regarded necessity within every household within the western world, with a statistical number of Australians watching around 21 hours of per week. This large amount of viewing time creates many potential effects of more violence seen within the media, compared to videos and video games (Brown, 1996). A study that tests early exposure to television, meaning the exposure of violent media to children, draws upon many theories. These theories include the social-cognitive observational-learning theory, desensitization theory, and social comparison theory, which were tested in order to examine and determine the longitudinal relationship for aggressive behaviour for both males and females (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski & Eron, 2003).

Researchers were able to gather data involving a range of childhood TV-violence viewing, identification of aggressive TV characters and behaviour, judgments of realism of TV violence, and intellectual ability. While also considering the parents socioeconomic status; which educational level is highly regarded and measured, aggressiveness, parenting practices and attitudes. There was also a follow up study which included 329 of the participants from the original study (Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski & Eron, 2003). This study found a link between early exposure to TV violence and aggressive behaviour following in adult years, however there were no overly significant effects such as violent crime. These findings have also been supported by another research article which also investigates and discusses the same belief of early exposure to violence within the media may possibly result in violent crime. However, in both circumstances their hypotheses were proven incorrect, showing only a relationship between early exposure and aggression in future adult years based on results from a Meta-Analysis (Savage & Yancey, 2008).

Videos are another form of media violence which is thought to most enhance the problem of violent crime. This is due to them being easily accessible and containing more explicit, violent content which is easily accessible 24 hours a day, while still remaining within regulatory guidelines. Videos contain a range of content which stem form being family friendly, to “X” and “R” rated. This is thought to adhere to the problem, due to the young age-groups who are more than likely viewing such mature scenes that in turn shape their minds. There is a study that suggest the viewing “X” and “R” rated content can lead to a ‘copy-cat’ phenomenon. This phenomenon involves the imitation of violent murders or suicides from viewers to undertake a tendency of sensational publicity. It is seen to apply to videos to explain horrific events as, for example, the killing of a toddler in England by two ten-year-old’s, who had apparently watched the movie Child’s Play (Brown, 1996).

There has also been at least eight other murders and other crimes linked to the movie Oliver Stone’s 1994 film Natural Born Killers, which manifests that there is a relationship between media and violent crime, even though is remains partly elusive (Phillips, 2017). Although, there is a challenge in being able to discern between what a copy-cat crime actually is in relation to the individual who commits it. The challenging part of being able to define this particular type of crime is due to the limited amount of research conducted in order to measure its concept or how it actually occurs. One particular researcher, Jacqueline Helfgott, had suggested that factors such as the individual characteristics, the characteristics of media sources, their relationship to media, and their cultural factors are influential to the way people commit crimes. For instance, it is believed that the presence of media more often influences the how aspect of crime, rather than why someone commits a crime (Phillips, 2017).

In summary, the controversial belief that exposure to violence conveyed within the media can in turn cause some individuals to commit violent crimes has not been proven correct, which can be seen through broad research this has been conducted. This is due to limited investigations and evidence being found or conducted in order to prove this statement. Instead researchers have found evidence proving a relationship between media violence and aggression, as well as, a relationship between the what type of media individuals watch and the crimes people commit and the way they commit them.

Media Violence And Its Effect On Mass Shootings

Abstract

The impact that violent media content has on mass shootings has been the topic of much discussion. The verdict on this issue is in many ways split. Some argue that yes indeed it does have an effect, while others oppose this notion. The answer to this is not a simple yes or no. It is clear that violent media does not make murders of all its consumers, nor is every mass shooter an avid consumer of it. However, violent media within movies and video games is shown to effect aggression levels in its users, and in some cases it is clear that violent imagery did play some role in influencing mass shooters through social learning and desensitization.

Media Violence

On a Feburary morning that appeared to be another routine day of school for the students of Parkland High School in Florida a tragedy struck. One that would end the lives of several students and profoundly impact hundreds of others. On that morning a lone shooter walked the high school and began fatally firing upon the students there. In the span of just a few minutes 17 students were dead and many more were injured by the shooter. Although thankfully events such as this are still a relatively rare, the magnitude of the violence associated with mass shootings cannot go unnoticed. Especially because these violent actions appear to be much more a product of modern society that was not prevalent in earlier portions of this nation’s history. It is a difficult question to answer“what is at the root of these horrifying events?” In the wake of these disasters muc debate goes into attempting to determine what causes individuals to decide to needlessly kill and what can be done to prevent it in the future. The answers given by law makers and media personnel are usually rather simple, such as: stricter gun laws, mental health policies, and heighted security. Unfortunately the solution to avoiding future loss of innocent life at the hands of mass murders is an intricate one that require multiple facets of approach. The choice to commit such an act of violence is not a decision that one makes in a day. Post-analysis of many mass shooters shows tendencies of premeditation and a history of warning signs leading up to its climax of indiscriminate murder (Kamp, Campo-Flores 2018). One aspect worthy of deeper examination is the consequence of violent media content in the form of video games and movies and its impact on aggression and desensitization to killing. By no means is it reasonable to suggest that media content alone is responsible for mass shootings in their entirety. However, a strong argument can be made for a direct cause and effect relationship between media violence and real world hostility is present and it has the potential to normalize acts of violence in the minds of future killers that most individuals would find impossible.

When addressing the idea that media can have an effect on aggression and one’s willingness to kill, it is important to consider how humans responded to killing before the mass spread of social media. After all, has not mankind continuously been killers throughout its’ history? According to LtCol. Grossman, a psychologist and author of the book On Killing, mankind has not. In his book, he explains that less than 15 percent of individual riflemen were willing to directly fire upon their enemy during World War Two with the intent to kill. That is only 15 men out of a 100 were willing to shoot at enemy soldiers with the resolve to take their life. The others either did not fire at all or simply pretended to fire and just shot over the heads of the enemy missing them intentionally. Likewise an estimated one percent of fighter pilots were responsible for 30 to 40 percent of enemy planes shot down in World War Two. Indicating that only a few pilots were willing and capable of engaging another pilot with the intent to take their life. Going back further in American history to the civil war, accounts indicate that a regiment of soldiers firing at an unprotected enemy from as close as 30 yards would kill an average of only one to two men a minute. Though, in training, these same regiments could release fire power on wooden targets that would have had the power to easily kill hundreds of enemy personnel within only a few minutes. Yet, when in battle facing other human beings the vast majority of men quietly chose not to kill their fellow man. Historical records report finding dead soldiers with muskets that had been loaded with sometimes up to 15 shots. This means that soldiers were going through the motion of preparing their weapon to fire but would only pretend to pull the trigger. It was not until as recently as the Vietnam era that the percentage of soldiers willing to shoot at the enemy with the resolve to kill reached levels of 80 to 90 percent. Modern solider kill rates are even greater with virtually all individuals willing to directly fire upon the enemy with resolve to kill them. To achieve this end the military had to radically change the way it trained its fighters. Providing them with much more realistic training in order to suppress their natural aversions to killing their fellow man. This training involved human shaped targets that fell when hit. And more recent adaptions of lifelike video simulations similar to the point and shoot games advertised to the civilian population that are present in arcades and more recently available within the privacy of one’s own home (2008). This begs the question that if this simulated killing can suppress the natural and healthy aversion of a solider to kill in combat, could it likewise do the same to children playing similar violent games and watching violent movies?

In order to better comprehend how media could push an individual towards more violent tendencies it is helpful to understand how exposure to certain stimulus can impact the human mind and change behavior. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Blink discusses a topic referred to as priming. He uses an experiment to illustrate priming’s effect on the human mind. In this experiment subjects are given a seemingly random lists of words usually only five or six in total and asked to create sentences using the words as quickly as possible. After they finished the subjects were instructed to walk down a hallway and inform the monitor that they were done. However, when they would get to the monitor’s office they would find them engaged in a conversation that appeared to be a coincidence but in fact was part of the test. The seemingly randomized words were in fact not random at all. In one group certain words like “rushed’, “rude”, and “entitled” were scattered throughout test. In another group words such as “nice”, “polite”, and “patient” were scattered throughout. This was to test how effectively an individual could be primed to be either polite or rude compared to a control group. The results were rather remarkable. Once the control group got to the monitors office they would on average interrupt after a few minutes. The group primed to be rude would on average interrupt much faster than the control group, sometimes within only a few seconds. Yet, the group primed to be polite on average never interrupted even when the conversation dragged on for an excess of ten minutes (SIGHT). It is astonishing how just reading a handful of words can drastically change the actions of an individual for a period of time. One can argue that the images within violent media would be much more effective at priming someone’s behavior than a handful of words. And a constant exposer to such priming could have the potential to have a more lasting effect on one’s conduct.

Furthermore, meta-analysis does show a positive correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior and violent crimes (Glock & Kneer 2009). It has been shown that playing violent video games can have a priming effect on children. Zheng and Zhang demonstrated this by having children partake in a study where they rate the violence level of certain video games and then measured their aggression levels before and after playing the games. They found that aggression levels noticeably increased in test subjects after playing the violent video games for a reasonable amount of time (2016). Of note, the gender and pre-dispositioned aggression before playing the video games did impact the measured aggression levels in the test subjects. Meaning that males and those who had higher aggression levels prior to conducting the study exhibited greater increases in aggressive tendencies following the study. A separate study that collaborates with the results in the first showed that brain development can actually be changed in adolescence when exposed to violent media imagery. Neuroimaging was used to show that exposure to media violence in childhood can alter prefrontal mechanisms for regulating emotions and behavior. This can result in long-term increases in aggression levels and lack of inhibitory controls (Hummer 2015). This makes logical sense from a psychological perspective when viewed from the premise of Social Learning Theory, which indicates that learning occurs through observation of others and through the reception of rewards and punishments (Kassin et. all 2008). Particularly when one takes into account the premise of most violent video games is rewards based upon inflicting as many virtual causalities as possible. Even when the storyline of the video game does not encourage massive amounts killing, there is rarely any meaningful risk in doing so. Basically most violent video games establish a realistic virtual world where the player is free to commit nearly endless amounts of violence upon the computer-generated inhabitance of the game without any of the negative consequences that would accompany such acts within the real world. Violent movies are similar where it is frequent for the viewer to see massive amounts of murder and killing carried out by the protagonist with little to no consequences. They often present these killings as unimportant and normal within the fictional world of the movie, where the same activities in real life would have devastating consequences for the perpetrator.

This by no means is to propose that every consumer of violent video games and movies is a killer in waiting. Nor is it even proposed to suggest that violent media content in and of itself is accountable for a mass shooter’s decisions to carry out their violent acts. A normal human being can logically tell the difference between fiction and reality; however, as previously mentioned, on a subconscious level this exposure can prime an individual, especially one that is younger, to be more open to accepting violent behavior as normal and desensitize them to violence against other human beings. Like in the case of the Parkland shooting. It was reported that the shooter would frequently play violent video games sometimes as much as 15 hours a day. His favorite was Call of Duty, a game that simulates a soldier in combat allowing the player to rapidly kill dozens of simulated enemies from a first person perspective (SIGHT). Obviously correlation does not always equal causation. However, based off of the studies previously discussed it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the Parkland shooter was not at least to some degree desensitized to killing due to his excessive use of first person shooters.

There is harsh opposition to the idea that video game and media violence plays any role in the perpetration of mass shootings. Such as Ferguson and Barnett who argue that there is not even as much as a causal relationship between the two. They wish to dispel the notion of the “profile” of a mass shooter as always being a social outcast, a loner playing video games in their basement, until one day they just snap and decide to go on a murderous rampage. It is true that there is no established concrete profile of a mass shooter. If one was to attempt to compile a profile, some commonalities would emerge but none would be universal. And mass consumption of violent video games and media would not make the list. Ferguson and Barnett point to statistics provided by The United States Secret Service to back their argument that there is no causal relationship between mass shooters and media consumption. Their statistics indicated that only 59% of shooters displayed significant interest in violent media, and the level of consumption of media was not higher than their peer groups among the general population (2011). This data can be misleading in two regards. First off it fails to account for the wide and almost unanimous consumption of violent media content in the United States. 99% of boys and 94% of girls in the United States between 12 and 17 years of age play video games (Lenhart 2015) with a significant number of those being violent in nature. So even if mass shooters are relatively on par with or even below their peers when it comes to media consumption, nearly all children are still being exposed to and desensitized by violent media content. And second it over simplifies a correlation between mass shootings and media violence. The decision by an individual to commit a mass shooting is a complex one. The road they took to get there and the influences along the way are very much unique to them. For many of these individuals media violence and video games did not play a noteworthy role in their progression to becoming a mass murder; however, for others it appeared to be a significant part of their development. For example the Columbine shooters were avid players of the video game Doom and reportedly based their plan off of the game. Or James Holmes who conducted a shooting at a screening of a Batman movie because he saw himself likened to the Joker, the infamous rival to Batman (Kassin et. all 2008). And numerous other examples are available. It would be unreasonable to assume that the complete removal of media violence from the scenario would have prevented the acts of violence carried out by these individuals. However, it would also be a gross misinterpretation of the evidence to suggest that in some cases of mass shootings violent media content did not play a significant role.

To state the obvious, mass shootings are horrific and tragic. So it is no surprise that what is at the core of these event is the topic of intense debate. Especially following in the wake of yet another tragic shooting. Media violence and its impact on aggression in young people, especially to the extreme in places like Parkland High School, is at the forefront of that debate. Yet like many other issues it is overly simplified. A society, fearful for the safety of its youth, begs the question, “does media violence cause these shootings?” And they seek a simple yes or no, black or white answer to this question. Unfortunately the answer to this, just like the motives behind the individuals who carry out these acts, is complex. Obviously, and thankfully, there is not a direct positive relationship between mass shooters and the heavy consumption of media violence. If this were the case mass shootings would arguably be a daily occurrence given that nearly all individuals consume violent media content. However, through social learning and desensitization a strong argument is present for media violence having a significant influence on at least some of the perpetrators of mass shootings.

References

1. Kamp, J., Calvert, S., & Campo-Flores, A. (2018, February 16). Missed Warnings in the Florida School Shooting. Retrieved from https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-shooting-suspect-charged-with-17-counts-of-premeditated-murder-1518704958
2. Grossman, D., & Christensen, L. W. (2008). On combat: the psychology and physiology of deadly conflict in war and in peace. Illinois: Warrior Science Publications.
3. Glock, S., & Kneer, J. (2009). Game Over? Journal of Media Psychology, 21(4), 151-160.
4. Zheng, J., & Zhang, Q. (2016). Priming effect of computer game violence on childrens aggression levels. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44(10), 1747-1759.
5. Hummer, T. A. (2015). Media Violence Effects on Brain Development. American Behavioral Scientist, 59(14), 1790-1806.
6. Kassin, S. M., Fein, S., Markus, H. R., & Brehm, S. S. (2008). Social psychology. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
7. Ferguson, C. J., Coulson, M., & Barnett, J. (2011). Psychological Profiles of School Shooters: Positive Directions and One Big Wrong Turn. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 11(2), 141-158.
8. Lenhart, A. (2015, August 06). Teens, Technology and Friendships. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships

The Role of Mass Media in Socialization

Why do we use a fork and spoon for spaghetti, yet eat a hamburger with our hands? From the moment we are conceived, we are socialized; we constantly learn hoe to act and react, to function within society. Socialization is defined as the process in which we learn the culture of our society, and it is perpetual. In sense, we are fundamentally products of our socialization; our identity, thoughts and actions are all formed by how we were socialized. If Tarzan was brought to a high-class dinner party, he wouldn’t just be confused as at which fork to use first, he’d be utterly bemused at the entire setup for the meal, and probably even find it incredibly pointless how people fuss over something as eating.

TECHNOLOGY’S IMPACT

The need to socialize has seen people invent various channels of socialization. Technological advancement has reduced the world into a small village. Some areas, such as the mass media coverage, have attracted the attention of many individuals globally. With the current mass media, much has changed, especially in terms of socialization.

This includes the radios, television, newspapers, and many more. They deliver and carry messages or information from one place to the other. Socialization process has extremely taken a new look in the current society.

What the media displays has attracted a lot of attention from the public. Information on major societal issues, such as sexuality, is displayed clearly to the public. Unlike in the traditional society where such sensitive information could not be addressed openly, all forms of information are openly discussed fearlessly in the modern society.

Mass media has become so advanced to an extent that people from different regions can chart over various issues affecting them in life. This has greatly helped people in terms of expressing their views freely in areas of interest. By so doing, a social network is created. Issues of family and marriages are addressed. Relationship issues are discussed through the mass media as well.

Twitter and Facebook are the main forms of social media in the modern society. Through Facebook and twitter, people from various parts of the world share information and would form relationships more easily. According to Henslin (2012), young individuals would get in touch with each other through the social media and would form serious friendships, which would end up in marriages.

Mass media has drawn the attention of many politicians in the modern society since it offers as a platform through which leaders can form strong bonds with the electorate. Through Facebook and Twitter, politicians are able to pass their campaign information to many. The mass media helps them in sharing their political standpoints and interests with their supporters, organize meetings, and hold political rallies.

The first category of the socialization agents is the media. The mass media and the social media have been major agents of socialization. As mentioned above, the mass media is a very vital socializing agent. The newspaper, radio, and television are the main socializing agents in the modern society. On the social media, Facebook, Tweeter, and YouTube are the main agents of socialization.

Facebook has about one billion subscribers from all over the world. This means that through Facebook, one can reach numerous individuals locally and globally. Others, such as YouTube and Tweeter, are also major agents of socialization.

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION “MASS MEDIA”

According to the reading, “Socialization and Culture” from the book “Interdisciplinary English” by Loretta F. Kasper, Socialization is the process in which a child learns how to behave in life and participate in a group in society. Socialization has four basic/main agents: family, school, peers and the mass media. Each one of these agents plays a role in our lives. However, in my opinion, the most important agent of socialization for the development of the child is the Mass Media. The Mass media is a significant force in modern culture. Sociologists refer to this as a mediated culture where media reflects the behavioral pattern of some individuals within a society.

SOCIO CULTURAL FACTOR

Researchers (Plungė, 2011; McLuhan, 2003; Nabi, Oliver, 2009 et al.) emphasize that medias are not only the agents of socialization. They are also treated as a socio-cultural factor, transforming entire neighboring environment. Their impact on individuals can be both positive and negative, since they bring changes into the process of cognition and effect. They develop the “here and now effect” and take part in following processes, related to socialization of individuals: y social adaptation of individuals adaptation to socio-cultural conditions and social roles, standards and social groups, organizations or social institutions); y interiorization (internalization) processes (mastering of social standards, values and their transition to internal human world); y exteriorization (externalization) processes (reaction to external cultural stimulus on the basis of internalized standards and activity patterns).

Scientific problem. In socialization related processes each individual interacts with medias (their texts). Therefore, it is important to answer the question – in which processes of socialization their impact on individuals is strongest? Aim of the research is to make analysis of media impacts on individuals in their process of socialization. Object of the research is the impact of medias on individuals. Tasks (objectives): y to make analysis of relation between media action mode and impact; y to discuss the importance of individual media related experience in processes of socialization; y to explore media related impact on individuals in processes of socialization.

Relation between media action mode and impact

Medias influence social environment – they make impact on interrelations of individuals, communication, approach to oneself and entire world, “insist” on certain stereotypes in different situations. They take active part in socialization of individuals. Diversification is typical to them, since it provides them with opportunity for penetration into environment, in which individuals personally could hardly ever penetrate. In other words, boundaries between different environments are eliminated. This impact in community could be entitled as media action mode (methods and styles of action and activities). Above action mode consists of entire chain of these action methods and all this is operated by medias. They are always focused on specific aim, depending on targets that information is orientated on. There are following landmarks in media action mode:

• · Analysis of audience preferences/choice, when media action mode is focused on specific demands of audience (personal, social, cultural, etc.);
• · Analysis of social standards and interests – media action mode is focused on demands of community, in which interaction of medias and audience takes place;
• · Medias as a factor, making social impact.

The Effects Of Media On Suicide

Media can affect suicide in a lot of ways, these being through television, literature, music, videogames and almost of all social media. These can usually be divided into two categories, traditional and new. Traditional as in newspapers, television, and music, and new being social media and video games. Today I’ll be covering the ways these types of media affect suicide.

The first way that media affects suicide is through television. This is one of the many traditional media I was referring to earlier. Ways that television can affect suicide is through reports of actual suicides, TV shows that portray suicide, or films that portray suicide. News reports about suicides could influence some people to commit suicide because they want to be remembered like the person they saw in the news, that the public will know their struggle, but what they don’t realize is that people knowing about your struggle won’t help you any after you’re dead. The way it can influence suicide is by sometimes displaying it as a way of escape. For example in the TV show Mission Impossible, a captured spy would take a suicide pill to avoid being interrogated. This portrays suicide as a way of escape from the interrogation, and could send a message to an individual struggling with suicidal thoughts that suicide can be a way of escape for their troubles.

The second way that media affects suicide is through literature. This is also a traditional type of media. The type of books you read can really affect suicide depending on the book. Some books also show suicide as a solution. For example in Romeo and Juliet it’s portrayed as a solution for Juliet when she thought Romeo killed himself, and a solution for Romeo when he finds out that Juliet killed herself.

The third way that media affects suicide is through music. There are a lot of different types of music but the type of music that usually influences suicidal behavior is this emotional or rock music. This type of music incorporates connotations of suicide, depression, and nihilism. An example of this type of music can be seen in the song “Fade to Black” by Metallica which states “Life it seems will fade away, Drifting further everyday, Getting lost within myself, Nothing matters no one else, I have lost the will to live, Simply nothing more to give, There is nothing more for me, Need the end to set me free.” As you can see this song displays signs of depression and suicidal thoughts the listening of the song could push someone to the brink of suicide.

The fourth way media affects suicide through video games. Video games are one of the new medias I was talking about before and can affect suicide in a lot of ways. The first way that video games can affect suicide is by encouraging violence in young children. The encouraged violence may influence depressed people let violence is a good answer and that killing yourself may be a good response to their pain and suffering. Another way that video games can affect suicide is by normalizing suicide. They’re are actually many games that incorporate suicide as a main factor in the game Such as Happy Wheels, Kill Yourself, and 5 Minutes to Kill Yourself.

In the video game Happy Wheels, the objective of the game is to pass an extreme course where one wrong move could end your life. The developers, however make the deaths of the player more enjoyable, to the point where you kill yourself in the game on purpose therefore normalizing suicide. The second game in this category is literally called “Kill Yourself”, where the goal of the game is to find 38 different ways to kill yourself. This not only normalizes suicide but provides more methods of suicide to them. The last game in this category I mentioned is named “5 Minutes to Kill Yourself”. The objective of the game is to kill yourself the fastest you can the limit being 5 minutes. This video game could encourage someone with depression to commit suicide because it rewards you for killing yourself in the game. They might actually perceive suicide as a good thing and actually go through with it. Overall, they’re a lot of video games that can affect suicide but games like these should be kept away from people with suicidal thoughts.

The last and the of the media, which affects suicide in a colossal way is the (((social media))). Besides physical bullying, the use of social media to bully people and push them to the brink of suicide is one the greatest ways that media affects suicide. There are multiple ways that social media can do this though and these ways are through jealousy and by cyberbullying. The first reason I will be covering is jealousy. Even though it’s not seen it happens in a lot of social media.

Some people may feel like they aren’t worth anything or that nobody likes them because they see other people who look so much better on social media. An extensive period of this jealousy can really depress some people and make them feel worthless and unnoticed, which increases their risk of suicide. Self-consciousness plays a major role in this because they’re always thinking about what others think about them and if nobody payed attention to them they would think no one would care about them. Then there’s cyberbullying probably one of the most effective ways that media affects suicide. If you don’t know what cyberbullying it is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. Anyway, people doing this to others can exponentially increase their risk of suicide. The way it does this is put down the victim of it until he/she is feels so worthless and hated that they decide to end their own life. This is a serious problem nowadays and it needs to be attended to.

In conclusion, the media can affect suicide in a plethora of ways. These ways being through television, literature, news etc. But it’s important to remember to be careful what you entertain yourself with because it could be brewing thoughts of depression or nihilism, that could lead to suicidal thoughts, and eventually suicide.

The Role Media Plays In Perpetuating Rape Culture

In May 2019, a video of an incident which took place at a restaurant in Gurgaon, India went viral on Facebook. In that video, a middle -aged woman was seen harassing a group of young girls and slut-shaming one of them because she was wearing a short skirt. The victim also stated that, the woman was asking the men present at the restaurant to rape her as she deserved that because of her ‘inappropriate’ clothing. This incident is a small glimpse of the consequences of deeply embedded rape culture within the society. Simply put, rape culture is a collection of values that excuses, normalizes and tolerates male sexual aggression and violence against women. Rape culture offers a framework that penalizes women for sexual assault rather than holding the perpetrator accountable.

Rape myth is one of the key features of rape culture. Kimberly A. Lonsway and Louise F. Fitzgerald defined rape myths as ‘attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and that deny and justify male sexual aggression against women’. Some of the common rape myth includes: ‘she asked for it’, ‘she didn’t resist’,’ drunk women are somewhat responsible for letting things get out of control’, ‘women who walk around in skimpy clothes should not be surprised if they get raped’, ‘usually women who sleep around a lot get raped’, ‘he’s not the type of person who rapes’, ‘he is being framed’ and so on. We can all agree that media plays a great role in bringing the victims out of the shadows and give them a platform to share their side of the incident.

But sometimes media also perpetuates rape myths and encourages the rape culture by the way it cover the news of rape incidents or portrays the victims of sexual violence. Routinely we find articles which describes the incident with the phrase ‘had sex with’ instead of using the term ‘rape’. This type of word choices diminish the severity of the incident for the readers. Oftentimes we read articles which imply a ‘sexual relationship’ between perpetrator and victim or include details which can revoke the credibility of the victim, for example, their outfit choices, how much makeup they had on or whether they were drunk at the time of the incident. Drawing attention to victims’ appearance and lifestyle ultimately signals to readers that these choices led to their attack.

Mainstream media also perpetuates rape culture by stereotypical portrayals of men and women in films, books, music videos and magazines. Men are usually shown as aggressive, dominant and receiving rewards for their ‘masculine’ achievements. On the other hand, women are usually portrayed as meek, sensitive and subordinate character.

The fact is that, rape has nothing to do with a woman’s clothing or her lifestyle. Rape is 100% the perpetrator’s fault. But unfortunately, the way rape has been trivialized by the perpetuation of rape culture are dissuading victims from coming forward and seeking justice.

Where The Ethical Line Is In The Media Industry For Human Against Human Violence

The ethical line that determines what violence can be shown in films and mass media is greatly impacted by the fiction or nonfiction theme of the film, a rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, and the sexual violence in the film.

Film ratings are essential in determining the ethical boundaries of what can be shown on screen and what cannot. Every major film is rated by the Motion Picture Association of America. The association began rating films in 1968 and for the past 50 years, the company has rated approximately 30,000 films. The association was created to give parents an easy way to distinguish which films appropriate and inappropriate for their children to watch. The rating system censors against violence, drugs, sex, adult activities, etc.

There are five different rating categories a film can be placed in that is determined by the content of the film. The first rating is G for general audiences meaning all ages are permitted to watch the film because there is no nudity, inappropriate language, or depictions of violence in the film. G-rated films are typically cartoons or family-friendly that are meant for children without the supervision of a parent or guardian. PG-rated films contain some mild depictions of nudity or violence which may be intense or disturbing for some children. These films are labeled PG which stands for parental guidance suggested meaning the parents are recommended to screen the content of the film before their children view it. Films with mature themes including nudity, sexuality, profane language, violence, etc. are rated PG-13. The Motion Picture Association of America states in the rules and regulations, “There may be depictions of violence in a PG-13 movie, but generally not both realistic and extreme or persistent violence.” Additionally, any drug abuse and the single use of a harsh sexually-derived word in a film requires the PG-13 rating. PG-13 rated films are labeled as such because parents are strongly cautioned to review the content of the film because it may be inappropriate for children under the ages of 13 to watch on their own. A film that is rated R, which stands for restricted, may contain adult content, abusive language, intense or persistent violence, sexual activities or nudity, and drug use. Children under the age of 17 are not permitted to watch R-rated films in the theater unaccompanied by a parent. The last rating category the Motion Picture Association of America places films in is NC-17 which means no one 17 and under is admitted. Films are given this harsh rating if they exclusively contain adult themes including sex, drug use, and extreme violence.

Each film receives a rating based on exposure of sexual content, violence, drug use, and other mature themes. The MPAA began the Classification and Rating Administration Board that rates each film according to the content of each film; however, it does not determine what content belongs in the film. The filmmakers submit their films on a volunteer basis for CARA to rate. Although the rating system is done on a volunteer basis, the National Association of Theatre Owners will rarely accept movies that have not been rated by the MPAA. Filmmakers have been carefully crafting their films to fit into one of the four main rating categories; G, PG, PG-13, R, for decades. The Motion Picture Association of America explains that the rating system does not determine what is ethical or unethical to show in films. “It is not CARA’s purpose to prescribe socially-appropriate values or to suggest any evolution of the values held by American parents, but instead to reflect the current values of the majority of American parents, so that parents benefit from and feel fairly informed by the ratings system.” This distinction implies that American parents determine what is ethical and unethical to show in film for the rest of America. The number one export for America to the rest of the world is media which includes music, social media, and film. Hundreds of countries take in American mass media every second and absorb the culture whether they realize it or not. According to the MPAA, the content in films starts to become unethical and inappropriate when prolonged violence and sexually explicit content is shown that would be shocking to children and young adults between the ages of 1-17. Etcetera … violence of rape. (Russell 1993, p. 135)—these representations perpetuate these oppressive discourses about women. In this respect, Young (2009) coins the term “criminological aesthetics” to explain that “crime images are Screening sexual violence in film and mass media can have detrimental effects on the general population as well as the victims of sexual abuse. The ethical standards for showing rape and sexual assault in film has been widely debated since the start of the film industry. Trauma theorists and psychologists have studied the physical and psychological affects of showing rape in film and have studied audience’ reactions. Some common effects include triggering post-traumatic stress and anxiety, desensitization, and sexist gender role portrayals.

Mass media is no stranger to sexual violence. From books to news releases dating back to the 1830s Penny Press Era, sexual assault has been mass produced for consumers and their entertainment. The film industry faces a different challenge when it comes to communicating the ethical problem of rape and sexual abuse in mass media. According to Amanda Spallacci, in her article Representing Rape Trauma in Film, “The photograph offered a medium that could not only depict but also authenticate events, and as these images began to circulate publicly, they structured the ways in which the public understood trauma.” Visual depictions of rape and sexual violence are especially difficult for filmmakers to navigate. Rape and sexual assault are the most under-reported violent crimes in America with 63% of victims that do not report incidents to the police. Along with that, approximately 1 in every 6 women and 1 in every 33 men have been victims of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. These statistics contribute to the ongoing ethical debate because it is likely that every audience watching a film includes a large percentage of victims that were sexually assaulted or abused. Spallacci asserts that many of the shocking images found in film that depict sexual violence are problematic because the images can trigger audience members to recall personal traumatic memories. A sexually violent scene has the power to trigger post-traumatic stress or anxiety in viewers that have been sexual assaulted because the images in film can cause their personal traumatic memory to resurface. “Visual media and discourses about trauma have a symbiotic relationship with each other because a ‘memory’ which is represented by media and institutions must be actualized by individuals, by members of a community of remembrance…on shared notions of the past.” Spallacci discusses the psycological damage that comes from screening sexual assault in film. Rather than choosing to insert a physical rape scene in a film, emphasizing the trauma resulting from the sexual violence can less triggering for some audience members with traumatic memories themselves than showing the visual depiction of rape.

There are several different variables that filmmakers must consider when sexual violence is a significant part of the plot. The filmmakers must decide if the sexual assault will be implied or filmed on camera. If the sexual violence is shown on camera, the cinematographers must consider how it will be shown. In addition to the physical variables filmmakers must consider, there is a colossal amount of emotional and psychological considerations as well. Some emotional considerations include the antagonist’s motivation behind the sexual brutality and the other characters reactions to the event. Every decision made by the filmmakers in connection with the portayal of rape or other sexual assault on screen impacts the audience members watching it, which will likely include people who have experienced sexual abuse themselves. Spallacci reasons, “The film techniques used to construct a rape scene certainly affect viewers strongly; however, the presentation of a rape scene and its subsequent affects also influence the ways in which people conceptualize sexual violence.” Filmmakers hold a position of ethical leadership that comes with the moral responsibility to distribute content that is ethical or unethical. They largely control how an audiences reacts to sexual violence and a nation conceives it outside of the film industry. The influence from film on rape culture in a society can be unethical and dangerous because there is potential to desensitize people to the injustice of sexual abuse.

Today sexual violence is glorified in mass media. Popular video games like the fifth edition of Grand Theft Auto has a feature in which players can buy a woman and use her for various sexual acts. Other medium including the Netflix original series ‘13 Reasons Why’ focuses on a high school girl who committed suicide after being bullied and raped. Sexual assault in these settings have been considered offensive and satirical, “This stylistic decision is controversial, as it has the potential to trigger viewers with histories of sexual trauma.” One of the arguments made in the ethical debate of screening rape and sexual abuse in film or media is that it displays the uncurable issue of sexual violence as a form of entertainment and desensitizes people to the seriousness of the problem outside of film. Rape culture is a substantial and regular part of mainstream American film which sends a negative message of normalcy and routine. Sarah Projansky writes in her historical survey of rape in U.S. film, “Rape is such a key narrative element throughout the history of American cinema that one cannot fully under stand cinema itself without addressing rape and its representation.” Sexual brutality is a powerful force that is constantly looming over the American film industry; much of the population is desenstized to the problem and has even grown supportive of sexual violence represented in the adult film industry.

A study done by Daniel Linz from the University of California and Steven Adams from Stanford University looked at the physiological desensitization toward the victims of sexual violence in film and media. They gathered a sample of male subjects and exposed them to 5 sexually violent films over the course of a two week time period. The films portrayed a female victims and male assailants. The researchers found that the subjects, “experienced significant decreases in anxiety and depression between first- and last-day viewing.” After viewing each film the researchers asked each subject about the emotional reactions and attitudes toward the victim in the film. By the end of the experiment, the researchers found that the, “subjects exposed to the filmed violence against women expressed less sympathy for the victim portrayed in the rape trial and indicated less empathy for rape victims in general.” The films desensitized the subjects toward the fictional characters in the films which I believe can lead to the desensitization toward sexual violence victims outside of film as well.

Sexual violence should not be filmed on camera and produced in mass media for entertainment purposes because The depictions of violence in question are achieved at the expense of completely dehumanizing Aileen and Libseth, and rather than challenge the beliefs held by most men who abuse women—men who fail to see women as human, but as body parts This essay therefore argues that event-based representations of rape—meaning that they focus on the rape rather than trauma—such as is the case in Room (2015); 13 Reasons Why (2017); Monster (2003) and Girl with the Dragon Tattoo1 (2011), keep affects contained within the movie or television viewing experience, whereas a television program like Sharp Objects (2018), in representing traumatic memory, can produce a multitude of affects, widen cultural understandings of rape beyond the event, and shed light on the chronically trauma-producing social structures so as to forge the will to change them”

Bibliography

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How Does The Portrayal Of Violence In Media Change The Level Of Violence In Youths?

Introduction

Violence in media is no stranger to anyone. Everyone has experienced or watched violence before in real life or through a screen. However, Violence by young people is the most visible forms of violence where fights among youths contribute to more injuries and deaths.(World Health Organization, 2002)

In 2000, an estimated 199 000 youth murders took place globally which is equal to 565 children and youths aged 10-29 dying on an average each day as a result of interpersonal violence. (World Health Organization, 2002). In my secondary school, most of the guys usually get into fights after blowing up a smaller matter.

Whenever they fight, I could see some of the fighting techniques to be somewhat similar to the WWE games. Those that really play violent video games are also mainly the ones that got into fights, while those that did not play violent video games were peaceful throughout the whole time in secondary school, although there were some exceptions.

Reasons behind youth violence are uncertain, however, the portrayal of violence in the media is considered to be one of the reasons behind violence in individuals. This paper will focus mainly on what types of the portrayal of violence are there on media and how it affects the behaviour of every youth.

Portrayal of violence

Television is one of the favourite past times of children, with cartoons being one of the main things they watch on television. However, studies show that popular cartoons are depicting 20 to 25 violent acts per hour. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2009) This means that the youths may watch the violent cartoons and then try to mimic the acts they see in the cartoon. After learning the acts they see in the cartoon, it will be stored in their memory.

The effects of exposure to media violence should extend to every single type of media channel. However, there are not really any strong studies that the internet does convey the effects because of the lack of studies as the internet is a fairly new media channel.

Video games are a popular pastime for most people. However, most games played by youths are violent.97% of youths aged 12 to 17 played video games with two-thirds of them having played games that consisted of violent content. (Pew Research Center, 2008). One violent popular game which most people would know would be Grand Theft Auto, Grand Theft Auto is a game where players can steal and kill people. Video games provide an ideal environment to learn violence and many of the strategies that are most effective for learning, with some video games rewarding players to commit violent behaviour, such as in Grand Theft Auto. The youth playing it may start to think that doing those violent acts are the correct choices.

Why do youths get easily influenced?

Youths tend to undergo observational learning when watching media, then conditioned by family and peers to create a new type of behaviour based on the media they watch, After they behave in the new way, It would be harder for anyone to correct their behaviour. They are growing up and their minds can be easily swayed by whatever they observe. (Huesmann, Bushman, & Geen, 2006, p. 156)

Media Violence make youths violent

A report done by the U.S Surgeon General show that Media violence increase aggressive attitudes and emotions, which are linked to aggressive and violent behaviour. Humans will begin to imitate other individuals at an early age and younger humans will copy behaviours by observing others because it is a instinct. An example is that the aggressive ideas suggested by a violent movie can peak other semantically related thoughts, increasing the chances that they will feel more violent. (Office of the Surgeon General, 2001)

By using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), repeated exposure to violent media leads to lesser response in the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex and a decrease in right ItOFC-amygdala interaction. Reduced function in this network been associated with lesser control over a variety of behaviours, including reactive aggression. (Kelly, Grinband, & Hirsch, 2007)This makes the person more irritable, making him or her more suspectable to aggressive tendencies. Overall, it supports the finding that even short-term exposure to violent media can result In smaller responsiveness of the network related to behaviours such as aggression.

There was a classical experiment called the “Bobo Doll Experiment” hosted by Albert Bandura. Bandura and his colleagues showed one group of children in the experimental condition of a video of an adult hitting an large inflatable doll, while the other group saw a different film or nothing at all. They then left the children in a playroom with an array of toys including the Bobo doll to see how they acted. Children who saw the film of the adult hitting the doll were more likely to imitate the aggressive behaviour than those who did not watch the film or a different film. (M, 2005). The main reason that was came up was that when the children witnessed the repeated instances of aggression and see that aggression was being rewarded or approved than being punished, they would try to copy aggressors to try and obtain the same rewards for aggression.

Media violence does not make youths aggressive.

Some studies have shown that media violence does not make youths aggressive. Violent video games did not make youths more aggressive according to Chris Ferguson’s test. What Ferguson did was to get three groups of youths, one group to play violent games, one group to play non-violent games and another group to play, however, all three groups of youths were not affected at all, they did not turn aggressive despite playing the aggressive or non-aggressive game. Ferguson also argued that the reason why people would blame violent crimes on video games is the “publication bias” which scientific journals publish articles that support their hypothesis and reject articles that don’t. (Ferguson, 2007)

Some researchers state that consumption of violent media is not the only sole source of important behaviour, but it may be a risk factor that drives the already violent youth to become aggressive as there are other factors that make the youth already violent even without the consumption of violent media. Media violence is not even considered under one of the factors for youth violence because there are more prominent factors that contribute to youth violence. (S, 1989) Psychologically, media violence is usually the secondary factor that is contributing to the main factors that the aggressive youths have. Even without media violence , youths may still reach the certain level of aggressive. Media violence is just more attractable to youths. Therefore, media violence does not make youths aggressive but it is a secondary factor that may contribute to the main factors which will cause youths to be aggressive.

To some extent, violent media is also thought of to help people cathart

The Catharsis theory is thought that people who consume violent media would be less aggressive because they let go of their aggressive feelings while consuming violent media, resulting in them having little to no aggressive feelings after consuming the media. A test done by Feshbach and Singer in 1971 supports the theory. What the two people did was to vary the diet of seven boys, causing a few of the boys to watch violent and others watching neutral shows with their parents watching over them. In the end, none of the boys became more violent but actually less violent. The results did help to prove the theory correct by proving that the boys were not aggressive after watching violent media, but actually becoming less violent. (Kaplan & Singer, 1976)

Conclusion

In this report, I have talked about what kinds of portrayal of violence are there in the popular types of media that youths like to consume these days which are television and the internet. I have also talked about how does the portrayal of violence affect the behaviour of youths and whether all the claims of how the portrayal affects the behaviour of youths or not. As what I said in the last part of my report, the portrayal of violence is media is only a risk factor that may drive the already angry youths to become aggressive and inflict harm on others, parents are maybe the only stopping block between youths acting fine and youths inflicting harm on others. With the Telecommunications Act of 1996, televisions are manufactured with a V-chip that permits parents to block content for their kids, allowing their kids to not find violent content on the television. (Anderson, Berkowitz,Donnerstein,Huesmann,Johnson,Linz,Malamuth,Wartella, The Influence of Media Violence On Youth, 2003, p. 102). Parents can also restrict certain sites from their children to surf at. When I grow up, I am definitely going to block violent content for my own kids so as to prevent the same things that I see among the guys in my secondary school as I want my child to grow up with a healthy childhood. Media violence is something that is easily stopped in its early stages, but impossible to stop when youths integrate it into their behaviour.