Media Violence and Aggressive behavior in Children

The media is composed of many aspects including television, radio, print and film. All these mediums contain violence in them which is aimed at their audiences. Of all these mediums, television is the most significant when it comes to media violence. The violence present in television leads to subsequent aggression, desensitization and fear of crime in the audiences (Coyne, Archer & Eslea, 235). The effects which are acquired from viewing violence contain long term and short term effects. Television audience constitutes all people including adults, children and the youth. In children, the violence tends to stick more because they grow watching it and it becomes part of their setups (Coyne et al. 236).

For this reason, aggression and aggressive characters are common among children who consume a lot of television content. Aggressive behavior has been defined by behavioral scientists as the behavior which is aimed at causing harm on other people (Bushman & Huesmann 225). The aggression defined here is divided into three forms: physical, verbal and relational aggression. Physical aggression is intended to cause physical harm for example punching someone. Verbal aggression includes abusing or using insulting language whereas relational aggression is a form which is intentional behaviors aimed at destroying social relationships (Coyne et al. 237).

The information processing theory suggested a number of scripts which human beings use to store information in the memory. The scripts vary and are learnt from observing models and stored in the brain memory for a guide of behaviors in the future (Gentile 14). The scripts which are of interest are fantasized, rehearsed or recalled and this in turn shapes how one behaves in the future. This concept is applied in television violence since the violence which is shown in television content is memorized by children and it becomes part of their behaviors (Bushman & Huesmann 246).

The way someone thinks in their heart defines their true nature. Thus, society should be wary of television violence because apart from the violence, fear too is promoted. As children grow up, they are poised to become violent and create a violent society where violence is not strange (Gentile 19). This provides a reason for society to devise ways by which media content can be regulated so that children do not become psychologically derailed by the depicted violence.

Media theories

Media plays an important role in forming opinions and making the society believe in the opinions (Miller 36). Many theories have been formulated to explain how media content manipulates audience thinking and behavior especially in young children. George Gerbner came up with a cultivation theory which sought to explain how the media affects human behavior. Gerbner claimed that television has since surpassed religion as a story teller and the effects it has on its audience is substantial. He also came up with a suggestion that the principal aim of television content is spreading violent messages (Miller 16).

The social action theory which was developed by Anderson and Meyer also explains that media audiences construct realities from media messages. Thus, the media is responsible for all the actions which young children and other audiences portray. For children in particular, their scripts are still in the development stage and this forms the basis as to why they are affected more than adults (Coyne 239). According to this theory, the number of times a behavior occurs on television determines how a child will be affected by the behavior and the level of memory they will store about it (Miller 23).

These two theories depict that media violence is responsible for shaping the aggressiveness which is present in children. A child who views television less often is less likely to be violent than one who is around the television for longer times (Bushman & Huesmann 240). Children also have a thinner mental capacity to enable them to separate television violence from the real world as they rarely understand that television violence is just created to entertain the society. Thus, they construct realities around the fictions and grow up with them thus turn out to be violent than society really is.

Existing research

Research studies have shown that the greatest exposure of children to violence comes from television. This is because television is mostly about motion pictures which intrigue the children. The information processing theory claims that when children view any form of aggression on television, the aggression triggers and activates aggression scripts in their minds (Browne & Hamilton-Giachritsis 706). However the researches have not established at what time these aggressions are set into action. But both the specific and general aggression scripts interconnect to determine a child’s behavior.

Television violence is appealing to children because the violence is justified, it is everywhere from church to home to school and the violence depicted is funny and intriguing (Browne & Hamilton-Giachritsis 707). The mental picture and reality which is constructed in the brains of children is disturbing. This is because in television content, violence provides a good way to solve problems. It is also depicted that a greater percentage of the people who commit violence on television go unpunished and unharmed. The people who commit the violence are usually posed as heroes in stories and movies and thus making the violence interesting (Coyne 240).

The effects of media violence on children have been divided into four specific effects (Bushman & Huesmann 249). One of the effects is that television violence causes children to have an aggressor effect and as violence is encouraged and accepted in television content. A victim effect also is present whereby a child develops a culture of meanness and is increasingly fearful. In the bystander effect, a child is able to perceive violence as normal and their responses to violence situations dulls up. A child can also develop a thirst for violence by either wanting to apply it or see more of it. All these effects are both long term and short term and can be dangerous if not nabbed in their earlier stages of development.

Recommendations

Violence is not good in the society as it breaks the ethics in society and destroys the good relationships which exist between human beings. For this reasons, society needs to put up some measures which will be aimed at minimizing the effects of televised violence on children so as to control their behaviors. These recommendations, if keenly followed can be useful in dealing with this issue.

One of the recommendations which can be used at minimizing televised violence is through the society. Legislators can work towards establishing broadcaster guidelines which will limit television content. Thus, national standards can be established to regulate televised violence and censorship programmes can be useful too (Gentile 41).
Parents can be watching television programs with children as one of the recommendations. If this is possible, a parent can take up an opportunity and explain to a child alternative means of solving a problem which has been shown on television. If this is adapted, children will be able to realize that violence is not the only way of solving issues and conflicts as there are better and less harmful means of doing the same Bushman & Huesmann 244.
Parents should foster their kids in less violent areas or environments which are free from violence. Such environments can be watching less of television or safe areas where violence is not so often. This can help the children to interact less with violence through limitations and learn the virtues and values of living in a violence free environment (Browne & Hamilton-Giachritsis 709).
Parents and teachers can also help in reducing the effects of violent content on children by contacting other parents and teachers to adopt similar ways of dealing with such issues. This can help minimize the effects and behaviors which come with peer pressure. If children from different families are also allowed to watch some specific and similar programs, the violence between them can be killed easily (Bushman & Huesmann 250).
The amount of time children are allowed to watch television can be limited as one of the ways to reduce televised effects. Parents should be strict on this issue and also eliminate television in children’s bedroom. If this is possible, the minimal violence which is gained in the few hours they watch television may not have a huge impact in shaping their characteristics (Gentile 40).

Conclusion

Since research has introduced that children who watch or read extreme violent content have more negative responses than those who are less exposed to violence, it is clear that media violence is a great influence in developing aggressive behaviors in children. For this reason, society needs to rear the upcoming generation based on the above listed guidelines as a way of creating a less violent society. The cruel intentions which are depicted by media content thus need to be diluted with subsequent researches so as to weaken the realities constructed from televised fiction content.

Works Cited

Browne, Kevin D., and Catherine Hamilton-Giachritsis. “The influence of violent media on

children and adolescents: a public-health approach.” The Lancet 365.9460 (2005): 702-710.

Bushman, Brad J., and L. Rowell Huesmann. “Effects of televised violence on aggression.”

Handbook of children and the media (2001): 223-254.

Coyne, Sarah M., John Archer, and Mike Eslea. “Cruel intentions on television and in real

life: Can viewing indirect aggression increase viewers’ subsequent indirect aggression?.” Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 88.3 (2004): 234-253.

Gentile, Douglas A., ed. Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and

professionals. Vol. 22. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003.

Miller, Katherine. Communication theories. McGraw-Hill, 2002.