We live in a society that dignifies and makes violence seem like an acceptable part of life. However, studies and research suggest that not just parents are to blame for this epidemic. This paper will attempt to justify and defend the belief that a child’s viewing of violence in movies leads to an increase in violence and aggressive behavior.
It will also provide evidence to support the theory of positive correlation between violence in movies having a negative impact on human behavior.This paper will provide evidence from studies of children viewing violent movies, strategies that parents can use to stay informed and how to suppress aggressive behavior expressed by their children, and how this epidemic unless stopped has the potential to damage American society as a whole. What Could Be To Blame? Many scientific studies seem to substantiate the belief that children who watch violent movies have increased amounts of violence in general towards other people.Children who had just watched a violent movie showed to have much higher on physical assault and other types of aggression”(Escobar, Anderson 2008). Other experiments have shown that exposure to media violence can increase aggressive thoughts, aggressive emotions, and tolerance for aggression, all known risk factors for later aggression and violent behavior.
In order to resolve any problem, whether it is psychological or physical one must find out the cause of the issue and to try to fix it.In an article entitled Violence In The Media, And How It Effects Families, child psychologist Dr. Debra Kowalski, explains, "With children having so much exposure to the media, the messages that come across… are very important, and they determine how a child sees the world and what a child sees as important. …A lot of the messages related to violence and sexuality can negatively impact a child"(Violence in the media—How does it affect families? 2001). As noted in her research, children are particularly negatively impacted by violence in movies.However, proponents and supporters of the movie industry would argue that parents are most responsible because it is the parents responsibility to make sure that their children do not watch violent movies or shows.
Violent media that children see or hear has a negative psychological impact. In the best interest of a child's mental health, it is a rule of thumb to limit their viewing of violent movies and other forms of entertainment. Unfortunately, violence is one of if not the most common form of entertainment throughout the United States.Does The Research Hold Up? Research tends to agree that violent movies directly coincide with violent and aggressive behavior. Examples of violent behavior by children and young adults includes violence against others, lack of remorse for consequences and disrespecting their parents.
Another example of violent behavior is getting into fights with children, pushing other children down and using inappropriate language. An example here would be the televisions show WWE or known as World Wrestling Entertainment.The act of imitating what they have seen on a T. V.
show can cause damage to themselves or others around them. According to this view, “the more children practice violent acts, the likely they are to perform violent acts” (Cesarone, 1994). Movies such as, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasco, and Training Day promote murder, doing drugs, theft, and other violent behavior. Parents and Teachers should pressure the film industry to limit the number of violent movies by threatening to veto all the movies that a production company makes.
Parents can also write letters and make phone calls to the production companies addressing their concerns. Psychological Impact Of Violence: It Is Killing Our Future Subjecting children to violence and aggression at such a young age is a most certain death sentence for future American prosperity. According to DIY Father, a parenting website for fathers “The average child 8 to 12 plays 13 hours of video games per week, while teens age 13 to 18 year play 14 hours of video games per week, according to the survey (Community 2008).More companies that make violent movies and video games should take the lead and encourage kids to be involved in math and science clubs. This change will not become a reality until people stop watching and purchasing extreme forms of entertainment. The companies that provide this material know that will sell well.
This is a direct result of more and more violent movies released each year. According to a recent CNN story for children over 6 years of age, pediatricians recommend no more than two hours of screen time per day, said Dr. Jennifer Shu"(Do violent movies, games make teens violent? 2010).Instead of allowing children to be focused on the newest Rated R film we as a nation should encourage children to be interested in Math and Science.
Parents need to participate in their children's education. When parents take more involvement in a child's schoolwork, they tend to perform better school and acts of violence seem to drop. By encouraging them to be scientists and doctors, America can be the global leader in this new global economy. How Can Parents Decrease A Childs Aggressive Behavior?One way that parents can reduce their child's aggressive behavior is to limit or eliminate their child's viewing of violent movies. One excellent way to accomplish this is to use the parental features on the television. This allows for parents to cut out violent programs and shows that they do not want their children to watch.
Also, by doing research before taking a child to a movie will ensure that no violence or inappropriate content exists. Make sure that children know that using violence is never the answer.By parents getting them involved in sports and school activities, it will leave them with less time to be exposed to violent programming on TV and movies. Parents can also start reading to them at an early age.
An article on IVillage. com said, "When children understand how media choices affect them, they gain the tools to make responsible choices when they are not under the watchful eyes of their parents"(How does media violence affect our kids? 1999). This policy will probably pay off in the struggle against an increasingly violent society.In addition, another point that can be useful in preventing further acts of violent and aggressive behavior is not having your kids TV or computer in their room. Making this minor adjustment will provide the parent to see what their kids are viewing on TV and computer.
Parents can increase your children’s positive behavior with praise. Doing this shows the child that this behavior is acceptable. Parents can do problem- solving exercises with your kids. For example, doing a role playing exercising on a bullying situation will help understand how to solve a situation with other than violence and aggressive behavior.Explain to your children that everyone is different and that we should treat people that are different exactly the same as everyone else.
Final Thoughts My final thoughts on this issue are it is ultimately the parents and relatives of influence in a child's life to regulate and control what children watch. It is at the parents choice whether they should let their children be exposed to violent movies and other forms of violent entertainment. This paper has shown overwhelming evidence, that there is a positive correlation between how many violent movies a child watches and their increase in violence and violent behavior.In conclusion, by children’s parents being actively involved in their child’s programming and viewing habits, violence and aggression can be reduced. This will result in a much better society for everyone. Educating parents and teachers on the negative psychological impact that violence in movies will enable them to see the warning signs of aggressive behavior and cease to stop it.
If parents take the initiative, and be more careful in allowing what their kids watch, then their violent and aggressive behavior will decrease and America will become the world leader it once was.
