Violence in the Media
Antrice Porter
Ms. Jenkins
Social Psychology 110
Graphic reports of violence on local TV news leads regular viewers to believe and overestimate both the rate of crime in their neighborhood and personal danger to themselves and their families. Violent images are frequently seen and read from novels and comic books to movies and television to video games and music lyrics. The effects of violence on human beings, especially and adolescents has been widely debated.
At a young age children are considered the most vulnerable to the media images and language. Their minds absorbs everything that surrounds them, making them easy targets in terms of manipulation and victimized by the medias constant influence. They don’t quite understand the difference between fantasy and reality and the consequences of violence, so by the time they have entered into adulthood, they are already under the influence of the mass media. Therefore the effects on their development have often been the focus point of arguments for the control of violent media. Society appears to have a fascination with mass media resulting in becoming violent. Violence in the primary component in several individuals lives, especially in the youth culture, as they turn to the media for a sense of direction, resulting in the rationalizing the images they view to shape their behavior.
History of Violence in the Media
Most of the controversy is centered on violent images from the internet, video games, and television. Violent language in music had gained some attention as well. As television spread to more homes in the 1950’s, social scientist began to pay attention to the effects on the viewers. The effects prompted a rise in juvenile delinquency, as where the juveniles were acting out scenarios that they seen on television. In 1968, the Motion Picture Association of America adopted a rating system as a means to warn parents about the content of movies,...