Essay Sample on Media Violence: Impact on Children's Aggressive Conduct

Introduction

Media violence has a direct correlation on children's aggressive conduct. The media has proved to be a crucial tool in contemporary society where people interact fast and efficiently. It also enables information to be transmitted through a variety of online platforms across the globe. The media has been critical in areas such as art, culture, sports, and science, among others. Children in today's society grow up in an atmosphere that is saturated by media use, and as a result, it has a direct impact on their everyday lives. Research indicates that children spend a lot of time in the media watching movies, shows, playing videogames, and exploring the internet (Kamini & Priyanka n.d). Media violence harms children, and scholars explain that it leads to increased chaos and aggression in the real world. Fitzpatrick, Oghia, Melki & Pagani (2016) explain that preschool exposure to violent videos makes children aggressive and develops self-controlled problems. On the other hand, Ferguson (2015) explains that there are both positive and negative impacts of media on children's behavior. Variables such as aggressive behavior, disruptive behavior, self-regulation problems, increased homicide rates, increased bullying, cognitive dissonance decline in youth violence, are the effects of media violence on children.

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Media Consumption Habits of Children in Today's Society

Media violence has led to aggressive behavior in children because they emulate what they see in the media, for instance, video games. Kamini & Priyanka explain that parents should be bothered by their children's behavior of persistent and consistent hitting of others when they are confronted or during playtimes. The authors claim that they could be emulating what they see in videos where people fight and revenge when they are offended. They further explain that children consume too much media information, and they make it applicable to their real-life situations (Kamini & Priyanka, n.d). In this regard, parents are advised to monitor and scrutinize the kind of video games or content that their children get from the media. When children develop aggressive behaviors as a result of the content they consume from the media, then parents should seek immediate help from professions to deter the practice.

The Influence of Media Violence on Disruptive Behaviors

Similarly, children can develop disruptive behaviors as a result of extreme media use (Kamini & Priyanka, n.d). Although it is normal for children to have outbursts at certain times, it becomes disruptive when they become frequent in being hostile, having repeated tantrums, and arguing with their parents, among others. Disruptive behavior is an indicator that media violence directly affects a child's behavior. Kamini and Priyanka give an example of how children are saturated in media use through video games. The authors contend that most of the video games contain violent actions; children like to spend more time playing the games and that it has become a great concern to parents and policymakers. In this regard, it is evident that it has led to specific negative impacts on the lives of children that it has caused alarm.

Media Violence and Self-Regulation Problems in Children

Additionally, when children get too saturated in media use, they begin to develop self-regulating problems (Fitzpatrick, Oghia, Melki & Pagani 2016). Research indicates that after an hour of testing participants who were children aged between 5 and 15, there were recognizable differences between those who watched or played games with violent content and those that did not (Fitzpatrick et al., 2016). The authors explain that the games that the children were given to watch include Power Rangers, Mighty Morphin, and Mister Rogers. Findings indicated that the children who played power rangers showed reduced levels of concentration and prolonged attention issues immediately after playing the game. Also, in a similar experiment, 1800 children aged four were exposed to violent media content, and after the session, they showed a lack of concentration and aggressiveness (Fitzpatrick et al., 2016). Another evident self-regulation problem that was found is that children developed poor attention after watching violent content. From the experiment, researchers contend that violent video media content that children view affects their cognitive skills, and as a result, they begin to experience mechanical problems. Besides, the scholars explain that exposing children to fast-paced programs eventually makes them view life as boring in reality and may want to consume all their time in the media, which they would consider captivating (Fitzpatrick et al., 2016). One of the issues that need to be given more research in regard to experimentation on media use and its effects on concentration and regulation is in regard to gender because the results were not consistent. The boys are more affected than girls.

Media Violence and its Contribution to Increased Homicide Rates among Teenagers

Moreover, media use has led to increased homicide rates among teenagers because the violent content they consume makes them develop aggression (Ferguson, 2015). It is evident from a study carried out in the twentieth and part of the twenty-first century in the United States of America. As Ferguson (2015) explains, there is a small to moderate correlation between violent media content and the homicide rates experienced in American in the two centuries. The author explains that according to the American psychological association, their policy statement indicates that there is a correlation between the use of violent media content and increased rates of violence among older children, such as teenagers (Ferguson, 2015). The professional research explains that the increased rate of arbitrary shootings by the youth result from too much consumption of violent content, for instance video games and other media use. Media use and societal violence began in the twentieth century have continued to rise because of the increased utilization of media information by children and youth (Ferguson, 2015). On the contrary, studies indicate that the homicide rates are likely to stagnate or reduce because of the role the law enforcement officers such as the police play in deterring such crime from happening in the society. One thing that needs to be noted is that as much as there is law enforcement in place, the issues of homicides are still evident.

The Relationship Between Media Violence and Bullying Behavior in Children

Increased bullying is also another variable that shows a correlation between media violence and children's conduct. Research indicates that through a survey done on nine participants, all of them stated that they had watched violent content in the past six months (Ferguson & Olson 2014). Studies indicate that when an experiment was done through subjecting them to similar content, and the results indicated that children, several of them being boys, developed both physical as well as verbal aggression. As a result of the hostility, they gave threats to others and also depicted social exclusion (Ferguson & Olson 2014). It is, therefore, an indication that when children absorb too much of media violence content, they adopt such characters and actions in the real world. They bully their peers and can retaliate towards their parents (Ferguson & Olson 2014). Besides, the rate of delinquency in children who become bullies also goes high, and they are more likely to engage in criminal behavior.

Cognitive Dissonance: Conflicting Messages from Media Violence

Cognitive dissonance is another concern that has been noted in children who spend a lot of time using the media (Strasburger, Donnerstein & Bushman 2014). When children are growing up and saturated in media violence content, they tend to develop conflicting ideas, believes and practices because want they get from the media and what and they virtues they are taught to follow is different (Strasburger et al., 2014). They are taught to respect their parents and live in harmony with others, but because of the violence they see in the media, they are left in a conflicting situation where they do not know which path to follow. Research further explains that the media itself avoid explaining the negative side of its use, and several parents and children go through chaotic moments because of misunderstanding. The author state, "Conflicting thoughts cause psychological discomfort called "cognitive dissonance." Media are fun and entertaining, so it is difficult for people to believe that they actually might cause harm. As a result, people think that the research must be wrong" (Strasburger et al., 2014). It is, therefore, an indication that as much as the media is helpful in various spheres of everyday life, it has limitations.

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Media on Children's Behavior

On the contrary, Ferguson (2015) explains that the media does not lead to the increased crime but instead has led to its reduction. The author contends that through the media, sensitization against harmful content has been done, and this has helped children and the youth as well as their parents to be keen on what content they consume. The media has been used as an interactive and educative tool; therefore, being helpful in cutting down against dangerous issues those children would others go through is they become saturated in it. Despite the benefit of media being used as an interactive and educative tool, it still has several limitations regarding children's behavior and aggression.

Conclusion

It is important to note that media violence is a concern that has raised several controversies because the society is in a state of dissonance resulting from media being useful and also harmful tool at the same time. The media has been useful in spheres such as art, culture, science, and sports, among others. The society has derived several benefits, but the negative effects that come with it are overwhelming. In contemporary society, children are saturated in the media in different ways. Findings indicate that media violence through video games and cartoons, among others, are some of the things that draw children to the media, and some of them contain violent content that negatively affects the behavior of children. The variables that support the research include; aggressive behavior, disruptive behavior, self-regulation problems, increased homicide rates, increased bullying, cognitive dissonance decline in youth violence. The effects have hampered children psychological wellbeing and increased more trouble such as conflicts in the society

References

Ferguson, C. J. (2015). Does media violence predict societal violence? It depends on what you look at and when. Journal of Communication, 65(1), E1-E22.

Ferguson, C. J., & Olson, C. K. (2014). Video game violence use among "vulnerable" populations: The impact of violent games on delinquency and bullying among children with clinically elevated depression or attention deficit symptoms. Journal of youth and adolescence, 43(1), 127-136.

Fitzpatrick, C., Oghia, M. J., Melki, J., & Pagani, L. S. (2016). Early childhood exposure to media violence: What parents and policymakers ought to know. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 6(1), 1-6.

Kamini, C., & Priyanka, M. Research Paper Impact of Media Violence on Children's Aggressive Behaviour.

Strasburger, V. C., Donnerstein, E., & Bushman, B. J. (2014). Why is it so hard to believe that the media influences children and adolescents?. Pediatrics, 133(4), 571-573.