The Effect of Extreme Media on Individuals - Essay Sample

Introduction

The United States of America is one of the nations with the highest number of school shootings in the world (Grabow & Rose, 2018). One of the suggested causes of increased aggression among young people is watching or playing violent media content such as violent movies and video games. In this essay, I will outline the reasons why I think the consumption of violent media can cause an individual to behave violently.

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Correlation between Consumption of Violent Media and Violent Behavior

The first reason that correlates consumption of violent content with violent behavior is the tendency of association. Individuals when watching a savage may passively form an association with the violent perpetrator. However, this is advanced in violent video games where the individual forms a more significant association with the violent perpetrator as is the case with first-person shooter games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto (Bushman, 2012).

Secondly, violent media content tends to reward violent behavior. Video games often contain rewards such as points for shooting or fighting. These rewards not only encourage the player to continue pursuing the game but may also have the unforeseen consequence of encouraging violent behavior among individuals. Violent movies and video games often have verbal accolades for individuals who commit violent deeds (Bushman, 2012). For example, an individual can be congratulated for shooting accurately. These rewards normalize violent acts as well as encouraging them.

Thirdly, individuals with mental disorders may be encouraged by violent media content. People with a predisposition towards violence can be triggered to pursue violent acts in real life after extensive consumption of violent media. Furthermore, violent media can cause decreased empathy and antisocial behavior among its users (Bond, 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is clear that there is a link between the use of violent media content and violent behavior. There is also evidence in some cases that violent perpetrators are avid consumers of violent movies and video games. For example, Adam Lanza of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting was found to have games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty on his computer (Toppo, 2015). However, some experts mention that only people with particular risk factors might resort to extremely violent behavior and that people without the risk factors may be less likely to be resort to violence in reality.

References

Bond, D. (2011). The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior and the Relationship to School Shootings. University of South Florida, 1-17.

Bushman, B. J. (2012, January 27). Do violent video games increase aggression? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/get-psyched/201201/do-violent-video-games-increase-aggression

Grabow, C., & Rose, L. (2018, May 21). The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined. Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/21/us/school-shooting-us-versus-world-trnd/index.html

Toppo, G. (2015, July 1). Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior? Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-video-games-inspire-violent-behavior/