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Link Between Violence and the Media

Two psychologists at Iowa State University recently wrote that ôThe link between television and violence in society is now as well established as the fact that smoking causes cancerö (Hathaway, 2002, 16). The link between media and violent behavior seems indisputable considering that of the more than 3500 studies conducted on the issue, only 18 did not show a positive correlation between media exposure and violence in society (Chatfield, 2002, 735). A recent study reported in Science claims that ôchildren who watch more than an hour of television a day are more likely to commit acts of aggression later in lifeö (Hathaway, 2002, 16).

The medical community has been concerned with the issue of media violence and its impact on viewers since the 1950s. However, escalating levels of violent and aggressive behavior in children have prompted increasing amounts of research into the issue by groups as diverse as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence and Trauma. In todayÆs society, the media often takes the place of teachers, parents and others who typically model behavior for children and provide information about the world. Media includes television, commercial or self-recorded videos, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, and the Internet. The AAP estimates that children between 2 and 18 years of age spend six-and-a-half to eight hours a day with media û more time than any other activity but sleeping (Lavers, 2002, 28).

The above statistic takes on even more significance because of the increasingly violent content of many media offerings. These acts of violence are either observed or virtually perpetrated (video games) by children. Baron, Broughton, Buttress, and Corrigan (2001) estimates that by the time a child reaches the age of 18, he or she has been exposed to an average of 200,000 acts of violence on television alone (1222). Many opposed to vi...

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Link Between Violence and the Media. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 06:08, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1711470.html