The Influence of Media Violence on Youth

Media has been around for centuries, which includes television and radio. However, as the years went by technology developed thus creating the internet, video games, and other sorts of media. Today, there is a lot of controversy and different perspectives as to media being a major influence of violent behavior for children and young adults. There has been extensive amount of studies and research on media influencing the youth to have aggressive thinking or act violently towards other people or themselves.

Craig A. Anderson et al., designed a research study in which they examined the likelihood of aggressive and violent behavior in both short term and long term contexts. Berkowitz (1975) gave boys in two cottages to watch violent movies every night for five nights while the boys in the other two cottages watched nonviolent films. Every evening after the movie was over; the boys were observed interacting and were rated for their frequency of chocking, slapping, and hitting their cottage mates. Data suggests that there was a larger effect of physical aggression for the boys who were initially more aggressive than the boys who were initially less aggressive. This study demonstrates that violent movies can create physical aggression.

Music videos and lyrics are also a contributing factor to the influence of violence among children and young adults. Barongan and Hall (1995) reported a study suggesting that antisocial lyrics without video can affect behavior, but the observed behavior was not aggressive. In this study, male college students listened to misogynous or neutral rap music and viewed three episodes (neutral, sexual and violent, and assaultive), and then chose one of the episodes to be shown to an unknown female who was actually one of the researchers. The males who had listened to the misogynous music were more likely than those in the neutral music setting to select the assaultive episode. This study shows that music videos can affect an adolescent’s aggressive thinking and attitudes.

In the recent years, video games have become one of the main attractions for children, adolescents, and adults.  Video games now surpassed violent TV shows and music videos due to the amount of violent context it demonstrates. Kids are spending large amount of time playing video games that are exposing them to becoming aggressive beings. For example, Irwin and Gross (1995) examined physical aggression like hitting, shoving, pinching, pulling at clothes, and kicking between boys who had played either a violent or a nonviolent video game. Results showed that those who played the violent video games demonstrated aggressive thoughts, emotions, and physical arousal.

By the time a typical child finishes elementary school, he or she will have seen approximately 8,000 murders and more than 100,000 other acts of violence on TV (Huston et al., 1992). There has been extensive amount of research and experiments performed to prove that the exposure to media violence increases aggression and violence among children, adolescents, and adults. Media violence increases aggressive thoughts which create a physiological arousal which triggers aggressive behavior. It is important to make an effort to address the role of media in the life of the youth so that they may grow up to be patient and coherent individuals.

• How does media violence produce its effects on violent behavior?

Popular Article: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi43.pdf

~Jessica Aragones~

Media Effects on Violent Behavior

Media Effects on Violent Behavior

In this article it talks about how different forms of media influence people to be violent. Media influences people to commit criminal acts or violent behavior. Aggression is what causes violent behavior and criminal acts. In the article there were natural, field, and laboratory experiments that took place. For instance, natural experiments of the television were taken place in three different locations in Canada, the study consisted of forty-five children that were observed. The observations said that both physical and verbal aggression increased among the children. In the media, “Violence is a popular form of entertainment” (Felson 103). Children come home after school to watch television routinely. Watching television routinely cause’s children to show short-term effects on aggressive behavior. For example, children having wrestling matches and imitating the moves in the school yard after they watched WWF last night. Technology advancements have cause media to be expressed in all forms. Today, media has expressed violence over the Internet, radio, news, cable, and video games. Expressing media in all of those categories targets and attracts a bigger audience. Since technology has advance an increase in a number of violent acts within school, events, and public places have shown significantly. When you go into retail stores to buy video games, all of the video games contents consist of violence. Video games are action packed and it consists of violence. Grand Theft Auto is a video game that is introduce to a younger audience that consists of high physical aggression, drugs, money, shooting, killing, profanity, and prostitution. This video game can display somewhat everyday life and what possible outcomes can happen to people in life.

The media has displayed violence as being acceptable in society. For example, violence in the media is displayed through films, books, and sports. Boxing and wrestling is a sport where violence is an acceptable form of entertainment. Floyd Mayweather Jr. is a good example of “Socialization [which] plays a role in violence because it is believed people are more violent because they learn to be violent from their parents, peers, and the mass media” (Felson 116). Floyd Mayweather Sr. (Floyd Mayweather’s father) grew up boxing and training elite fighters such as his son. Now his son, Floyd Mayweather is the most paid-watched boxer in the world, thanks to his father teaching him forms of violence. Also, pornography is a factor in increase of violence among women because they way they are portrayed differently. Women in pornography can be viewed as aggressive, sex toys, intimate, or promiscuous. This leads to negative attitudes toward women that cause the likelihood of rape or other forms of violence. Media influences violence because of how much people value it, violence can trigger people to do a violent act that they just seen or experienced. The reason is the thrill and excitement that triggers the person to participate in the act. Finally, media influences violence on a small percentage of people because its effects are weak and not consistently observed.

Scholarly Article Link:

<http://www.jstor.org.libproxy.temple.edu/stable/pdfplus/2083426.pdf?acceptTC=true&>
~Russel Saber

"Wrestling" Case Draws Life Sentence

                                                       http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/03/09/national/main277536.shtml

                                                           

"I'm not sure black folks fully understand the power that media has in our life.

We are becoming who they portray us as being. We've allowed ourselves to become a collection of negative statistics. Simon says dress like a gangster, and we do. I'm amazed by what I see on television or in the movies. I'm saying, either I overslept or someone stole my culture." -

Actor Tim Reid.

     Wrestling Case Draws Life Sentence.  Violence in movies, video games, and on television has a negative impact on children.  Without proper guidance children cannot possibly know what is real and what is make believe. 
     Lionel Tate, a thirteen year old boy who was found guilty of murder in the first degree.  He said that he accidentally killed his friend, six year-old Tiffany Eunick, while imitating some “moves” that he had saw on pro-wrestling.  Tate told his psychologist they were playing, imitating professional wrestlers from TV.  During this trail, the defense says that the 170 pound boy didn’t mean to kill the 48 pound girl.  He thought he could body–slam people and they wouldn’t be hurt, just like his idols on television, however, the prosecution rejected the "TV made him do it defense".  The judge rejected a defense request to throw out Tate’s conviction or reduce it to second-degree murder or manslaughter, saying “The evidence of Lionel Tate’s guilt is clear, obvious and indisputable.” The judge also questions the defense argument that Tate was imitating pro wrestlers. “It is inconceivable that such injuries could be caused by roughhousing or horseplay or by replicating wrestler’s moves.”  Tate who is now 14 years old, avoids the death penalty because he's less than 16 years old, but now faces the possibility of life in prison.  He becomes one of the youngest defendants in the United States to be sentenced life behind bars for the rest of his life.
      I believe that violence in movies, video games, and on television has a negative impact on children.  Wrestling is a sport.  It’s “make-believe”, the wrestlers dress up and act a certain way.  They kick, punch, fight, and hit each other with objects and then get up, go home and do it again.  Tate thought he could body–slam people and they wouldn’t be hurt, just like his idols on television.  He told police he picked her up and accidentally hit her head on a table. In a videotape interview, Tate claimed to have accidentally thrown Tiffany into a stairway railing and a wall trying to toss her onto a sofa. The defense conceded that Tate’s story would not have accounted for all of Tiffany’s injuries.
Do you think that “I was doing what I saw on TV.” is a reasonable defense in a trial?
What, if any, impact has violence in the movies, media, television… had on you or someone you know?
Do you think that Tate was wrongfully convicted by being tried as an adult and not as a juvenile?
~Ebony Williams

Discussion Questions

1.When you listen to certain genres of music, how does it make you feel? Have you ever lost yourself in a song? 

2.When you get angry what are some ways that you deal with your anger? Where does this emotion comes from? Where did you learn this habit? 

3. Can media alone cause a non-violent charm to become violent? How so? Have you ever had this experience?

Straight Outta Compton

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/n-w-a/straight-outta-compton.html


You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge

Verse One: Ice Cube

Straight outta Compton crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube
From the gang called Niggaz With Attitudes
When I'm called off I got a sawed off
Squeeze the trigger and bodies are hauled off
You too boy if ya fuck with me
The police are gonna hafta come and get me
Off yo ass that's how I'm goin out
For the punk motherfuckers that's showin out
Niggaz start to mumble, they wanna rumble
Mix em and cook em in a pot like gumbo
Goin off on a motherfucker like that
with a gat that's pointed at yo ass
So give it up smooth
Ain't no tellin when I'm down for a jack move
Here's a murder rap to keep yo dancin
with a crime record like Charles Manson
AK-47 is the tool
Don't make me act the motherfuckin fool
Me you can go toe to toe, no maybe
I'm knockin niggaz out tha box, daily
yo weekly, monthly and yearly
until them dumb motherfuckers see clearly
that I'm down with the capital C-P-T
Boy you can't fuck with me
So when I'm in your neighborhood, you better duck
Coz Ice Cube is crazy as fuck
As I leave, believe I'm stompin
but when I come back, boy, I'm comin straight outta Compton

Chorus:

[City of Compton, City of Compton]

[Eazy E] Yo Ren
[MC Ren] Whassup?
[Eazy E] Tell em where you from!

Verse Two: MC Ren

Straight outta Compton, another crazy ass nigga
More punks I smoke, yo, my rep gets bigger
I'm a bad motherfucker and you know this
But the pussy ass niggaz don't show this
But I don't give a fuck, I'ma make my snaps
If not from the records, from jackin the crops
Just like burglary, the definition is 'jackin'
And when illegally armed it's called 'packin'
Shoot a motherfucker in a minute
I find a good piece o' pussy, I go up in it
So if you're at a show in the front row
I'm a call you a bitch or dirty-ass ho
You'll probably get mad like a bitch is supposed to
But that shows me, slut, you're composed to
a crazy muthafucker from tha street
Attitude legit cause I'm tearin up shit
MC Ren controls the automatic
For any dumb muthafucker that starts static
Not the right hand cause I'm the hand itself
every time I pull a AK off the shelf
The security is maximum and that's a law
R-E-N spells Ren but I'm raw
See, coz I'm the motherfuckin villain
The definition is clear, you're the witness of a killin
that's takin place without a clue
And once you're on the scope, your ass is through
Look, you might take it as a trip
but a nigga like Ren is on a gangsta tip
Straight outta Compton...

Chorus:

[City of Compton, City of Compton]

[Dr. Dre] Eazy is his name and the boy is comin...

Verse Three: Eazy-E

...straight outta Compton
is a brotha that'll smother yo' mother
and make ya sister think I love her
Dangerous motherfucker raises hell
And if I ever get caught I make bail
See, I don't give a fuck, that's the problem
I see a motherfuckin cop I don't dodge him
But I'm smart, lay low, creep a while
And when I see a punk pass, I smile
To me it's kinda funny, the attitude showin a nigga drivin
but don't know where the fuck he's going, just rollin
lookin for the one they call Eazy
But here's a flash, they never seize me
Ruthless! Never seen like a shadow in the dark
except when I unload, see I'll get over the hesitation
and hear the scream of the one who got the last penetration
Give a little gust of wind and I'm jettin
But leave a memory no one'll be forgettin
So what about the bitch who got shot? Fuck her!
You think I give a damn about a bitch? I ain't a sucker!
This is the autobiography of the E, and if you ever fuck with me
You'll get taken by a stupid dope brotha who will smother
word to the motherfucker, straight outta Compton

Chorus:

[City of Compton, City of Compton]

[Damn that shit was dope!] 



Summary

Reading the lyrics to this song is very scary. First, for someone to even make a song of such vulgar and explicit language is a shame. The rappers, song writers and producers in today’s society produce music that has no meaning and the messages they send through their music is  dangerous. In this song, “Straight Outta Compton” reveals the street knowledge from the rappers N.W.A and Ice Cube. Ice Cube in the beginning talks about how crazy he is and shows how he does not play with people. Reading the comments on the website one user states, “I think Eminem is the only modern rapper I like. When I hear songs like this it makes me realize how much Hip Hop has died on us  since the 'golden age' ended”- Edgecrusher6 ( Lyrics Depot). This quote is exactly what people in todays society need to realize, the music that is presently being produced is not music. What the rappers fail to realize is that adolescence listen and memorize these lyrics and try to live by this. Becoming “gangsters” and always leaning to violence is not always the answer. Looking at the news and seeing kids use violence as a way of expression is wrong. Artist such as Ice Cube, Eminem, Jay- Z  and Kanye West are role models for the teenagers in this generation. They look at these celebrities and mirror what they do whether positive or negative. They feel as if these celebrities represent the lifestyle they want to live when they grow older. What adolescence see is what they do. The media today produces these violent portrayals of people and it influences children to make horrible decisions off media madness.

~ Briana Jones

What Adolescence See , is What They Will Do

The amount of violence that is exposed In society today is dangerous and deadly. Violence is everywhere, in games, movies, television shows and even commercials. Media is a  source of entertainment that is available to people of all ages. However, the violence in media has effected children; in their decisions they make and their behavior. What Adolescence see, is what they will do. While watching television and playing video games they are being conditioned to think violence is cool or violence is okay. While in reality, violence is not cool or okay; it’s “the exercise or an instance of physical force, usually effecting or intended to effect injuries, destruction, etc”( World English Dictionary). Violence is an act that is intended to do one harm and is heavily portrayed through the movies that children watch and the songs they listen too. In this video, it is displayed the various violence in media. For instance, in the video the Lion King, Video Games and other teenage movies and television shows displays the violent acts that teenagers watch. This video goes in depth and brings statistical evidence to support the authors argument. Later in the video, she addresses the most important solution, for parents to step up and monitor what their kids are watching and also teach them violence is the solution. Violence in the Media has increased overtime, now if you look at the news you see that everything is revolved around violence. Teenagers see these various acts and copy them whether at school or home; but those same acts that are being portrayed on the TV screen is what tennagers will emulate in their daily behaviors.

~ Briana Jones

¿¿¿Do violent music, shows, news reports, movies, and video games influence our youth's violent behavior???

The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior

Huesmann, Rowell; Taylor, Laramie D. “The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior.” Annual Review of Public Health 27 (2006)

http://www.thepci.com/articles/The%20Role%20of%20Media%20Violence%20in%20Violent%20Behavior.pdf

By Murielle Alphonse

Children are like human mocking birds, they mimic almost everything they hear and see. So when statistics reveal that there is a 0.15 and 0.30 correlation between media violence and children’s more aggressive behavior after they either watch it, hear about it or play it, doesn’t surprise me. Rowell Huesmann and Laramie Taylor authors of The Role of Media Violence in Violent Behavior quote that children who watch more media violence on a daily basis behave more aggressively on a daily basis. Both researchers attest to the fact that it is not only exposure to real life violence that can lead to violent behavior but also through media exposure. In their research article they give examples of children’s responses after either watching something violent or playing a violent video game and explain why exposure to media violence sometimes leads them to be violent from a psychological stand point. Let’s first examine how detrimental media violence actually is on our youth.

In 1987, researcher WL Josephson conducted a research to see how either watching a violent or nonviolent film would affect adolescent boys before playing a game of floor hockey. He chose 365 boys between the ages of seven to nine and assigned them to groups. Some boys watched violent films while the other half watched nonviolent films. Josephson was also aware of the aggressive or non-aggressive state that each child by their teachers. During the game of floor hockey referees carried around walkie talkies which were cues from the violent film which reminded the boys of the films they had recently watched. The boys who were classified by their teachers as aggressive and were in the violent film group were found to have been more violent than ever. This experiment proved that watching something violent, the violent film, does in fact have an effect on latter behavior, more aggressive behavior displayed by the boys. What is it about media violence that causes our children to behave violently or mock what they see?

Most psychologists today agree that the causes of violent behavior due to the exposure of media violence can be explained through priming, arousal and imitation. The Josephson experiment is a prime example of how the priming process works. The priming process is the process by which the “spreading activation in the brains neural network from the locus representing an external observed stimulus excites another brain node representing a cognition, emotion or behavior. In the Josephson experiment the walkie talkies were the external observed stimulus that reminded the boys of the violent film that than triggered a violent response. Another explanation for violent behavior and its correlation with media violence on youth is arousal. Arousal is the act of awakening or exciting a certain emotion or feeling. A problem that sometimes arises with arousal is excitation transfer and in the case of aggression, it can cause one to react more aggressively. A final explanation for violent behavior and its correlation with media violence on youth is imitation. The article highlights how “in recent years, evidence has accumulated that human and primate young have an innate tendency to imitate whomever they observe. Therefore to correlate the reason’s for a child’s aggressive behavior to either their environment or what they see on television would not be irrational thinking.

To conclude, Huesmann and Taylor attest to our argument that media violence does in fact influence violent behavior. We see this evident in the experiment they represented in their article by WL Josephson. The fact that the young boys who were already classified as aggressive were found to have been even more aggressive after watching a violent film validates our point. Both researchers point out the reasons why and how media violence and violent behavior have such a strong correlation. Violent behavior after taking in media violence can be caused by arousal, priming or imitation. Huesman and Taylor agree that media violence does cause violent behavior, they do not think that it is the only factor or that it alone can cause a person that is non-violent to become violent however they do believe that media can be a trigger.
~ Murielle Alphonse