Media and Violence in the USA - Assignment Example

This statistics is frightening; why there is so much violence in the United States and what can be done to reduce it, is a question that has puzzled governments, psychologists and social scientists. US Department of Justice figures showed that 2.8 million children (under 18) were arrested in 1997, nearly 2500 juveniles were arrested for murder, and 121000 were arrested for other violent crimes [Cantor, 2000]. Psychologists believe that seeds for attitude towards violence are sown early in life.

This has resulted in many studies on the impact of TV, video, video games, and other media accessible to children at home.[Eron, 1963] and [Eron & Huesman, 1986] Huesman of University of Michigan carried out a long term study of the viewing habits of a group of children for decades, They astonishingly claimed that watching violence on television was an even more powerful factor in promoting violence than poverty, race, or parental behavior. This 1960 study followed up 11 and 22 years later and claims to show that the aggressive eight-year-olds of 1960 grew up to become even more aggressive 19- and 30-year-olds, with greater troubles-including domestic violence than their less aggressive counterparts who did not watch as much television [Eron & Huesman, 1986].

Eron & Huesman list dozens of other studies in support of their arguments that Violence on Media is harmful to children and eventually to society.[Senate Committee, 1999] reported that more than 1,000 studies on the effects of television and film violence have been done during the past 40 years. American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the National Institute of Mental Health have separately reviewed many of these studies and all of these bodies conclude television violence leads to real-world violence.