Violence on TV and in the Video Games - Essay Example

? of Lecturer] Sociology Violence on TV/Video Games Introduction Current research findings on childhood and youth violence and aggression have indicated a worrying trend on the effects of viewership of violent television programs and playing violent video games on aggression in young people. According to these researches, more children and youth are spending more time playing video games and watching violent television programs compared to the past (Hartnagel, P. 351). Therefore, violent video games and television programs exposure have been associated with child aggression, not only according to researches but also in the opinion of many parents and guardians. Particularly harmful is the tendency of children exposed to violent video games and television programs to be quite aggressive in real life situations. In fact, children who reportedly watch violent television programs become more aggressive earlier compared to their counterparts that are less exposed to violent media. Strangely, there is a twist and a contention among stakeholders such as educators and parents on whether children become more aggressive after watching violent television programs or playing violent video games or if it is aggressive children that are more attracted to violent videos (Hartmanna et al., P. 363). However, more studies have shown that children exposed to a lot of violence through television and video games become more aggressive with time compared to their less-exposed even after the levels of aggressiveness are accounted for before such studies. The interrelationship between violent television/video games and child aggression is thus a rather controversial issue. Although most studies have linked violence in TV shows and video games to violent behavior in children and the youth, age restrictions on video games and violent television continue to be successfully challenged in court. Violent Television and Video Games Many stakeholders have since agreed that violent television and video games are indeed powerful public health threats, since exposure to them significantly increases children and adult viewers’ tendencies of picking aggressive. These aggression-related effects of violent television and video games on children have been found to be short- and long-term. In fact, some researchers equate the public health threat associated with violent media to the lung cancer threats caused by cigarette smoking. Because the media such as television currently saturates many lives in society, violent media has resulted in profound detrimental effects, particularly on the well-being of vulnerable youth and children. Nonetheless, similar to other threats to public health, not all children exposed to violent television and video games acquire violent behavior. Needless to say, that some children may not be afflicted does not imply that violent television and video games and related threats should not be addressed. In fact, it is imperative that society, parents, and guardians play their role in controlling children's exposure to violent media and video/computer games. Among the authors that have covered the aggression effects of violent media is Jacques Brodeur who states that the level of disobedience and aggression in a child is directly proportional to the level or amount of exposure to violent television programs. Further, Brodeur emphasizes the effects of a violently contaminated entertainment environment on the discipline, obedience, and aggression of a child. A violence-free environment is thus not only recommended in childhood but also in adult life (Brodeur, P. 53). Children’s tendency to mimic the violence watched on television and encountered in video games is perhaps the main mechanism by which violence and aggression is transferred from the media to children. By being allowed to watch violent television programs and play violent video games, children take it as consent by their parents, guardians, and older siblings to hit, bully, and humiliate others. In other terms, allowing children to watch and interact with violent media makes them to believe that acts of violence such as bullying, humiliation, maiming, and murder are socially accepted in the society. What is more, such children would not seek help when they become victims of violence or humiliations, believing such acts are socially accepted. Worse still, these acts are portrayed with typecast and fantasies, which support an aggressive viewpoint of war, sexism, and acts of violence. Emotional and psychological arousal and aggressive thoughts and feelings are some of the aspects of a child’s life that may be increased due to exposure to violent media, which decreases pro-social behaviour among children exposed to violent video games and television programs. As mentioned earlier, the long- and short-term aggression effects of violent television, films, video games, and music has been an area of interest for researchers for sometime. For instance, the aggression effects of violent media in children have been reported to be dissimilar for different levels and periods of exposure (Anderson, P. 359). Additionally, the more severe a form of media violence a child is exposed to is, the more aggressive he/she is likely to become. That is, the effects of more severe forms of violence are more extensive compared with the effects of milder violent media. Several theories have been designed to explain the short and long-term aggression effects of exposure to violent media in children. First, the short-term aggression effects are explained on the basis of the aggressive cognitions and ideas that violent media imposes on children. These cognitions and ideas cause an increase in a child’s physiological arousal and trigger a habitual predisposition to emulate the observed aggressive behaviours (Anders, P. 270). Also important in causing aggression in children are video game and television market cultures, marketing practices, and the weak regulatory mechanisms put in place by governments to keep children away from violent media. Those opposed to childhood exposure to violent media also blame video game companies and media houses for using coarse, misleading, and violent languages and images to appeal to vulnerable youth and children (Berkowitz, P. 89). Furthermore, these adverts and other marketing practices are placed at points that are easily accessible to children. To bring violent television and the video game industry under control, it is important that authorities regulate and investigate the unethical marketing strategies used by video game companies. The regulatory bodies should therefore scrutinize the video industry’s marketing practices and establish if violent video games are designed to encourage children to actively engage in such forms of entertainment (Berkowitz, P. 110). From past and current research findings on the effects of violent entertainment on children’s and youths’ propensity to develop aggressive behaviors, it is clear that violent video games and television programs have tremendous effects on young viewers both intentionally and unintentionally. Fundamental to the mechanism by which violent media affects children is the manner in which violent entertainment or narrative information is processed by children. Despite the many identified negative effects of video games, other studies have revealed some positive sides of video games on children’s cognition and behavior. In Support of Video Gaming In spite of the numerous hostilities towards violent television and video gaming among children and youth, video gaming has received support from different spheres and walks of life. In fact, those supporting video gaming assert that it is no longer a fashion but part of life. For instance, the first generation of video game players are now adults but they continue to play these games. Although many parents and teachers oppose video gaming, stating that it leads to violent behavior and addiction, not all its effects are negative. Many leading and thorough researchers have shown that that video and computer games have rather many benefits. First, video and computer games help absorb ill or injured children from their pain or distress/discomfort. In fact, hospitals that recommend and encourage children under painful treatments to play games abound. Second, video gaming helps children with attention deficit disorders to gain social skills. Third, video and computer gaming have been useful as a form of physiotherapy for patients of physical injuries to gain motor. Fourth, researchers have shown that video and computer games improve hand-eye co-ordination and induce fast and efficient decision in players. Video games also create team players with honed social skills and enhance creativity and taste for design, graphics, and technology. Many a computer game also improves children’s language and math skills given that most of these games require players to move at a great speed and think quickly. Finally, video games assist children to gain self confidence and teach them problem solving, motivation, and cognitive skills besides inspiring them to strive and reach more demanding and difficult levels of challenges. From the above discussions, it is rather apparent that video games have positive as well as negative effects. A moderation of video and media exposure should therefore not be a problem for children, parents and educators. It rests upon parents, teachers, and children to decide how much exposure and type of video game is permissible. In addition, parents should appreciate the changing world of video games and seek expert opinion on video gaming, its benefits, and disadvantages. As result of the divergent perspectives and opinions on violent and non-violent video gaming and violent media, certain ethical issues and considerations have been identified and widely debated. First among these ethical issues is how to establish engaging ethical scenarios in video games and violent television and other media tools (Thilmany, P. 20). Fortunately, recent times have realized a surge of significance of and attention on ethical decision making in violent television and computer games for children. These ethical issues have placed companies dealing in video games, media owners, and parents in morally challenging situations, which demand that they make certain difficult choices. According to moral psychology’s four component model, there are four key psychological elements that make up the above stakeholders’ moral agents, namely moral motivation, moral judgment, moral action, and moral sensitive. While moral motivation implies video game and television companies’ desires to act on and focus on moral decisions the exclusion of other concerns, moral sensitivity is one’s capability to recognise and respond to moral phenomena. Similarly, moral judgement refers to ability to undertake reasoning, which leads to moral choices. Finally, moral action refers to the capacity to see moral decisions through. The ethical decisions in the video gaming and media industry in general should thus be about people that play and watch these products and how people are affected by these products. Conclusions For media outlets such as television and video games to positively affect the lives of their users, particularly children and youth on whom violent entertainment has resulted in aggressive, making such viewership and gaming ethically is a call that should be sincerely and critically addressed. First, video games should have meaningful characters that present the diversity of moral perspectives in modern society. In other words, players and parents/teachers/guardians, in the case of children, should be given enough space to ethically identify with given ethical elements and identities to assist them make meaningful choices for their children. Nonetheless, children should not be exposed to violent video games and television or any other media for that matter as such exposure has been confirmed to negatively influence children so that they are more likely to become aggressive compared to those not exposed to violent media and video games. Works Cited Anders, K. “Marketing and Policy Considerations for Violent Video Games,” 1999. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 18(2), 270. Berkowitz, L. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth,” (2003). Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 4(3), 110. Brodeur, J. "Confronting Violence in Entertainment: The Youth Vote and TV-Free Challenge," (2003). Journal of Education--Teaching Methods And Curriculum, and Environmental Studies. Hartmanna, T., Toza, E., and Brandona, M. Just a Game: Unjustified Virtual Violence Produces Guilt in Empathetic Players, 2010. Media Psychology, 13(4), 363. Hartnagel, T., Teevan, F., James, J., and Jennie J. “Television Violence and Violent Behavior,” (1975). Social Forces, 54(2), 351. Thilmany, J. “Gaming Pros and Cons,” 2012. Mechanical Engineering; 134(3), 20. Read More