Connections between Violence in the Media and Real Violence

Various research analyses posit that almost all forms of media have violence regardless of their age rating. As such, it is crucial to seek responses to questions such as: What are the repercussion of exposure to pervasive media content? What is the role of research in identifying and helping combat these consequences? The most prominent effect of exposure to violent media is increased aggression. Numerous studies seek to prove that exposure to violence through the media is a precursor for violent behavior. Such sentiments are drawn from deductions such as media violence increases aggressive thoughts, causes people to perceive their environment in a more hostile way and makes them less empathetic towards victims of aggression around them. What is aggression and violence? Aggression is the term used to refer to any behavior that is executed with the intention to harm another person who also desires to evade the very harm coming their way.

Research indicates that humans, like primates show a tendency to imitate observed behavior; for instance the observation of certain conduct among children increases the likelihood of them behaving in the very manner. A certain research conducted recently excellently brings out the short-term effects of exposure to media violence. Researchers from the state of Ohio used children aged between 8 and 12 years old to prove this. In the research, the children were organized in pairs and showed them a 20-minute long version of a well-known PG-rated film (such as National Treasure). Half of the children watched an unedited version of the film in which the characters were using guns while the other half watched an edited version where there were no guns. The cycle is unbroken since all of us grow up in an environment filled with people who are imitating actions from the media and around them.

Mass media and video games, as aforementioned, have an effect on the emotional temperament of an individual. Research shows that emotions such as fear, classical conditioning, anger or other types of arousal sink in after just a few exposures (Ybarra et al. Such emotions, coupled with the developed biases, eventually influence the social behavior of an individual. As such, one may react angrily or fearfully in a situation that is similar to one that was observed through the media since media alters cognition. There are many studies that indicate that increased exposure to violence in the media causes increased cases of aggression. However, there are those researchers that posit that playing video games gives people the chance to vent out steam and hence reduces the tendency to act in an aggressive manner (this is modernly referred to as the catharsis theory) (Ferguson 68).

The basis of this argument is that most people who play video games give this reason as justification for playing games. Such deductions bring to mind the Aristotelian theory of drama in which the philosopher suggested that the pity and fear involved in the performance of drama cleanses the human soul of any cumulative negative emotions in the course of the film. According to Ferguson (68), Aristotle’s theory is however unreliable since aggression is not a drive, the dramas required specificity in the mannerisms of telling the story to accurately bring out the catharsis concept and numerous research still shows a correlation between aggression and consumption of violent media. Ronald Gentile. "Violent video games as exemplary teachers: A conceptual analysis. " Journal of Youth and Adolescence 37.