Violence in the Media and how it Affects Society Essay Example for Free

Violence in the Media and how it Affects Society Essay The effect of media is profound and far-reaching. All over the world, the media influences our values and intrudes upon our deep-seated ideologies and beliefs. Indeed the media has been a powerful force in influencing people’s perceptions, and more importantly, their behavior as well. Business, politicians, and showbiz personalities pay huge sums of money to media firms in order create an image or change an existing one. Politics in particular, has been making use of the media to generate public support for their campaigns and support for certain policies and legislations. Indeed, the power of the media to affect our behavior has long been proven. Among the most pressing issues about media nowadays is how the proliferation of media violence can affect society. People have long believed that constant and chronic exposure to violence through various forms of mass media can erode the values of an individual, especially if the person does not have a strong system of moral support. (Croteau Hoynes 23) However while it is easy to say that violence in media has an adverse effect in society, there are scholars who argue that it is not media per se that causes the negative effects, rather it is a complex interplay of many elements in society, and media is but one element in the issue. (Freedman 54) Media violence and its effect on society cannot be separated from these other factors and therefore, media alone cannot be held responsible for violence in society. As such, this paper intends to understand media violence and its effects on society by understanding the issues that underlie the argument. Violent behavior has long been a source of confusion among sociologists, psychologists and society in general. While there have been many extensive researches that have attempted to study, understand, and explain criminal acts, none thus far has been found to satisfactorily explain all the complex processes and the interplay of factors that pushes an individual to commit violence. Among these theories, the most widely-accepted is the constitutive criminology. According to this theory, violent behavior is the result of the complex interplay between man and the social structures that he interacts with on a regular basis. (Sanders Ferrell 146) As such, perpetrators of violence cannot be analyzed separately from the social processes that they interact with. Following this theory, it is easy to understand why media has often been implicated in the increase of aggressive or violent behavior. Media has been growing more powerful and omniscient by the minute. In particular the Internet, has amplified the power of the media to effect change and influence society’s behavior. The effects of these technological advances have been discussed by Croteau and Hoynes, â€Å"The increase in media options in recent years has even led to an increase in ‘multi-tasking’- using more than one form of media at a time. † (5) With the ubiquitous media surrounding us in all aspects of our lives, it is easy to realize that the media is a big and indispensable part of contemporary life. Indeed the media has become the most dominant and powerful force in our modern world, displacing religious and educational institutions as the primary molder of our individual and collective ideologies. (Croteau and Hoynes 6) And if media can be used to influence buying, voting, and other forms of behavior, it follows that is also affects violence and aggressiveness among people. How media influences people may be explained by Bandura’s social learning theory. According to Bandura (1977), the need to be accepted and conform to society is the main driving force for an individual’s actions. If media then creates the image of what is acceptable and popular, then it is only logical that society acts in accordance to this media-created image. The following figures are taken from the official website of the National Institute on Media and the Family (2006): ? Based on average viewing time, an individual would have seen some 200,000 acts of violence including 40,000 murders on television by the time he or she is eighteen years old (Huston, et al qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family). ? Children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend more time exposed to various forms of media (TV, computer, game consoles, music, etc) than any other activity in their lifetime. (Kaiser Family Foundation qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family). ? Of over a thousand studies that have been done on the effects of violence in television and movies, majority of them conclude that individuals, especially children who spend significant time watching violence on TV and movies are more likely to display aggressive or violent behavior, attitudes and values. (Senate Committee; Congressional Public Health Summit qtd. from the National Institute on Media and the Family) According to these figures, the younger the age of the individual, the more susceptible they become to the adverse effects of exposure to media violence. (Trend 93) The aggressiveness are often latent and presents later in life which is adds to the difficulty of measuring the actual effects of media violence. (Freedman 137) Women who spend long hours watching TV violence are more likely to respond violently towards their spouses. There is an increase in physicality among women with higher media violence exposure. (Partenheimer) In the same vein, men who watched more media violence exhibit increased physical violence and aggressive behavior towards others as well. Both men and women who watch violence on the Internet, movies, and TV are three times more likely to commit traffic violations and other misdemeanors and felonies. Regardless of any theory, there is no denying the fact that any violent actions or aggressive behavior is a product of a highly complex process, the mechanics of which may forever elude social scientists. However, while violence may indeed be just the end product of a series of interactions between the perpetrator and the world around him, the question still remains why some people who grow up watching the same levels of media violence grow up to be normal people while others become social deviants. As the individual makes the choice to commit an aggression, how much of this is because of media influence and other social and physical factors, and how much of this is purely the individual’s choice? For social scientists the challenge is to create theories that will help prevent violence rather than analyze the aggressive after the fact, after the harm has been done. As previously mentioned, learning does not take place in a vacuum; it does so within a social context. Young children are very impressionable, and they need constant supervision and explicit direction from their parents. Children should be made to realize what behaviors are acceptable and those that are not. Parents should exhaust all efforts to monitor what their children see and hear and provide proper and consistent guidance Indeed the media is very powerful and highly influential. But it is a neutral instrument and can be used for both good and bad. By virtue of its platform of delivery, films and television are highly accessible and are able to reach an enormous audience within a short span of time. The elements of compelling narrative, appealing characters, vivid imagery, and technological achievements, make a powerful combination that is able to stir deep emotions and leave lasting impressions in the psyche of the individuals who are watching. Shows and music that carry positive themes of justice, equality, and honor are very effective in shaping public opinion, and by extension, positive behavior as well. A well-made film or TV show can galvanize a society into action and initiate positive change. Media should temper violence by featuring shows that promote values as well. Works Cited Bandura, Albert. Social Learning Theory. Prentice-Hall. 1977 Croteau, David. Media Society: Industries, Images and Audiences. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. 2003. Freedman, Jonathan. Media Violence and Its Effect on Aggression: Assessing the Scientific Evidence. University of Toronto Press. 2002. Partenheimer, David. Public Affairs Office. Childhood Exposure To Media Violence Predicts Young Adult Aggressive Behavior, According To A New 15-Year Study. 2003. Retrieved on March 7, 2008 from http://www. apa. org/releases/media_violence. html