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The medias influence on our youth in today’s society is a prevalent topic of discussion amongst sociologists around the world. The media has at its disposal a broad range of tools and strategies they use to influence today’s youth which include: television, films, videotapes, music and the internet. In this essay, studies will explore the medias use of violence and how it influences violent behavior in children. The three main forms of media I will explore in this essay are music, video games and films. Music, especially rap music has been one of the central concerns about the potential armful effects of violence on youth (Herd,2009).
Although rap music has been a central concern of harmful effects of violent lyrics on social behavior, especially in the more vulnerable audience (children), the relationship between violence and rap music is poorly understood. (Denies Herd, Ph. D. 2009) There have been very limited studies into the harmful effects of violent and misogynous lyrics on youth and how it affects their physical aggression. However, Baron-gang and Hall (1995) released a study that suggests the exposure to antisocial lyrics can actually affect behavior, albeit, the behavior they assessed was not clearly aggressive. Anderson, 2003) In the study that was undertaken, male students listened to either misogynous or neutral rap music and viewed three vignettes. (neutral, sexual and violent, auscultative) They then chose one vignette to be viewed by a random woman. The subjects that listened to misogynous lyrics were far more likely to select the auscultative vignette (Anderson, 2003). This suggests that individuals that view violent material have a tendency to seek out more violent material.
Also known as accumulation theory, which suggests that the more you are exposed to violent material, the more likely you are to indulge in increasingly violent material and succumb to eventual desalination. There have been no comprehensive studies on the direct effects of violent music and lyrics without video stimulus. Such studies are needed to come to a final conclusion on the effects of long term exposure to violent music and lyrics. (Anderson, 2003) Video games, along with music, is another central concern regarding violent behavior in youth.
Children are spending progressively hefty amounts of time laying video games and a large portion of them contain strong violence. Video games are of a much higher concern than movies, TV and music because, instead of auditing and observing the violence, they are placed right in the action which studies show may increase the risk of violent behavior. (Bushman, 2001) In a study undertaken by Irwin and Gross (1995) assessed the physical aggression of young males who had Just recently played a violent video game versus those who had Just recently played a non-violent video game.
Those boys who had recently played the Eileen video game were behaving much more aggressively towards their peers, compared to the non-violent video games. (Anderson, 2003) The evidence of the study suggests that children are likely to imitate the attitudes and behaviors that they were exposed to through active participation in the video games. (Anderson, 2003) The hypodermic syringe theory is relevant here because it suggests that the media, In tens case peeve games, transmits a message or Idea Tanat Is teen acted upon Day ten receiver.
In this case, the children showed more aggressive behavior towards their errs as an effect of getting the idea that violence is socially acceptable because it is acceptable in the game. There have been no longitudinal studies that draw a strong conclusion about the adverse effects of violent video games on children, even though the studies are quite suggestive. (Anderson, 2003) Unlike video games and music, there have been substantial amounts of lab studies and experiments that have examined and analyses whether or not exposure to violent films tend to increases aggressive behavior in children in the short term. Anderson, 2003) The common endings in experiments that test children cognitive, emotional and physical aggression after watching a violent or non-violent stimulus clip is that children who watch violent scenes display a higher level of aggressive behavior, thought and emotion that those who don’t. (Anderson, 2003) A study undertaken by Josephs (1987) suggested that children who Just witnessed a violent film were showing far more aggressive behavior towards other children than those who watched a non- violent film.
Josephs (1987) randomly selected 369 seven to nine year old boys to either watch a violent or non-violent prior to playing a game of ground hockey at school. People who did not know what film any of the boys had seen were assigned to keep track of how many times the boys physically assaulted each other during the game. One element of the study was a specific cue that the referee carried out that appeared in the violent film. This cue reminded the boys of the movie that they had watched earlier. The combination of watching the violent film and witnessing a situation depicted in the film initiated much more physically auscultative behavior.
Anderson, 2003) The power of example or the social cognitive theory suggests that children tend to display attitude and behavior they have learned from role models (Bandeau, 1986) or movies in this case. Almost a “monkey see, monkey do” effect. (Anderson, 2003) The Media has many adverse effects on today’s youth. Media has an almost “stranglehold” on today’s society through I variety of different tools and strategies. It Is true that the media are very influential in society, especially on the vulnerable audiences like children who can’t differentiate fake violence and real violence.