Natasha+Prasad

 __**Effects of Violent Media on Children and Young Adults**__  There is much to be said about the world we live in today and the various things we're exposed to. We are born into this world with a fresh, new mind ready to absorb as much information as possible – whether its related to knowledge or behavior. When it comes to learning how to behave, we are mostly affected by the people who play major roles in our lives such as parents, guardians, teachers and the rest of the society in general. Well, at least that was the case back in the good old days when technology and media were not so advanced. The current generation in particular is especially more influenced by the media because a majority of us have access to a computer, television and video games at all times. Also, many households either have both parents who work two or more jobs in order to make ends meet or a single parent working overtime to be able to put food on the table. In both these cases, parents are kept from spending time with their children to teach them valuable life lessons and good behavior which is essential not only for the children, but for the formation of a decent society in the future as they get older. This forces children to look towards media for any guidance. In my essay, I would like to talk about the effects of media (television, computers, video games, etc) on children and a possible solution to some of the negative effects.  During my first year here at University of Toronto, I took a course named 'Contemporary Communication Technologies' which was a pre-requisite for one of my majors. We covered several topics with regards to media and its effects on the general public around the world. One topic that really captured my attention was the [1] Bobo Doll experiment conducted by Albert Bandura way back in 1961. He found that the children who were exposed to aggression and violence in media were more likely to copy such behavior than those who were not exposed to the violence. Also, [2]the results showed that boys leaned more towards aggression than girls – the boys exhibited 270 instances of aggressive behavior as opposed to the girls' 128 instances. An article published in an issue of the University of Washington Daily, [4]statistics cited by a study from the Center for Communication and Social Policy at the University of California-Santa Barbara have shown that about 60 percent of television shows contain violence. Now these shows are targeted at a mature, adult audience because to us, it is merely a source of entertainment. However, a typical four year old would actually take it more seriously and think of such violent behavior to be “normal”. Eventually, the child blossoms into a lean, mean killing machine who shows no remorse for his actions because in his mind, his gruesome actions are justified. In his mind, he will think that violence is an acceptable way (and the only way) to solve a problem. Bullies like to inflict pain on others. What is the solution to this? Obviously its not rational to want to ban violent movies and TV shows. I found an [6]article published by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) that gives parents a few tips on how to guide their children properly and help them understand that the violence they see on TV are just simulations and such actions in real life will have more dire consequences.  Now, back in 1961, the only thing parents needed to worry about were the violent shows on television which were not as popular as family shows with humor. The gaming industry has been dominating our culture only in the last couple of years. Children, adolescents and teenagers have a new medium of exposure to violence. Between Play stations, X Box's, Halo, Wii, etcetera, today's youth is being exposed to more violence than ever. According to an article on CNN, [3]the findings are "pretty good evidence" that violent video games do indeed cause aggressive behavior, says Dr. L. Rowell Huesmann, director of the Research Center for Group Dynamics at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research in Ann Arbor. The article also states that about 90 percent of American kids ranging between the ages of 8 to 16 spend about 13 hours a week playing violent video games (mostly boys though). This does not mean that the kids will immediately go out and commit some kind of crime the very next day, but according to extensive research done over the decades, this definitely changes kids' attitude towards life. [5]Earlier this year, 17 year old Daniel Petric from Ohio was convicted for shooting his parents point blank in the head when his father did not allow him to play Halo 3, killing his mother in the bargain. According to the Judge who overlooked his case, Daniel Petric had been planning the crime for weeks. Granted that every video-game-playing teenager in America is not capable of committing such a crime, but one can only wonder... if violent TV shows have been known to have adverse effects on growing children, enough to perhaps be responsible for shootings in schools, then why not video games? Many argue that video games meant for adults are solely meant for entertainment purposes and is also treated as a stress-reliever.  I think that we have become extremely dependent on television, computers and video games for entertainment... so much so that they feel like an extended limb or a vital organ that is essential for survival. During stressful times, we lean towards absorbing different acts of violence from gory horror movies, heavy action films, violent TV shows, video and computer games, and imagine ourselves inflicting that sort of pain on somebody we are cross with. (I'm sure I'm not the only one guilty of this!) But my point is, if a 17 year old boy (a year away from being recognized as an adult in the eyes of the law) was capable of committing such a gruesome act in his own home, I cannot imagine how many more young adults out there are being severely affected by this exposure to violence. If its so easy for so many people to get carried away to the point where their senses become so warped that they begin to believe that violence and blackmail is the answer to their problems, then maybe we're all not strong enough to deal with violence in media and should maybe take a step back. Whatever happened to meditation? Or taking a nice walk in the park or on the beach? Or taking cooking or dancing lessons? Or even just enjoying a nice warm bath with aromatherapy bath crystals to soothe our nerves? I'm very pro technology because it has helped us in an infinite number of ways, but perhaps we need to learn to find the right balance. Bibliography: [1] //Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture, and Technology//, Straubhar/La Rose [2] //Bobo Doll Experiment results// , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobo_doll_experiment [3] //Violent video games linked to child aggression// , [|http][|://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/] <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">[4] <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">//Too much violent TV can make children bullies// <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">, http://dailyuw.com/2006/5/19/too-much-violent-tv-can-make-children-bullies/ <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">[5] <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">//Boy Kills Mum Over Video Game Ban// <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">, http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Video-Game-Halo-3-Obsessed-Ohio-Teenager-Shoots-Mother-Dead-After-Parents-Take-Game-Away-From-Him/Article/200901215202439?f=rss <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">[6] <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">//Facts for Families: Children and TV Violence// <span style="font-family: Utopia,serif;">, http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/children_and_tv_violence