Violence In The Media

The relationship between exposure to violence through media and violent behavior has been demonstrated empirically and is a topic of controversy and concern around the world as technological advances and violent crime reach unprecedented heights. For present purposes, violence is defined as any act or threat of action resulting in real or potential physical harm to self or other living things. Consistent with many U.S. states' laws, any sexual act with a child (an individual under the age of 18) is also considered violent. Violence in the media refers to real (e.g., televised footage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S. World Trade Center and the Pentagon) or fictitious (e.g., horror films such as Nightmare on Elm Street) violence as it occurs in all forms of media, including television, film, video games, the Internet, music, radio, newspapers, magazines, and books. Exposure to violence through the media has been implicated in numerous incidents of violent criminal behavior, for example, the Columbine High School massacre, in Colorado, in 1999, and several copycat murders and suicides related to rock music. Critics of violence in the media contend that it increases violent behavior and fear of victimization, creates a norm of violence, repeatedly traumatizes victims of violence, facilitates sexual abuse, and perpetuates gender role and racial stereotypes.

Since the debut of the television in the majority of American homes in the 1950s, vicarious exposure to violence through media has been a topic of heated concern. Currently, 98 out of 100 American homes have at least one television, and there is no country in which a television signal is not available either by air broadcast, cable, or satellite. With the proliferation of the music video, video game, pornography, and Internet industries, recent generations have been exposed to a wider variety and more graphic modes of violence than were earlier generations. In the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, and other countries, government and private task forces have investigated the effects of media violence on consumers.

Pervasive exposure to media violence has three broad effects on people: a direct effect, a desensitizing effect, and a generalizing effect. Akin to social learning theory, the direct effect of witnessing violence is the imitation of aggressive behavior through observational learning and increased fantasy about violent means of conflict resolution. Aggressive behavior is further reinforced by the fact that although real-life violence typically has adverse consequences, negative consequences to the perpetrators of violence are often not depicted in media clippings.

Second, the desensitizing effect refers to the decreased sensitivity to the pain and suffering of others that occurs over time with exposure to violence. One's initial experiences of violence typically have a startling [Page 304]effect, but repeated flooding of the senses with violent stimuli engages the defenses to protect the self from the aversive effects of chronic trauma. As the individual learns to expect violence, their visceral reactions become desensitized to violent acts.

Finally, exposure to violence through media facilitates the generalized perception that the entire world is a hostile and dangerous place. This third effect, often referred to as the “mean world syndrome,” not only leads to increased anxiety and fear of victimization but also contributes to violence by producing a perceived normative standard that violent behavior is a typical and permissible means of conflict resolution.

...