Does Violence Affect Children - 1384 Words

Jacob Cleland Composition 2 Wolcott 20 April 2016 Does Violence in Media Affect Children? Violence is an increasing problem in today’s society. An act of violence can hold major consequences for society. With increased access to firearms and explosives in today’s society, it is important to know what exactly can cause a child to become violent in the present and later on in his or her life. Many variables are involved when children are growing up that may lead them to become more violent. These variables are poverty, family psychopathology (mental disorders), if the child is abused, their exposure to violence in their community and environment, substance abuse, and psychiatric disorders (Beresin). Another variable, violence in the media,†¦show more content†¦Beresin states that over half of all children in America have a television in their own room. This can lead to children viewing television programs without their parents’ supervision. Studies have found that the typical American child will view over 200,000 acts of violence, including over 16,000 murders before they turn 18 (Beresin). Beresin found that television programs show about 812 acts of violence per hour. He also found that even children’s programming displays up to 20 acts of violence per hour. I believe that these are very high numbers, and need to be regulated especially on children’s programming. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), 97 percent of adolescents age 12-17, play video games, and those who play everyday, play for at least one hour a day. Video games raised more questions about how children are impacted by violent media, because a child is immersed into the game as an active participant. But how do hours of violent television and video gaming result in aggressive and violent behavior? According to the American Psychological Association, children can become less sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. The APA states, â€Å"Exposure to media can desensitize peopl e to violence in the real world and that, for some people, watching violence in the media becomes enjoyable and does not result in the anxious arousal that would be expected from seeing such imagery.† This is because