Media Impect
Spring 2010
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMIC CENTER OF EXCELLENCE ON YOUTH
VIOLENCE PREVENTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
Fact Sheet
MEDIA VIOLENCE by Carmela Lomonaco, Tia Kim, and Lori Ottaviano
Introduction
Children and adolescents have access to and consume a variety of different media forms, including television, the Internet, music and music videos, film and video games, many of which contain high levels of violent content. The concern (and the controversy) lies in whether violent content in media affects a young person’s beliefs and behaviors, and more specifically, if frequent exposure contributes to increased aggression and even violence in young people.
Much of the research on the relationship between media exposure and aggression supports such a connection. Although critics have challenged the validity of these findings, suggesting that the studies focused only on short-term effects and were conducted in controlled laboratory settings, one study suggests that exposure to violent media in home environments has long-term implications.1
Promising strategies for reducing exposure to media violence are available and include limit setting by parents/guardians, technological innovations such as the v-chip (which blocks inappropriate shows or content from being viewed by children), and media literacy training.
Scope of the Problem
Most American homes (99%) have a television set, and “over half of all children have a television set in their bedrooms.” After sleeping, watching television is the most frequent activity of children. The average child spends 28 hours a week watching television. By the time the average child is 18 years old, he or she will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders. Up to 20 acts of violence per hour occur in children’s programming.2
Movies, music videos, video games, and the Internet also contain high levels of violent content correlated with youth violence. Internet
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMIC CENTER OF EXCELLENCE ON YOUTH
VIOLENCE PREVENTION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
Fact Sheet
MEDIA VIOLENCE by Carmela Lomonaco, Tia Kim, and Lori Ottaviano
Introduction
Children and adolescents have access to and consume a variety of different media forms, including television, the Internet, music and music videos, film and video games, many of which contain high levels of violent content. The concern (and the controversy) lies in whether violent content in media affects a young person’s beliefs and behaviors, and more specifically, if frequent exposure contributes to increased aggression and even violence in young people.
Much of the research on the relationship between media exposure and aggression supports such a connection. Although critics have challenged the validity of these findings, suggesting that the studies focused only on short-term effects and were conducted in controlled laboratory settings, one study suggests that exposure to violent media in home environments has long-term implications.1
Promising strategies for reducing exposure to media violence are available and include limit setting by parents/guardians, technological innovations such as the v-chip (which blocks inappropriate shows or content from being viewed by children), and media literacy training.
Scope of the Problem
Most American homes (99%) have a television set, and “over half of all children have a television set in their bedrooms.” After sleeping, watching television is the most frequent activity of children. The average child spends 28 hours a week watching television. By the time the average child is 18 years old, he or she will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence, including 16,000 murders. Up to 20 acts of violence per hour occur in children’s programming.2
Movies, music videos, video games, and the Internet also contain high levels of violent content correlated with youth violence. Internet
References: adolescence and adulthood.” Science295(5564):2468-2471. 2. Beresin, Eugene V. 2009. “The Impact of Media Violence on Children and Adolescents: Opportunities for Clinical Interventions.” American Academy of Child Adolescents Psychiatry. Retrieved February 16, 2010 (http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/developmentor/the_impact_of_media_violence_on_chi Retrieved February 23, 2010 (www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2007-3377). Rakhra, and James D. Sargent. 2008. “Exposure of U.S. Adolescents to Extremely Violent Movies.” Pediatrics 122(2):306-312 (www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2007-1096). 5. See Carnagey, Nicholas L., Craig A. Anderson, and Brad J. Bushman. 2007. “The effect of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43:489-496. Retrieved February 23, 2010 (http://anderson.socialpsychology.org/). 6. US Department of Health and Human Services. 2001. Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General 7. Murray, John P. 2008. “Media Violence: The Effects Are Both Real and Strong.” American Behavioral Scientist 51(8):1212-1230. 8. Bushman, Brad J., and L. Rowell Huesmann. 2001. Effects of Televised Violence on Aggression http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-07-50A5.pdf. Accessed February 23, 2010. Council on Communications and Media. 2009. “Policy Statement: Media Violence.” Pediatrics 124(5):1495-1503 (www.pediatrics.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2009-2146). Willis E, Strasburger VC. Media violence. Pediatr Clin North Am. 1998;45:319-331.