A common image in children's cartoons: one character ignites a bomb to destroy another character. Since you were probably raised watching television, you may already be desensitized to the various acts of violence that are painted as "commonplace" by the media. It's easy to assume that lighthearted cartoons about coyotes and roadrunners couldn't be teaching your child that violence is acceptable, but much research suggests otherwise.
Statistics
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, American children between ages 2 and 18 spend an average of 6 hours and 32 minutes every day using media including television, movies, video games, radio, print, recorded music, computer, Internet and commercial or self-recorded video. Of this media, a large portion exposes children to acts of violence or causes them to "virtually perpetrate" it in video games; in the National Television Violence study, about 61 percent of programming between 1995 and 1997 portrayed interpersonal violence. It is projected that the average young person will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence on television by age 18.
Effects
Exposure to media violence may cause a variety of mental and physical health problems in kids and teens. A vast range of 3,500 research studies--including cross-cultural studies and longitudinal studies--have linked aggressive behavior, fear, depression, sleep disturbances, nightmares and desensitization to violence to media exposure, says the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Causes of Aggression
The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry says that children under age 4 aren't able to delineate between fact and fantasy, may perceive violence as an ordinary event and begin to imitate it in daily life. It also mentions that young people are vulnerable to perceiving the media's portrayal of violence as a "cool" and efficient method of resolving conflicts, particularly because the role model "good guys" that they can identify with most often use violence for justice.
Setting Limits
You may help off-set the effects of media violence by consistently keeping track of what your children see and hear. Observe the shows your children watch, set time limits on television and computer use, keep the television and computer out of your children's rooms and implement safety features that block the shows and websites you deem unacceptable. Also discuss violence in the media with your children. If you are around when they see or hear something violent, ask them how they feel about it, let them know why the violent character made a poor decision and explain why you have chosen not to let them see or hear programs like that one.
Speaking Out
Feel free to contact the companies that advertise their products around violent programming and let them know of your disapproval. You may even want to cite a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology Applied, which found that viewers that view a violent film clip have poorer memory for commercials than people who view non-violent film clips. If advertisers pull out, television stations lose money. If stations lose money, they typically alter programming choices.
References
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: The Impact of Media Violence on Children
- American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statement: Media Violence
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: TV Violence - Facts for Families
- Washington State University: Effects of Television Violence on Memory for Advertising
- iVillage Parenting: How Does Media Violence Affect Our Children?
