Media violence is a subject that is relevant in today’s digitized world. The notion of ‘blood, war and death’ as a money-making and marketable approach to selling media content globally cannot be brushed off.
The media that people consume influences the behavior of people especially among children and teenagers. This is due to the psychological effect of repetitive viewing and the formats in which information is presented.
Watching violent media tends to create brain pathways that are attuned to violence due to the adrenaline rush that is ignited by the flight or fear mode. This is particularly evident in children who act out from what they have watched on media platforms like Television, videogames and online channels. They start to mimic violent acts in their reality without thinking of why they do this.
In adults when the consumption of violent media is not checked, it results in real-life situations where the irrational fear of something leads to responding in violence toward others and in extreme cases, the uncensored viewing of, or exposure to violent media can develop into psychopathy. Several research findings indicate a correlation between heavy viewing of violence and violent behavior.
The general perception of the media is that it is a reflection of the society in which it exists. Communication is central to the existence of different entities and relationships. The reception of communication requires that the sender presents it in a way that relates to and confirms the specific roles that exist within the intended audience.
According to Langley (2007), "human beings have specific roles as communicators –leaders, followers, watch-keepers – that bring certain expectation regarding behaviour and action.” This indicates that excessive violence instigates fear among viewers and causes them to think that their immediate environment is equally violent.
In a statement by Larry Gordon, producer of the film ‘Die Hard’ he said, "I’d be lying if I said that people don’t imitate what they see on the screen... Of course, we imitate. It would be impossible for me to think they would imitate our dress, our music, our look, but not imitate any of our violence or our other actions.” This quote is a clear example of how salience in the media affects viewers’ perceptions and behavior.
Additionally, several studies conducted among the population of children in aged 3-17 years in the US, indicate that, children psychologically develop ‘behaviour patterns, attitudes, and values about social interaction’ (Murray 1993). Moreover, these developmental years are crucial in children given that they determine their views about their environment and "engagement with television violence can create distorted views of society and the acceptability of certain behaviours.”
The consequences of violent behavior among children are recorded in children’s media like cartoons. Moreover, data gathered by Gerbner et al. shows that, "…there are over four times more violent acts committed in children’s cartoons than in adult prime-time programming (1995). In other words, children cartoons are ridden with violent scenes of smashed bodies, vehicle run-over bodies of characters, amputated limbs and explosive scenes that become the ‘innocent’ entertainment norm for children.
Also, Bassett, 1991, states that, "while such animated and often comic material could be considered innocuous, children’s cartoons are said to ‘provide unacceptable role models for young children since they solve their problems through the use of aggressive and violent behavior.”
Media violence particularly viewed on television, movies and cartoons has a way of stealthily intruding into the viewer’s life.
On the contrary, the availability of over 50 years of research work about the effects of media violence on people does not negate the existence of critics. One key opponent of the effect of media on behaviour is the Canadian media analyst, Jonathan Freedman who claims that several biases and flaws exist in the approach to analyzing media violence through the lenses of human behavior.
He cites that the research findings of media violence simply show that the effects of media violence are non-existent. Additionally, other opposing theorists assert that these behavior theorists have ‘hidden agendas’ and simply exist as ‘witch-hunters and moralists’ (Carter and Weaver, 2003).
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that to a higher degree, the heavy violence viewers especially children, teenagers and young adults tend to exhibit violent behavior in real-life situations. There is a wealth of research that supports the effect of media violence on the behavior of viewers.
It is with this regard that minors should be supported and protected from heavy violence viewing until they are empowered at an older age to make healthy and responsible choices when it comes the media they consume.