Violence in American culture and how it effects adolescents Essays

Violence in American culture and how it effects adolescents Essays Violence in American culture and how it effects adolescents Violence in American Culture and How it Effects Adolescents Brandy Smith University of Phoenix Violence in American Culture and How it Effects Adolescents Parents are starting to believe that violence in video games, television, and music are having effects on their children. With all the violence that is out there in the media today, should parents be worried that it may be having a harmful effect on their children? This is the question that parents are asking themselves today. Some people today are noticing that their children are acting more aggressively today. Teachers are also reporting that children at school are also acting out with a bit more aggression than normal. Could this be one of the effects that violence could be having on children today? Today parents will finally learn about some of the harmful effects that may or may not be affecting their children. There are two sides almost every story, and we will explore both sides to the question, ?is the violence in the media having a harmful effect on my child It has been said that violent video games have a harmful effect on children, according to David Bickham (2009) of the Center on Media and Child Health, ?there is a strong and consistent relationship between viewing violent media and increased levels of anxiety, desensitization, and aggressive thoughts and behaviors among young people.? Bickham (2009) also found that children exposed to violent video games in laboratories behave more aggressively than children who played non ?violent video games. There have also been studies done that show the long term effects of playing violent video games. The scientific findings have shown that violent video games that are viewed as a child can lead to aggressive behavior all the way into adulthood. (Bickham 2009) However, there is also another side to this issue that is to be discussed. According to Benjamin Radford (2009) , the editor of the Skeptical Inquirer and author of books of skepticism and urban legends? violent video games have been ar ound since 1991, yet clear evidence of any harm is yet to emerge.? There have been 200 studies done on media violence, but many of the studies that have been released have admitted to their being other collations when they have actually written down their process. Richard Rhodes, a writer from Rolling Stone magazine states that ?fighting media depictions of violence cite the studies and ignore their lack of scientific validly.? There are people, who believe that violence in video games is having bad effects on their children, and on the other hand there are those who believe this to be inconclusive; and there are similar arguments occurring with an entirely different form of media. The other form of media that parents are concerned with is violence on television. According to the Senate Committee of The Judiciary, in 1997 there was an estimated 2.8 million juveniles arrested by law enforcement agencies. In a report that was written by Brandon Centerwall (2009) states that ?if television had never been created there would be 10,000 fewer homicides, 70,000 fewer rapes, and 700,000 fewer assaults each year.? There has been an analysis of television done for the 20 years (1973-1993). The results of this analysis show that violent acts have increased from five violent acts per hour in 1992 to almost 15 violent acts per hour in 1994. There are some experts who believe that children can become addicted to violence, and build a tolerance to it. The president for the Center for Media and Public Affairs, Robert Lichter (2009) states ?if you?re worried about what your kid eats, then you should be worried about whet your kid?s watching.? On the other hand there are some pe ople that believe that television violence has no effect on children. There are people who believe that all of the tests and research that has been done by placing two children in front of a violent program and the other in front of a nonviolent program is problematic. It is believed that the results are not real world results. Kevin Durkin (2009), an associate professor of psychology at the University of Western Australia states that ?aggressive behavior that is shown in