The media directly contributes to making more violent than another?

Essay by jeffreytsaiUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, October 2003

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In reality, for many individuals presently characterized by a background of violent behavior, it is probable that they have encountered or witnessed violence on a daily basis through the media, such as television, radio, movies, and print sources. This activates a predisposition towards violence, encouraging people to act hostile towards others. For instance, in many peoples' living rooms sits a source of violence that often goes unchecked, the television. Children who view it are often enchanted by its realistic world of violent scenes without devastating consequences. Many researches have shown that children are mesmerized by this big glowing box and the actions that take place within it.

Not only does media violence affect children, but it can also affect their adulthood. Some psychiatrists and psychologists are convinced that continued exposure to such violence might unnaturally speed up and force the children into premature maturity. As children mature into adults, they can become bewildered and have a greater distrust toward others, a premature entry to adult problems, and even an unwillingness to become adults.

It is viable that, through either visual or auditory observation, innocent children can be directly influenced by the output of the media.

Observational learning may account for most human learning processes. Observational learning includes imitating parents and peers' behavior and speech; it is unlike classroom learning, which includes getting information from books and other media in a controlled environment. Therefore, it is apparent that, from childhood, people knowingly or unknowingly acknowledge absorbing external messages. Children need to be taught how to interpret this information through an instructor's modeling of this behavior in order to for them to correctly and rationally understand the various messages received from media. For example, if they perceive any negative behavior and think it is the way other people do, the elder...