Televised Violence is Here to Stay

Essay by Anonymous UserHigh School, 10th gradeA+, November 1996

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Televised Violence is Here to Stay

One of the most heated issues debated, ever since the invention of the television, is the effects of media violence on society. Many try to wipe it out, but will undoubtedly fail. It has great educational and entertainment value. There have even been studies showing that viewing television violence will actually relieve stress. For these reasons, televised violence, including fights, with or without weapons, resulting in bloodshed, will never diminish.

Many parents try to shelter their kids from the violence portrayed on television. They only look at the negative aspect because the parents complain by saying the violence only teaches their children how to kill and to get away with it (Leonard 92).

Television is the most credible and believable source of information on the reality of the world. It teaches that the world is a violent and untrustworthy place (Bennett 168). It reports on how the world really works.

Televised violence cultivates dominant assumptions about how conflict and power work in the world.

Violence is an important fact of life (Howitt 17). It is very much part of the human condition. The media cannot pretend that violence does not exist.

Televised violence orients people to their environment. It helps them understand their world. It serves as a mirror in which people examine themselves, their institutions, and their values (Comstock 357).

The exposure of children to televised violence is functional to the extent that it prepares them to cope with reality. Conflict is important for children to grow up with. It is part of their life. Kids should not be lead to think that nothing is going to happen to them (Comstock 354). Exposure to violence in childhood is not a bad idea. Ghetto children see violence unknown to other children. They have to...