Today's generation is more violent than ever before. Children, as young as 8, are performing brutal acts of violence throughout the United States. Many people are lead to believe mass media, such as TV, video games and music, are the roots of these violent actions. Does mass media really influence people, especially children and teenagers? And if so, what forms of media cause these violent acts? These questions can be investigated through first hand and secondary accounts of school shootings by means of newspaper articles. Popular media such as lyrics from some of music's favorite artists and popular violent based movies will provide additional evidence to the provoking question of what has caused the disturbing amount of increased violence in today's society.
How could the media not impact our lives to a degree when the average American has seen 8,000 televised murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of elementary school (Sherrow 1).
English: Eminem performing at the DJ hero party on...
Coyote hiding among the Giant Ripples, West Bar of...
Coyote, Chicago, IllinoisChildren especially, watch twenty hours of TV a week; some forty hours or more. Many children have grown up to mimic and follow what they see on television as hardworking, busy parents often have less time to spend with their children and use the mass media as a "baby-sitter". Saturday morning cartoons are a ritual for many American children. What parents don't know is that cartoons are the most violent of programs on television (Newton 34). Popular characters such as the Coyote and Road Runner have been entertaining children for decades. The premise of the show is the Coyote's relentless hunt of the Road Runner, which usually ends with the Coyote being crushed or mutilated. Taking cartoons to another extreme was the show Beavis and Butthead. In 1993, a two-year-old died in a fire set by her five-year-old brother. Their mother said that...