Violence in the Media Cannot Be Blamed for Aggression in Children

History of Media Violence as Center Blame for Negative Behavior in Children and Tragedies

Ever since the creation of television, games and other such popular media, there has been a lot of speculation on how these forms of media are affecting the children and adolescents of our society. The national institute of mental health (NIMH) claims that children may become less sensitive to pain, more fearful of the world and more likely to behave in aggressive ways towards others. There has a been a lot of research done (such as those by the NIMH) that show a positive correlation between more exposure to public media and being more aggressive. Yet, it is very unlikely that violence in social media is the direct or main cause of acts of violence in reality. 

Many adults and parents find it easy to place the blame on media. Social Psychologists find that it is easier to take credit for our successes and avoiding blame for our failures. In fact, adults constantly put blame on the media when any kind of tragedy strikes. According to social psychologists, the mistake the public makes when blaming the media is that we believe the media is the root cause and the only cause. We don’t see it as just one aspect out of the scheme of things. They do not consider their own parenting skills or how they have raised their children. To a degree, psychologist find that blaming our loss to a single source for the source of tragedy can most likely make us feel even worse.  

Watching violent media is a choice based on personality

Published in his book Inside the Criminal Mind, Dr. Stanton Samenow says, “People who are fascinated by violence and other crimes gravitate towards particular types of programs and games. Their absorption with violence reflects their personality.” The media therefore is not the direct source of blame for aggression in people and crime rates whereas those people who choose to watch these violent shows are in fact aggressive by nature or by nurture.

Jennelle Clark, a graduate student studying social psychology and stratification at the University of Maryland gives a similar input:  

Dr. Samenow also claims that there is a thing called the “copycat” crime, this is the sort of crime that the public believes is why media is to blame. A copycat crime involves a person who watches a crime enacted on television and tries to execute the same thing in real life (such as school shootings, forms of torture…etc.) His decision to do so reflects his personality and how he is fascinated by these crimes to replicate them. It is very important to keep in mind that for every person who might fantasize about reproducing these crimes there are millions of people who watch the same thing and choose to reject it, find it repulsive and would never enact on it. This proves again how crime is not created solely based on what the media has to but through how each person decides to react to it and take away from it.

In a study done by the University of Montreal it says that all babies are naturally born with violent tendencies, which most kids learn to control as they grow older through the environment and nurture. Those who don’t learn or can’t learn to control the violence are the ones who become violent. Reasons for not being able to learn can be a whole range of things from a pregnant woman’s smoking and drinking and it’s impact on the fetus to children who get frustrated easily and erupt violently as a result. 

In the 2008 book Beyond Common Sense: Psychological Science in the Courtroom, the article “Media Violence, Aggression and Public Policy,” shows an extensive method of researching on the cause and effects of public media on aggression in children. Findings show that though media violence does provide sound scientific context for thinking about individual cases, it is not the same as proving that that in any specific case, media and violence caused the violent action.

Violence stems from more than media watching

With the growth in social media there is a correlation with rates in crime as well. Though these two factors shows a positive correlation, it cannot be assumed that it this correlation is causation. A study from the University or Toronto claims that rapid urban growth can contribute to violence. As more and more people develop in a single area, rates of violence tend to increase.

Children can show violence at a very young age and the parents and adults who witness the behavior many times believe that the child will “grow out of it” or that is “just a phase they’re going through.” According to the American Academy of Child& Adolescent Psychiatry violence in children has a lot of causes and on that list, exposure to violent media was only one out of ten factors. The other factors include being victim of physical and/or sexual abuse, exposure to violence in the home and/or community, genetics, use of drugs and alcohol, firearms in home, divorce…etc. There is a whole whirlwind of factors that could induce someone to violent behavior. There are also many combinations and intermingling of factors that could produce certain behaviors as well.

Many people are unaware of these other factors and easily believe that the media has a very strong hold on violence and acts of violence from a child or adolescent. Here, in my audio clip I interviewed a random University student who gave her take on what she thinks of violence and media.

listen to ‘Teen violence and media’ on Audioboo