Media Violence

Media violence is an aggressive behaviour, such as inappropriate language and negative factors that is shown on media. Media violence has always been an emotional issue that is closely related to the peace and tranquillity of society. This essay will argue that the exposure to violence in television, films, and computer games encourages aggressive behaviour in children and young adults. In addition, it will describe some current solutions provided by governments to protect children from media violence and I it will provide recommendations for governments and parents.

Media violence is one of the causes leading to aggressive behaviour in children and young adults. Huesmann and Moise (1996) stated that in the last 20 years more than 50 field studies have shown that children who are exposed to more media violence "behave more aggressively" and could turn to violence to solve problems. Moreover, the development of technology has easily facilitated children's access to violence through playing video games and watching violent television programs. Furthermore, media violence could have more impact in situations such as empty homes or insufficient parent supervision. According to The Lancet (1994) and Simmons (1999), American children who spend 2-4 hours per day watching television witness 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence before the age of 11.

It is claimed that the major causes of violence are poverty, ethnic conflict, a broken family home, and drug abuse. In addition, aggressive behaviour is learned early in life and depends on many interacting factors, such as family, educational, and other environmental influences (Black & Newman 1995). Freedman (1996) minimised the role of media violence by arguing that the correlation between children who witness more violence on television and who are also more aggressive is small, only 1% to 10%.

One of the significant ways that children and young adults are affected negatively by media violence is the imitation. Imitation is an issue because children who are younger than 11 years cannot distinguish between reality and fiction (Huesman & Moise 1996). Huesman and Moise (1996) also claimed that the imitation could lead to aggression because children and young adults learn to imitate the actions of their parent(s), other children, and media heroes. In addition, children and young adults imitate the violent actions of a television hero, thinking that is the best method for solving problems. For example, children become more aggressive after watching violent programs and they may hit, scream at, or threaten other children or destroy toys.

Governments and parents have a major responsibility to protect children from media violence. While many countries have adopted the media rating system as a solution, it is ineffective because the raters are usually anonymous, benefit from the media production industry and could unqualified to judge content. Limiting