Violence in the media make the world seem more dangerous than it actually is.

The rise of social media and access to the internet causes violence to be more accessible. Instead of looking at violent content as being a factor of creating harmful behavior, it should be looked at with a proactive intention. We can redefine what it means to have violent content in our media stream. For example, psychologist L. R. Huesmann was able to “change children’s attitudes toward media violence” and reduce their aggression at a young age. This results in children growing up understanding how violence affects other people as well as themselves. Many articles today talk about how violent content creates violent behavior, but it is up to the consumer to redirect the conversation in a positive way in order to prevent bad habits from forming.

It’s common to see graphic images in our day to day lives. From horror movie trailers to unsolicited images on twitter, we are always exposed to violent content. Children’s videos are even being infiltrated with malicious content without supervision. Kids get exposed to extreme images and videos without warning. A natural human tendency is to recreate the actions they see. A child being exposed to this type of media without any warning or knowledge is prone to replicating that behavior.

According to an article by Caroline Fitzpatrick, violent imagery shapes a kid’s mindset and behavior. With the accessibility to violent video games that condone assault, murder, and other horrible acts, children perceive that as normal. This type of content is also targeted at children nowadays. Over 20 acts of violence play during Saturday morning cartoons (Media Education Foundation, 2005). Fitzpatrick mentions that in a study done with over 1,800 students, exposure to violent media, in the long run, results in antisocial behavior, academic decline, and aggression. These behavioral patterns show up in different ways where kids don’t pay attention in class or lie to their peers. Additionally, constant reminders of violence in the media create a false idea that our society more dangerous than it is in reality. We are faced with the Cycle of Violence (Childhood Exposure to Violence, 2016). This cycle perpetuates the act of violence within our society. Studies have shown that kids replicate what they see, and those radical behaviors of delinquency and aggression carry on into adulthood and further generations. The most important aspect of violence in the media is the effect it has on young people. The cycle of violence, as well as a kid’s augmented perception of the world, is a direct consequence of unregulated circulation of violent content in the media.

Since the media is extremely relevant in our everyday lives, I think that this topic has to be explored. Humans consume media in every way shape or form at all times of their life. Whether it is through a card someone has given you or the news channel in the background, the content we perceive is imperative to the way we live our lives. Violent content, in general, has been looked down upon by parents and others who worry people will become harmful to society. In recent days, parents are concerned mainly about their kids recreating the violent habits that they can see in the media they consume. For example, a teenage girl stabbed their peer as a way to impress Slender Man, a fictional horror character. The game was violent enough that a girl went out of her way to please the villain by stabbing another person. This is a perfect example of how people today can become obsessed with violent media. Patterns and events like this are what is scaring citizens today. We can look at this type of media and connect it with the different types of behavior people exhibit. It’s relevant to today’s discussions because violent content can be a factor of harm done.

Although this is a valid concern, violent content is a source of catharsis, or purging one’s emotions, for many folks. Aristotle’s theory of catharsis comes from Ancient Greek times, explaining the human fascination with violent content. Back then, violence was a staple for human life. Ancient Romans would watch gladiators fight each other, animals, or even criminals. Watching this violence indicates how “emotional discharge can be cathartic, reducing tensions and reducing displaced expression of the emotion” (Feshbach 99).

Currently, violent content can come in the form of movies and television. Popular Netflix content like Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes or Narcos exhibit extreme violent behavior and actions. In the case of these tapes, people who are involved in the real-life aftermath believe it’s extremely weird to be romanticizing the man. A journalist who witnessed killer’s execution stated that they thought it was disrespectful as well as sick to be creating a stigma around a horrible man such as Ted Bundy. There is a disconnect between the audience who is viewing these events from afar and people who have been faced with the situation very closely. The accessibility and abundance of violent media in our society can be alarming, but it is all up to the consumer with what they choose to do with it.

Here is where a dilemma occurs. The solution to the problem of unregulated violence in our media affecting our children is not all that simple. The most popular solution among parents is to get rid of violent content completely and shelter their kids. Both sides of this debate are both extremes of the problem. I believe that finding a middle ground of this issue would be the most effective for our kids. We shouldn’t completely ban violent media, but examine it from a different perspective with the correct context.

In an article written by Christina Lyons, the effects of violent media were looked at in depth. The first big concept that stood out to me when reading the article was that violent media is correlated with actual violence in the real world. It would make sense that these two are connected, but it doesn’t necessarily prove that violent media is the main factor in real outward violence. It was crucial to state that anything in psychology cannot be necessarily proven, because the mind and psychology are more or less subjective. However, this doesn’t omit that these studies have collected evidence that can link violent media to people actually committing violent actions. This part of the article supports my opinion of having violent content as an option. As stated before, violent content can be used for educational purposes while being an example of what not to do. For example, violent content is already used in schools when talking about historical events. Violence runs in our country’s roots, but looking back on it and viewing it from a different perspective can open the minds of students as well as other young people. Putting on a different lens when reacting to violent content is crucial for learning about causes, effects, and consequences.

There is a huge difference when it comes to viewing violence with an educational lens as opposed to an entertainment lens. Exposing kids to media violence in an educational setting would add context to the harmful image. The kids would know the “why?” behind it. In addition, viewing media violence with the intention of it being entertainment can shift the intention. Media violence as entertainment, for example, video games, would be universally seen as over exaggerated. As a result, kids would know that entertainment media violence is not realistic and would not try to recreate that.

One might argue that all of the media violence should be filtered out of our society. The main problem with this argument is that realistically, it’s not possible. Many parents go out of their way to ban rated R video games or movies from their homes. Violence is a large part of our society whether we like it or not. Since it’s there, might as well utilize it for our own benefit. Showing violence in the media can be harmful to certain demographics, but it’s also a good way to educate the youth on how to effectively change our world. Kids shouldn’t be exposed to excessive violence, nor a lack thereof either. Violence in the media should be part of our conversations with kids so they have a better understanding of the world they live in. Also, kids can learn from these tragedies and act better when they are older. This all comes down to exposing media violence in a safe and educational way, not just showing numerous clips of people getting killed or hurt.

A person can moderate their social media usage as well as the people or pages they’re following. In an article by the Huffington Post, one of the ways to handle violence in the media is to turn off social media. This can be a way to moderate usage because the person is able to desaturate themselves from all the different things we see in the media. Turning off social media is the number one tip and most crucial step in dealing with violent content. The person can disconnect and reset by turning off social media. Logging off of Instagram, Twitter, or even Facebook can make a huge impact on how someone views media. Not only are they taking a break from the constant flow of images and content, but the individual is also able to rethink their views on what’s happening. In terms of violent content, taking a break is a key factor in starting to understand what the events are. Some people are able to handle the exposure to violent content while others are not. Taking a break is an opportunity to prioritize as well as focus one’s energy into something more positive.

It seems hard to turn off social media altogether since it’s such a huge part in our daily lives. People can argue that social media is the most reliable tool for monitoring violence in the world. However, taking a break can be a good thing. Consumers must understand why it’s important to take a break from social media in order for it to be beneficial. Even though we do get our dose of world news from Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, too much of it can be a problem. We should encourage people to have a social media detox just to reset their mindsets and worldviews.

Another powerful and useful tool is to redirect. A large number of violent content can be redirected into something educational. Rather than perpetuating violence, it’s important to take that information and redirect it into the community in a positive way. In “The real roots of youth violence,” a Ted Talk presented by Craig Pinkney, he talks about how it’s important to take one’s knowledge and implement it into the community to create a positive impact. We can use that information to educate the youth on the causes and consequences of violence to prevent more violence from happening. To solve the problem of violent content in the media, I believe it’s important to use the information given in a positive and effective way. The idea of redirecting this information in a better way can expose the youth slowly while not impacting them as negatively as face value violent content would be. Educating the youth on this topic can help prevent more violence from happening. In addition to that, kids can learn from these events and have a better sense of how the world actually is. The youth would be able to know how to handle violent content or even how to react in a situation where they are faced with violence.

By educating the youth on violence with the help of redirecting violent content in the media, we can make our community a safer place. In a video interview on The Morning Blend, psychologist Melissa Westendorf brings up the different factors of aggression, with violent media being one of them. The other known factors are peer delinquency, peer victimization, gender, neighborhood crime, and abusive parenting. She explains that the negative and violent content that kids consume is correlated to a higher risk of aggression in a person. In addition to the violent media, the psychologist includes other factors such as neighborhood crime, a kid’s peers, and a child’s home situation. Although the video is not long, Melissa Westendorf briefly addresses the results of the study done to find factors of aggression. Her study was conducted with other psychologists to find the cause or root of aggression in kids.

Instead of hiding violence from kids or others in the community, parents, as well as other community members, can deconstruct the stigma against violent media. Having it as an option is significant to this solution because some may want to use violent content as a means of educating the youth on these events. The importance of having this available and being able to use it as a resource is based around exposing kids to violence in a safe and educational way. In turn, these kids can grow up knowing how to interact with others, how to handle their environment, and teach their own kids on how violence can impact the community. Educating the youth on this topic can help prevent more violence from happening. In addition to that, kids can learn from these events and have a better sense of how the world actually is. The youth would be able to know how to handle violent content or even how to react in a situation where they are faced with violence. The line between reality and fiction is defined by educators, leaving space for kids to understand on-screen violence. I think that people should care about this because the way media shapes our community is imperative to our thinking. Spinning violent media to be educational is a way to better our society and create a safe space for everyone.

Works Cited

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Eltagouri, Marwa. “A Teen Stabbed Her Friend to Impress ‘Slender Man’ — and Will Spend 40

Years in a Mental Hospital.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 2 Feb. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/true-crime/wp/2018/02/01/a-teen-stabbed-her-friend-to-impress-slender-man-and-will-spend-40-years-in-a-mental-hospital/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a0868552d2ac.

Feshbach, Seymour. “The Catharsis Hypothesis, Aggressive Drive, and the Reduction of

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Fitzpatrick, Caroline, and Concordia. “Watching Violence on Screens Makes Children More

Emotionally Distressed.” The Conversation, 29 Apr. 2019, http://theconversation.com/watching-violence-on-screens-makes-children-more-emotionally-distressed-106757

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McDermott, Maeve. “Netflix Sends a Message to Viewers: Stop Lusting after Ted Bundy.” USA

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TMJ4, TODAY’S. “How Violent Media Affects Young People.” YouTube, YouTube, 10 Jan. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1sBNWiWlm8.

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