Post #12: My Own Choice

In class, we talked about the possible harmful affects of violent media. The main concern seemed to be that exposure to certain violent media by young children would result in them emulating the aggressive behaviors that they see. I also got to experience this same type of argument in my social psychology class. I thought that I would like to discuss the social psychological perspective on this issue.

Current statistics on violent media shows that 58% of all television programs contain violence and of these, 73% of them do not contain any remorse or consequence for the violent act. Current research states that there when one partakes in viewing violence, violence will be primed in their minds. This means that they are more likely to think about aggressive behaviors but this does not mean that they will act out those feelings. Research also suggests that watching violence can cause short term effects, like increased arousal and anger. (We even learned that there are more domestic violence police calls during the Super Bowl than any other time of the year).

Social psychologist claim that aggression from violence can create long term effects in three ways. First, when violence is always being shown and primed in ones mind, it will be all that the person will be able to think about, regardless of the situation. Second, by observing and modeling the behaviors seen on TV, people learn when and how to be violent. Lastly, people can become decentralized to violence because of all the exposure of violent media.

Yet, some research says that not all violent media is detrimental for children. By letting a child play a violent video game could lead that child to express their aggressive thoughts through playing the game and not through doing. This is why it is better for people to express their inner aggression creatively because it will provide them with a safe option for letting out their aggressive tendencies.

So what can you do if your child is exposed to violent media (which is practically impossible not for them to have this exposure). The best way to go about the issue as a parent is to talk to your child about what is occurring. Let them know that there are consequences for those types of actions. Be open to questions. That is what social psychology preaches.