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This is for a project so please be mature, not that I'm saying you are not... I need a source other than Internet and books, and I decided to use internet forum as one of source. Thanks. Keep in mind that you do not have to use your real names or any contact info.

What do you guys think about the effects of TV violence on children?
What does TV violence matter?
How does it matter?
So what?
What should be done about this?

Television is regarded by all the members of family, from enfant to elders and I believe it should have programs suitable for everyone. Not all programs are enjoyable for every ages, but they should be "appropriate" for every ages.
Sure, if you don't have any children, it doesn't matter, you might think, but what about families who do have children?
Many children these days watch programs for teens, which includes violence. The violence level differ from threats, to mass murder. I believe the worst part is this, many children ACTUALLY believe that killing is cool. Few studens brought arms to school and shot a number of people.
I may not be a psycologist, but think about this. If it's possible and if you hear certain phrase over and over again 24/7 for about 3 months, no matter how stupid the phrase is, you WILL believe that phrase is true.
Same as watching TV. They brain wash you when you don't even notice it. I personally asked some kids I know if it's ok for them to watch violent TV show. The reply was same: "Don't worry, it doesn't effect me", but what if it does? Then it is nearly too late.
It's true that the TV violence effect some children more than others. Easily influenced children will become violent. To define it, not sensitive about watching others suffer and giving them threats. Some childrens are not sensitive, but everyone living in earth, will be AT least a little affected what we see. In this case, the violence. So if you think 'my children are ok to watch that', you are wrong. Everyone will be affected, including adults.

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I will be there...

Quote (Bismark87 @ 20th November 2003 20:33)

I personally asked some kids I know if it's ok for them to watch violent TV show. The reply was same: "Don't worry, it doesn't effect me", but what if it does?

If seeing someone's body being ripped apart by any method doesn't affect you, then TV violence already has.

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"I had to write four novels before they let me write comic books."
-Brad Meltzer

Quote (Bismark87 @ 20th November 2003 20:33)

Many children these days watch programs for teens, which includes violence. The violence level differ from threats, to mass murder. I believe the worst part is this, many children ACTUALLY believe that killing is cool. Few studens brought arms to school and shot a number of people.
I may not be a psycologist, but think about this. If it's possible and if you hear certain phrase over and over again 24/7 for about 3 months, no matter how stupid the phrase is, you WILL believe that phrase is true.
Same as watching TV. They brain wash you when you don't even notice it.

Well, this isn't Brave New World, but I'll agree that kids shouldn't be watching shows that are too violent. However, you can't just try to blame what kids do on something like TV violence. Is TV more violent than it was 20 years ago? Sure. Are kids more violent? Well, kids were still violent 20 years ago. The difference is how they outlet it. If a kid gets made fun of and bullied all the time at school 20 years ago, they go out to the school yard and have a fist fight. Now, the kid getting bullied just brings in a gun and starts shooting people. Now, you can say that this is a direct relation with the fact that the kid watches people doing this all the time on TV, and therefore determines that it's the right way to deal with their problems. But I don't see this as a direct correlation myself. It's just a simple factor to a much larger problem. You can't blame the increased excessive violence in children (by the way, violence and crime in general has been going down and down during the past decade for all other age groups) on one single thing. I see and watch violent shows and movies all the time, have since I was 13 or so. But I've never been in a fight in my life and while I may yell from time to time, I'm never physically agressive. I may let out some stress on a punching bag, I don't have any urge to go bust up my school or something. The kid has to have other problems and be messed up in one way or another to begin with. You can't just watch a violent show and want to go out and kill someone (Rod and Tod on the Simpsons).

I'd really recommend watching Bowling For Columbine. That'll really give a jump start to your project.

This post has been edited by Tidu-who on 21st November 2003 03:54

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Well, I'm sure this sentiment has been expressed by many in some form or another, but here's what I think the real problem is: parenting.

Look at all the "conveniences" that we have nowadays. All the stuff that parents can buy--high-tech toys, ready-made lunches, etc.--so that they don't have to spend time with their kids. It may not seem like much at first, just a few time-savers here and there, but those few seconds add up. My boyfriend and I have this little game we play where, if we're watching TV or if we're in the supermarket together, we look for products that are obviously manufactured with this intent in mind (my favorite one is those new "Uncrustables", which are essentially frozen pre-packaged peanut butter and jelly sandwiches), and we say, "If you buy this for your kids, you're a bad parent." Parking your kids in front of the TV while you go off and do your own thing is a prime example of this behavior.

Okay. Now, I'm not saying parents should keep an eye on their kids all the time. That would suck. But they should take an interest in their kids' lives, and pay attention to the warning signs when they start to show up. And if you let your children watch violent programs, then you should sit down with them and make DAMN SURE they understand that it's just a show, that it's not real, and that just because they see it on TV, that doesn't mean that it's okay. If you're not willing to put forth that effort, then you shouldn't be a parent in the first place.

Quote

Okay. Now, I'm not saying parents should keep an eye on their kids all the time. That would suck. But they should take an interest in their kids' lives, and pay attention to the warning signs when they start to show up. And if you let your children watch violent programs, then you should sit down with them and make DAMN SURE they understand that it's just a show, that it's not real, and that just because they see it on TV, that doesn't mean that it's okay. If you're not willing to put forth that effort, then you shouldn't be a parent in the first place.

You couldn't have said it better.

What do you guys think about the effects of TV violence on children?
Devastating so long as it isn't explained to children.

What does TV violence matter?
Much, if unexplained children might think this crap is available to immatate? I used to play around in the front yard as a power ranger. Doing this, the worst case scenario is the fact that we might get into a fight on the playground. However, guns and melee weapons are a different story. The last thing we need is a kid hacking up and kicking the crap out of another kid with a meat cleaver because it was on GTA:VC.

How does it matter?
I already explained it.

So what?
So, there could be dire consequenses as long as children aren't explained what's on TV and on the game systems, and aren't watched when they play. A child's actions are important, it shows what actions he will have growing up.

What should be done about this?
See above.


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At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid.
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)

I do'nt think anyone's mentioned this so far, so...

I think a lot more kids are able to distance real life from tv better then you think. A child who sees a gun on TV pointed at someone else may just watch more or less calmly, but if he saw someone point it to his dad, definitely wouldn't be that calm.

I can't think of anyone, when I was younger, who thought it was alright to shoot someone, or point a gun threateningly, or break into a house with a bat and kill an elderly senior citizen. There are just a few dumb children (who probably would have been violent anyway) who give a bad name to other children.

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I had an old signature. Now I've changed it.

Quote (Bismark87 @ 20th November 2003 20:33)

What do you guys think about the effects of TV violence on children?
What does TV violence matter?
How does it matter?
So what?
What should be done about this?

I think any images of violence have a negative effect on the people viewing them. I know I'm more desensitized to actual violence because of what I've seen in movies. I think seeing violence in entertainment media makes violence a little easier to accept. That being said, I think the best way to handle it is to make sure that everyone watching understands what the violence represents, how it's different from real violence, and what it means. Children shouldn't be watching violent programs without the supervision of their parents; that doesn't mean that the parents have to sit over them, but it does mean that their parents should be aware of what they're watching and make sure that it's age and ideologically appropriate for them.

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Veni, vidi, dormivi.

Quote (karasuman @ 21st November 2003 12:22)

I think any images of violence have a negative effect on the people viewing them. I know I'm more desensitized to actual violence because of what I've seen in movies. I think seeing violence in entertainment media makes violence a little easier to accept.

I love watching action movies with things blowing up, people getting shot up, and whatnot. It's good and entertaining. But if I saw something like that in real life, I would be scared shitless. Like Elena was saying, I think kids can distinguish this just as or almost as well as adults. I can watch Tony Soprano kill some guy as a contract of family loyalty and not feel the slightest resentment to him. However, if some guy killed a friend of mine in real life, I wouldn't care what the reason was, I would hate him to no end. TV Violence and Real Violence aren't even grouped into the same category for me. Well, maybe the broadest of the broad, being the equivalent to a Kingdom in that great animal classifier (Kingdom, Phylum, etc.)
Violence on TV is cool and entertaining (in a general sense). Violence in real life is scary.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"

Quote (Tidu-who @ 20th November 2003 22:46)

Is TV more violent than it was 20 years ago? Sure. Are kids more violent? Well, kids were still violent 20 years ago. The difference is how they outlet it. If a kid gets made fun of and bullied all the time at school 20 years ago, they go out to the school yard and have a fist fight.

Note that at that time, one of the biggest problems in school was "chewing a gum in campus" which is hardly a problem today.

Quote

I think a lot more kids are able to distance real life from tv better then you think. A child who sees a gun on TV pointed at someone else may just watch more or less calmly, but if he saw someone point it to his dad, definitely wouldn't be that calm.

It's true that, but that problem is that it's not same for everyone. And even for a strong-minded children, if they watch too much violent TV shows from infant, those children would have no common sense.

PS: Thanks for helping out guys!

edit: R51, please don't erase this topic, I need to the link still. I'll report when i'm done with this...

This post has been edited by Bismark87 on 23rd November 2003 22:43

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I will be there...

1- What do you guys think about the effects of TV violence on children?
2- What does TV violence matter?
3- How does it matter?
4- So what?
5- What should be done about this?

1- Children are impressionable, and when they arent taught differently, what they see is what they think is right. Psychological morals usually begin to manifest themselves around the ages of 6-8. If someone acts on something they were exposed to through the media past that age, that often points at something within the persons psyche itself, and the media shouldn't be blamed.
2- My answer to question #1 should field this one nicely.
3- It shouldn't have to matter. People should teach their kids what is right and what is wrong and to differentiate between reality and television.
4- Buttons. Shirts.
5- Parents have to put some sense into their kids. Whether that means sitting them down and giving them a talk or just going upside their heads, something needs to be done. But people are too scared to even do that anymore, so don't complain when your macauley culkin-lookalike kid shoots up the school because you didn't discipline them because its "wrong".

This post has been edited by therandyrhoads on 24th November 2003 04:32

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You watch the world exploding every single night
Dancing in the sun, a newborn in the light
Say goodbye to gravity and say goodbye to death
Hello to eternity and live for every breath

Your time will come...

I do not mean to offend anyone here in case my answers come off as rude / harsh

That being said...

What do you guys think about the effects of TV violence on children?

I think that realistically there is little (if any) effect as far as children becoming violent. As a child I always played things with my friends where we acted like Ninja Turtles or whatever. However, none of us ever lashed out at one another. In America we love to blame others for our own failures, and why not? It is always easier to assume someone else is at fault if our kid does something bad (ie: Marilyn Manson being blamed for causing Columbine). I think anytime parents blaming the media is just a cop out for when parents didnt do their jobs. My parents were not very strict at all, but they even told me that what I saw on TV was not real.

What does TV violence matter?

[sarcasm]Well, that depends what channel you watch. If you watch FOX and you see someone get shot it is definitely terrible and will probably ruin your childs life. However, if you turn on CNN and you see the bloody mangled corpse of a terrorist its completely fine.[/sarcasm] This bothers me the most. Fictional violence which is created for entertainment is deemed evil, yet the real violence (which I personally find to be uncomparably worse) is considered alright. I dont understand I guess...

How does it matter?

The fictional violence doesnt. The real violence on TV doesnt either (but Id say its much more likely to). At the end of the day, your upbringing has a lot to do with it. People are (to an extent, all cases vary) products of their environment. Now, if a child is raised watching violent shows, but taught otherwise good things at home, I would not worry. But if the child is raised in a household where there is domestic abuse and violent situations on a daily basis, then that child is taught bad things. A good example: when I was a kid I got spanked when I was "naughty". One day I hit my sister when she got angry at me. When my parents got mad, I said they taught me that hitting was an acceptable response to anger. I was never spanked again after that. It all comes back to how you were raised.

So what?

I think the whole violence in the media thing is completely blown out of proportion. Plain and simple. Its all an excuse. Watch Bowling For Columbine.

What should be done about this?

Nothing can be done in reality. People are still going to be violent to one another, thats just the way this world works. Hopefully one day though well stop using the media as a scapegoat so we can feel better about ourselves.


Seriously though, watch Bowling For Columbine. I think it could really help you out.

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I reject your reality and substitute my own...

Quote (Syndarr @ 21st November 2003 01:34)

Okay. Now, I'm not saying parents should keep an eye on their kids all the time. That would suck. But they should take an interest in their kids' lives, and pay attention to the warning signs when they start to show up. And if you let your children watch violent programs, then you should sit down with them and make DAMN SURE they understand that it's just a show, that it's not real, and that just because they see it on TV, that doesn't mean that it's okay. If you're not willing to put forth that effort, then you shouldn't be a parent in the first place.

And even more importantly...DON'T LET YOUR KIDS HAVE ACCESS TO GUNS!
As a very extreme gun control advocate this pisses me off the most. These kids could not come into school and start shooting if they weren't able to get their parents guns.

I personally do believe T.V. desensitizes kids to violence. And on a smaller scale, it does cause it, a little. I've worked with kids my entire life, and have tended to countless injuries caused by children imitating Power Rangers, Pokemon, and so on (depending on the time period.) However I don't believe it goes beyond that. Kids are intelligent enough to pick up on the difference between real violence and cartoon violence. And once they start watching the more mature shows, they can tell what is o.k. to do and what isn't. In more cases the causes of violence fall directly on the parents who don't take enough of an interest in their children's lives.

As for what should be done about it...I'm not sure. I was not allowed to play with guns or watch violent programming as a child...and now I'm a pacifist. I don't know if this is a direct result of how I was raised, but I would consider the same route for my future children.

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Hip-Hop QOTW:

"Yeah, where I'ma start it at, look I'ma part of that
Downtown Philly where it's realer than a heart attack
It wasn't really that ill until the start of crack
Now it's a body caught every night on the Almanac"

"Game Theory"
The Roots

Quote (Matt Himself @ 24th November 2003 01:55)

In America we love to blame others for our own failures, and why not? It is always easier to assume someone else is at fault if our kid does something bad (ie: Marilyn Manson being blamed for causing Columbine).

this is VERY true, people cant accept that they might be at fault for what happens, so they dump it on the media because its easier to pin it on something huge like that and everyone follows the idea like sheep to slaughter. it makes us feel good, as americans.

as for Gears' gun control issue, i can say this:

i am for gun control, but i am against the total elimination of gun ownership. i like to go out and shoot targets at the range i work at, and i hunt when the season is in and the town invites hunters to the woods, but i do realize safety is the most important issue when handling a firearm. i hope to be able to take my own child out to share in these things if he or she would like to, but nobody should be allowed to handle a gun if they arent taught gun safety very well. if you keep a firearm in your house (im mainly talking about pistols here), it should be kept in a VERY secure spot. for example, my girlfriends father keeps a trigger lock his police pistol, puts the gun in a safe, and puts THAT in a lockbox. i keep my shotgun completely taken apart at all times, and i have a trigger lock on it just for good measure. i dont keep shells in the house, and when i do, i lock those up too. parents need to think about their childrens safety. and stick to those measures. a gun in the house is 58% more likely to shoot a family member than an intruder, and this is very often because a child finds it and shoots a sibling because they saw it on tv.

if parents cant/wont teach their kids about the safety methods of having such a dangerous object around, they shouldnt have a gun in the house. its all part of responsibility, parents have to TALK to their kids for hours about this sort of thing. if a kid goes around thinking a little flag that says "bang" is gonna pop out of the gun when they aim it at their sister and pull the trigger, they obviously weren't taught what would really happen. education and safety start in the home, and i state yet again, children need to be taught what is real and what isnt.

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You watch the world exploding every single night
Dancing in the sun, a newborn in the light
Say goodbye to gravity and say goodbye to death
Hello to eternity and live for every breath

Your time will come...

btw, on bibliography section, it ask for author. Do i put my name, or Josh's? O.o


edit: And if I want to have direct link to this page, what do do i put?
I put http://www.cavesofnarshe.com/forums/ipb/in...?showtopic=2208 as shown on the top, but it said "page not found" O.o

This post has been edited by Bismark87 on 3rd December 2003 06:09

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I will be there...

Quote (Gears @ 24th November 2003 15:36)

I personally do believe T.V. desensitizes kids to violence. And on a smaller scale, it does cause it, a little. I've worked with kids my entire life, and have tended to countless injuries caused by children imitating Power Rangers, Pokemon, and so on (depending on the time period.) However I don't believe it goes beyond that. Kids are intelligent enough to pick up on the difference between real violence and cartoon violence. And once they start watching the more mature shows, they can tell what is o.k. to do and what isn't. In more cases the causes of violence fall directly on the parents who don't take enough of an interest in their children's lives.

but it is ridiculous to be so quick to term that as "violence," wouldn't you agree? after all, kids have to grow up -- and if pokemon and power rangers weren't around, playing knight and rebellious townfolk WOULD be. scratches, bruises, cuts -- these are all fundamental ingredients to the recipe of growing up. it's all part or the simple rite of passage that almost all human children go through -- and to take that away from them would net us one big generation of american sissies who are scared to take a punch. after all, bad things ARE going to happen -- a little desensitisation is almost a must for social prosperity.

otherwise, some children are, in fact, inherently more violent than others (just as some are inherently more intelligent, more outspoken, or more obese). to blame the blossoming of these tendancies into actions is simply to look for and use the nearest scapegoat. the real culprits are, like you said, the parents (obviously, parents have the responsibility of preventing very young children from watching age-inappropriate content, making sure they know the distinction between reality and art, and of course as you said keeping guns from their children) -- but not only the parents, but society in general as well for not properly noticing and dealing with these violent tendancies. i really and truly believe those kids were driven to what they did more by other kids' hateful remarks than anything else -- the barbs of hurtful words can cut deeper than the sharpest blade, for no blade can pierce to the soul. although i am generally pretty conservative, i am against any non-public censorship of lyrics, video images, or games -- it's truly ridiculous to censor something like that because society is so cruel, unforgiving, and unperceptive that it cannot deal with very important everyday issues such as the sentiments of a child.

i saw radio opening weekend. i cried four times throughout the movie -- i haven't cried in about three or four years, except rare times at church. that movie was about what i think is one thing that society has forgotten -- saving the individual at the expense of a littel more work from society in general. and that is a very important thing.

almost as important as nmr and group theory.

I've written literally dozens of essays on this for various classes. Also, I work at a gamestop. I'm disgusted by how many parent come into the store with their kid, watch as the kid picks out a title called "Grand Theft Auto" bring it to the counter, I tell them that the game is rated M for graphic violence, sexual themes, and adult language, and they reply tell me just to ring it up, and then hand it to their kid on the way out. So many parent's don't care what their kid does as long as it doesn't bother them these days, and I think thats most of the problem. Parents need to set examples and guidlines for their kids at early ages, not sit them in front of M rated games so they can get on with whatsever they'd rather be doing.

It's most definately not the fault of the games, they have the warnings for a reason. Some M rated games even have on screen warnings while the game loads in case the one on the box wasn't enough. Yet all too often the games played by the wrong audience. Usually I think more than the correct one.

and let me ask you this, how much different effects do you there are on babies/toddlers, youth, and then adults?
(What PrinniesDood said was a good point how it affected adults )

Personally, i believe it it affects everyone, at least a little. However, most adults would be less affected by violence.

I may not be a scientist, but I believe the TV violence is affecting teens as well.
As for law, a violent TV show is usually rated for teens, which means people think it's ok for teens to watch violence. I cannot change the law by myself, but I can tell people what I think. Teenagers, as they grow to be adults, they have a lot on their minds. I guess teenager is the period when most people learn the most stuff in their life (during high school and college period). If we are exposed to violence during the youth period, when we remember the most stuff. My opinion is that violence should not be one of the memories easily remembered in anyone's life.
During Interview in, Dec, 03, 2003, Corey Ball, said, "In my opinion violence on T.V. is cool ... If people are stupid enough to do stuff like trying to shot someone, then they shouldn't watch T.V" but who's gonna stop them? It's impossible to figure out who should watch violent TV shows and who shouldn't. Therefore, there should not be any violence in public Television media.

This post has been edited by Bismark87 on 8th December 2003 00:14

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I will be there...

Quote (Bismark87 @ 7th December 2003 18:29)

It's impossible to figure out who should watch violent TV shows and who shouldn't. Therefore, there should not be any violence in public Television media.

Which leads right back to the point that we'd be left with a bunch of uneducated teenagers walking around until one day they finally DO see violence. What happens then? Uneducation leads to monkey see, monkey do. So what if you tell them "violence is wrong" if they don't even know what the exact definition of violence is. Kids have to be taught right from wrong which all falls right back onto the parents. You can't censor the world and think that will end the problem. I can't stand parents that won't let blame ever fall on they're kids. They don't do their homework, but it's the teacher's fault for not teaching them right. They get caught drinking, but it was the other "bad" kids that were influencing and making them do it. Jeez. Likewise, kids don't go out and shoot up their school because "the tv shows" must've influenced them to do it. It's because the parents never distinguished the difference and/or the real life consequences.

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The clouds ran away, opened up the sky
And one by one I watched every constellation die
And there I was frozen, standing in my backyard
Face to face, eye to eye, staring at the last star
I should've known, walked all the way home
To find that she wasn't here, I'm still all alone

-Atmosphere "Always Coming Back Home to You"