I have watched news and realized that every time there is a crime, the news media are very glad to report it. Very few good incidences are ever reported. Whenever there is a crime, the media always goes to the relatives and friends of the victims to seek their opinions. It has been established that in most cases, the relatives and friends of the victims would wonder why someone would commit such a crime. In addition, they blame it on TV violence. A case in point is an incident that occurred in Washington where a father shot his five children and then killed himself. Those interviewed were asking why he had to do it. It is quite intriguing to note that the night news coverage carries most of the violent scenes; a time when everyone is watching. Disturbing pictures of crime scenes dominate the broadcast during this time. News producers often say that good news does not sell. On the contrary, they say that violence and death news usually keep the viewers on their toes.
According to the American Psychological Association, the average American child watches 8000 murders being televised and 100,000 acts of violence before his/her completion of elementary school. These numbers are doubled by the time they reach eighteen. Many studies have proven that television violence increases social violence. A lot of movies often portray criminals and bad people doing things that go against the laws and morals of a good society. For instance, scenes that were captured during the actual fighting of the Mexican revolution in 1913 are usually shown on films which are being advertised as 'children special'. These scenes show men getting killed in battles and others being slaughtered by revolutionaries.
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This systematically makes children to view violence as a normal activity. Violence is not only found in movies and television but also in music videos, cartoons and video games. A good example of a violent game is 'grand Theft Auto'. This game is programmed so that players can hit prostitutes with baseball bats until they die, after having sex with them. Music and their videos are also headed towards violence. For instance, the song titled 'Kim' by Eminem has got violent lyrics which promote hatred against women. The song illustrates how he murders his wife. Another song titled 'Kill you' tells of how he plans to rape and murder his mother.Nowadays, all of these media show and portray extreme and unnecessary violence. We often see people committing murders, robberies and kidnappings in many movies. Consequently, this has had a very big impact on children. They often want to imitate what they see on the TV. As such, there have been a lot of murders which have resulted as a direct consequence of TV programs or movies. The repeated exposure to media violence has actually led to the increase in aggression and desensitization in our society.Many parents attend to their daily chores outdoors, thus leaving their children alone at home and this has made the TV to be like a third parent to these children. History depicts that the ancient Romans were introduced to spectator sports that were lethal. Later on, Saint Augustine complained that his people had become addicted to the gladiator games. It is therefore noteworthy that violence has always been part of the entertainment industry throughout history. A study that was done by Paquette revealed there has been an alarming increase in psychological violence within the recent past.
Studies have also shown that citizens of other nations are being influenced by American programs. For instance, nearly a third of TV violence in Canada originates from the United States. It is imperative to note that media violence has become more sadistic and graphic. For instance, it is a common scene nowadays to see pictures of the dead being surrounded by blood and slow-motion bullets hitting peoples' chests. Many viewers also watch the World Wrestling Entertainment where wrestlers club each other. Children usually form a large number of the audience. Nowadays, women wrestlers are also shown tearing out each other and trying to rip off their clothing. The men wrestlers on the hand look very mean and merciless.Most of today's media often depict that violence is a means of solving problems. For instance, in most movies, heroes and villains usually resort to violence. Studies show that most of the violence in the TV, movies and music videos are done by 'good guys'. This on the other hand depicts that violence is justifiable and inevitable. It seems like it is the only way to solve problems. Parents usually try in vain to protect their children from this menace. However, violence is nearly everywhere; on all major networks and cable stations. It even gets worse when most of the kids have the TVs and game equipment at the comfort of their bedrooms.