The Effect of Electronic Media on Child and Adolescent Violence, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Violent acts have been played out in a variety of children’s media for decades. Comic books published in the 1930s depicted heroes like Superman fending off violent attacks from villains intent on destroying humanity. Early television cartoons saw Popeye beating Brutus to a pulp in order to win the affections of Olive Oil and Fred smashing Barney over the head with a wooden club to make him tow the line.

Today, however, the dynamics of violence in the media has changed dramatically. Children in primary school see violence every day when they access school computers; the Internet has brought violent activity into hundreds of millions of homes with the click of a mouse; video games allow young people to actually participate in violent acts within the confines of their bedrooms often without the knowledge of their parents; and, adolescents tune into violence portrayed on their ipods, iphones and a host of other gadgets.

One of the major societal problems of the 21^st Century is that exposure to violence in individuals under the age of eighteen is pervasive. Those who dismiss the effects of this continuous exposure to violence contend that it has no long term effects.

This proposal intends to argue that repeated, long-term exposure to violent acts portrayed in media such as videos, video games and music have a measurable, negative impact on young people under the age of eighteen. Moreover, the paper posits that these negative effects translate into violent behaviors during the adult years. This study proposes to test the following hypothesis:

H₁: There is a positive correlation between prolonged exposure to violence seen through electronic media and adolescent violent behavior.

The growing body of literature on this topic is used as evidence to support the hypothesis. The paper concludes with a proposed research design and analytical methodology in an attempt to determine if a positive correlation exists between violence portrayed on videos, video games and other forms of electronic media and violent behavior exhibited by young children and adolescents.

Review of the Literature

Research on the long-term effects of exposure to violent acts during childhood can be categorized into two broad areas;

• Studies that assess the factors that impact cognitive development in children.
• Studies that measure the physiological effects of long-term exposure to violence.

It is a well known fact that our cognitive development is strongly influenced by the external environmental factors to which we are exposed during childhood. Parental influences, behaviors that we acquire from observing peers, the books that we read and a host of other factors help to shape our personalities and affect how we define our relationships with others.  It seems reasonable, therefore, to expect that watching television, playing video games on the computer, watching videos and listening to music on a regular basis will impact a child’s cognitive development. When the child is constantly exposed to acts of violence through these media, it seems to make sense intuitively that violence will play some role in the cognitive development of the child.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) published a statement in July, 2000 strongly urging that some action be taken to limit the amount of time that children are exposed to media violence. AAP identifies four effects that media violence has on children. They are:

• Children who are repeatedly exposed to violence are more likely to view violence as appropriate in resolving conflict
• Children who view violence through the media are more prone to become desensitized towards violence in their personal lives.
• Viewing violence reinforces the perception that the world is a violent place and causes individuals to engage in extraordinary self-protection measures
• Children who are exposed to violence have a higher probability of engaging in violent behavior later in life.

The AAP statement concludes by noting that over 1,000 studies, including those conducted by the Surgeon General’s Office and the National Institute for Mental Health, point overwhelmingly to a causal relationship between exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviors in children and adolescents (AAP 2000).

A national study conducted in the United States in 2003, discovered the alarming fact that children between the ages of newborn and six years actually spent more time each day watching television and playing video games than they did playing outdoors (Rideout, Vanderwater and Wartella). An article published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest found that early childhood exposures to violence on television and  video games does, in fact, directly affect the development of serious forms of violent behavior. Moreover, the authors conclude that these violent behaviors manifest themselves later on during the adolescent and adulthood years (Anderson et al, 2003, p. 963).               

Research has shown that video games and music represent the two largest forms of entertainment for young people today. In fact, annual video sales surpassed theatre sales back in 1999. Violent acts or violent lyrics are portrayed in a significant percentage of the videos that young people watch, the online games that they play and the music that they listen to. Moreover, the amount of time that young people now spend watching and listening to this form of media is increasing.

Gentile et al (2004) studied the effects of exposure to violent videos and video games on the physiological and psychological behavior of adolescents. They concluded that there was a positive correlation between viewing the violent videos and playing the video games and trait hostility. In addition, their results reinforced the relationship between long-term exposure to violent content in videos and aggressive and violent behavior in adult life (pp. 19-22).

Anderson and Carnagey (2003) studied the effects that listening to music containing violent lyrics had on the behavior of college students. They discovered that these songs caused the students to feel violent emotions and some even exhibited suicidal tendencies. What the authors refer to as the “song effect” led to aggressive behaviors, increased heart rate and blood pressure and visible signs of agitation in many of the participants. The authors note that repeated exposure to violent musical lyrics appears to have a more subtle effect on the psyche than the visual stimulation of watching videos (pp. 969-970).

Bushman and Gibson (2010) also discovered a correlation between exposure to violence contained in video games and aggressive behavior in adolescents. However, they did note one interesting phenomenon that distinguishes their results from similar studies. They controlled for the time lag between exposures to violent videos and found that the aggressive tendencies after viewing the violence dissipated over time. They concluded that prolonged exposure to the violence is the serious problem that needs to be studied further (pp.29-32).

Desai et al (2010) studied the effects of video gaming on a sample of 4,028 high school students. They discovered that 51.2 percent of the respondents reported prolonged engagement in video gaming and 201 of these respondents self-reported serious problems associated with their exposure including fighting or other aggressive behavior, drug use and depression (pp. 1418-1422). In a study of 1,588 young people between the ages of 10 and 15 years, Ybarra et al (2008) discovered a strong positive relationship between internet and other electronic media violence and serious violent behavior. Thirty-one respondents who indicated that they had prolonged exposure to media violence reported engaging in serious violent behavior such as assault, robbery, sexual assault and shooting or stabbing someone (pp. 933-934).

There is also an emerging body of literature that argues that a disproportionate amount of violence in videos and music tends to be directed at women. One interesting study conducted in 2007, showed a direct correlation between exposure to music containing sexually violent lyrics and men’s stereotypical and negative attitudes toward women (St. Lawrence & Joyner, 2007, pp. 60-62).

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, media have replaced teachers and parents as role models for many young people. Children eighteen years of age and younger spend between 6 ½ and 8 hours per day watching some type of media, playing video games or listening to music (Lavers, 2002).  Psychologist David Grossman notes that the entertainment industry uses ever increasing quantities of violence to “hook” their young audience. He likens this behavior to the alcohol and tobacco industry’s investment of millions of dollars in advertising directed at children. The following quote from Dr. Grossman captures the essence of the problem:

Our children watch vivid pictures of human suffering and death, and they learn to associate it with their favorite soft drink and candy bar or their girlfriend’s perfume. All the time in the movie theatres when there is bloody violence, the young people laugh and cheer and keep right on eating popcorn and drinking soda. We have raised a generation of barbarians who have learned to associate violence with pleasure (Lavers 2002).

In 2000, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a report that indicated that U.S. media companies were actively marketing restricted content containing violent acts to children under the age of seventeen. The FTC report also publicly revealed some of the industry’s specific marketing tactics. These included advertising adult media products in children’s comics and magazines, showing commercials for R-rated video products during the early evening hours when children are more likely to be watching television, advertising violent programming during children’s shows such as cartoons and marketing violent toys linked to violent media to young children (ftc.gov).

Under pressure from members of Congress and parent groups, the Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation of its own and issued a report in 2007 acknowledging the vast body of literature linking violence in the media to negative societal behaviors. The Commission also recognized that media corporations were marketing violence to improve ratings and to sell products to young people. The Commission recommended that a mandatory content rating system be implemented and that violent content, at least on television, be limited to the hours of 10 PM through 6AM (fcc.gov).

Research Design and Methodology

The review of the academic literature suggests that there is a positive correlation between exposure to violence through the various electronic media and aggressive and violent behaviors that are later found in young people. However, there are some significant gaps in the research. There seems to be no definitive analysis of the actual effect of the various types of violence that young people may be exposed to. What may be viewed as violent by one individual may be viewed as comedy by another. A second major issue concerns the fact that the bulk of the research conducted to date relies on self-reported surveys that are administered over the internet. There are obvious reliability and validity issues with self-reporting as well as with using the internet as the sole source.

This paper proposes a comprehensive study utilizing an experimental group-control group research design. The study will be a longitudinal survey conducted over a three month period in order to control for the effects of short term versus long term violent behavior. Because experimental research designs are costly, funding from appropriate granting agencies will be utilized to support the project. Maxfield & Babbie (2011) note, that experimental and quasi-experimental time series designs are often used when the effects under study progress slowly over a period of several months or years and the validity and reliability of the results are critical in determining the appropriate policy response (pp. 182-184; pp. 427-430). This study fulfills both criteria.

Equal numbers of men and women between the ages of 12 and 18 years of age will be randomly selected and assigned to either the experimental group or the control group. The total N = 1,500. The research team will administer a pre-test survey instrument to each respondent in order to determine their various levels of exposure to violent video games, videos, music and other electronic media. This will serve as the base level for gathering subsequent data. Over the course of the study, the experimental group will be exposed to various forms of violent media while the control group will not. This will be repeated once a month for three months. During each iteration, the researchers will assess the aggressive and/or violent behaviors of the respondents.

A combination of survey research and personal observations by the research team will provide the data for analysis. The dependent variable is the frequency of aggressive behavior and violent acts as defined by the research team. Independent variables include gender, educational level of parents, intelligent quotient of the respondent, any history of aggressive or violent behavior, age, types of media watched by the respondent and length of daily exposure to violent media.

A multivariate time series regression model will be used to analyze the data.

Inferential statistical analysis will allow the researchers to assess the validity of the research hypothesis. Summary statistics will also be computed.

The researchers must also recognize the limitations to such as study. For example, is an N=1,500 of sufficient size to generalize any conclusions that might be reached? There are obviously many other independent variables that impact violent behavior that are not included in the study. For example, a respondent’s religious affiliation may impact the choice to engage in violent behavior. Other socio-psychological factors that are totally isolated from media violence may cause an individual to engage in violent behavior. Even the proposed length of this study may be problematic especially if it takes several years for some individuals to engage in violent behavior.

Conclusion

This paper provided definitive evidence from the academic literature that long-term exposure to violence on television, in music and in video games leads to aggressive behaviors in children and adolescents. These behaviors often translate into actual acts of violence.  Most researchers have indicated that additional studies are necessary in our attempts to understand the complex interrelationships between what we view through visual media and our reactions to these media.

This paper proposed a longitudinal study over a three month period to try and better understand the short and long term effects on adolescents of exposure to media violence. The proposal recognizes the limitations in undertaking such as study. Nevertheless, it is hoped that by conducting this study researchers will be able to learn more about the alarming increase in violent behavior in the adolescent population in the United States and provide some proactive recommendations to help families cope with this problem.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics. Statement on Violence in the Media. (2000). 26 July. Retrieved from http://www.aap.org/advocacy

Anderson, Craig A. & Carnagey, Nichola L. (2003). Exposure to violent media: The

effects of songs with violent lyrics and aggressive thoughts and feelings. Journal of Social Psychology and Personality, 84(5), 960-971.

Bushman, Brad J. & Gibson, Bryan. (2010). Violent video games cause an increase in aggression long after the game has been turned off. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(1), 29-32.

Desai, Rani A. & Krishnan-Sarin, Suchitra. (2010). Video gaming among high school students: health correlates, gender differences, and problematic gaming. Pediatrics, 126(6), 1414-1424.

Johnson, James D., Linz, Daniel, Malamuth, Neil M., & Wartella, Ellen. (2003). The influence of media violence on youth. Psychological Science and the Public Interest, 4(3), 81-110.

Federal Communications Commission. (2007). Violent Television Programming and its Impact on Children. April. Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov

Federal Trade Commission (2000). Marketing Violent Entertainment to Children: a Review of Self-Regulation and Industry Practices in the Motion Picture, Music Recording and Electronic Gaming Industries. Sept., Retrieved from http://www.ftc.gov

Gentile, Douglas A., Lynch, Paul J., Linder, Jennifer Ruth, & Walsh, David A. (2004). The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors and school performance.  Journal of Adolescence, 27, 5-22.

Lavers, Daphne. (2002). The Verdict on Media Violence. 13 May. Regional Business News. Retrieved from http://www.insigtmag.com

Maxfield, Michael G. & Babbie, Earl R. (2011). Research Methods for Criminal Justice and Criminology, 6^th ed., Belmont, Ca: Wadsworth.

Rideout, Victoria J., Vanderwater, Elizabeth A., & Wartella, Ellen. (2003). Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers.  The Henry Kaiser Family Foundation, Fall, Retrieved from http://www.kff.org

St. Lawrence, Janet S. & Joyner, Doris J. (2006). The effects of sexually violent rock music on males’ acceptance of violence against women. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 15(1), 49-63.

Ybarra, Michele, Diener-West, Marie, Markow, Dana, Leaf, Philip J., Hamburger, merle, & Boxer, Paul. (2008). Linkages between internet and other media violence with seriously violent behavior by youth. Pediatrics, 122(5), 929-937.