Sociology

The issue of media violence and its effects on young people has been debated and definitive answers have been eluded for a couple of decades.  Predominantly, the debate is centered on a single question the possibilities of media violence causing violence and aggression in real life experiences.

The core question may not be answered satisfactorily because of the influential factors from the sides mainly consisting of political aspects. In addition, people may have different reasoning. Some feel that media violence is to blame for the increased violence in the society and censorship of violent media content will protect the young people (Carter, Weaver, 54).  Contrary, other people think that the regulations are a form of covering up the foundations of violence in the modern world.

The fact remains that the issue of media violence and the effects on the young people is impacting negatively in our society.  Most experts have argued that considerable evidence show that the exposure of young people to media violence greatly leads to the children behaving more aggressively.  This later affects them when they reach adult age.  A conflict appears to exist in the scientific society, some scientists maintain that there is no single evidence inculcated in the roots of science to show that violent media produces violence in young people or desensitizing the violence.

The root problem of disagreement in the scientific community about the effects of media violence to young people has probably been caused by the lack of proper definition of the term violence. Some define violence as the threat or an act of killing or injuring a person notwithstanding the surrounding scenario or the method used to kill. Some researchers have included cartoon violence as part of their work as causing real violence while others insist that cartoon violence does not cause any violence since it is for comic reasons and the presentations are never realistic (Jenkins, 443).

The link between media violence and aggression has not been drawn. Some researchers have argued that media violence exposure causes aggression while others insist that the two aspects are related although there is no connecting cause. Other researchers still find no connection between two.  

The understanding that there exists a connection between the two does not solve the problem.  In fact, the researchers believing in the existence of the connection between aggression and media violence disagree concerning the effects the two have to each other.  Some thinkers argue that aggression is psychological mechanism which is based on the way young people learn. For instance some researchers have pointed out that children build up cognitive scripts which guide their behavior by imitating media heroes actions (Carter, Weaver, 83).  The young people, in the process of watching violent media, learn on internalization of the scripts which employ violence as the most appropriate problem solving method.

Some other researchers have argued that media violence causes physiological effects which cause aggressive behavior. They claim that the exposure to violent media causes the heart to beat faster, the body to have elevated respiration and high blood pressure which ultimately act as a simulation of the fight or flight response.  The simulated response, the researchers claim, predisposes the young people to aggressively act in the real life situation.

Other reasoning has been based on the way media violence prompts or primes the already existing thought and feelings of aggressiveness.  Here, there is an argument that an individuals craving to strike out is defensible by the media images.  The brave and the villain both apply the media pictures seek vengeance but always this happens without any outcomes (Jenkins, 446).

Generally, most studies investigating the issue of media violence support that a relationship exists between the aggressive behavior of young people and media violence.  It is however not logical to conclude that no phenomenon exists just because the relationship cannot be empirically be confirmed.

A number of research findings all over the world conclude that young people consuming high levels of media violence have a high propensity to become aggressive in the real life situation. Giving two different (violent and non violent cartoons) programs to a particular number of young people has different results on their behavior when relating with others. It is evident that the young people who watch the violent cartoons have a high chance to hit others or the children may have a tendency to break play things like toys (Carter, Weaver, 122).

In another research, it was found that young people watching too much violence in the media have a high probability to have aggressive habits just like adults. Further still, the introduction of television in any community increases the young people to involve themselves in violent habits.  Elsewhere, the researchers have found that media violence makes the young people to develop a sense of fear and have a perception of the world we live in to be different from reality.

Research also has found that media content full of violence makes the young people less sensitive to real violence hence they would not feel anything when causing violence.  The young people who often watch too much media violence take that the world is a terrifying place than it really is.  The victims of this problem have always been found to overestimate the risk of them being victimized in an offense.  They believe that crime rte is ever escalating and their neighborhoods are insecure (Carter, Weaver, 102).  Research finding has disclosed that the attitudes of the family to the media violence are greater than mere images shown in TV or elsewhere.

In my own opinion, I support that media violence has profound negative effects on the lives of young people.  The young people who watch so much of the violence rich media always try to copy what they have watched and may end up beating their fellow friends and even their parents.

The problems of the young people getting so much afraid in the future and some turning to be insensitive and with little sympathy to the suffering people has been caused by the media violence.   I am convinced that it is through media violence that some vices like rape, theft and murder are cultured.
 
If media is censored and the airing or transmission of the content tightly regulated, then we shall have very responsible young people.  Any state or any parent wants the young people to grow with the values which will add value to the society.  The contrary part will cause a cry out of the parent and the entire state.

Regulations at base levels are necessary to curb the ever growing problem of media violence.  Increasing the red tapes for the airing of the programs may also be a solution to avoid them reaching our young people.