Media Violence

AwarenessBy: Hannah Del Rosario and Katy Dickerson `

Movie Influence Information (stats)

• Of all animated feature films produced in the United States, between 1937 and 1999 100% portrayed violence.

• In a study of the top rated PG-13 movies of 1999 to 2000, 90% contained violence

• 12% of 2 million ten to fourteen year olds saw 40 of the most violent movies in 2003.

• Violence and profanity in movies increased significantly from 1992 to 2003.

• Ratings have made it difficult for parents to know if a film contains graphic content they wouldn’t want their kids to see.

Movie Influence Information

(facts in general)

Movie Influence Information

(facts that affect kids) • Nightmares and long episodes of anxious

behavior are common for young children exposed to violence on TV, or in a film.• Children exposed to a short, aggressive film are more likely to indicate that aggression as a normal response to social conflict.

TV Influence and Impact (stats)

• One third of violent programs feature “bad” characters who are never punished

• Nearly 40% of the violent incidents on television are initiated by characters who possess qualities that make them an attractive role model.

• At least 40% of violent scenes on television include humor

TV Influence and Impact(facts in general)

• Since 1982 television violence has increased 780% and in that same time period, teachers have recorded a nearly 800% increase of aggressive acts on the playground• Those who watch five or more hours of television daily are more fearful than those who watch three hours or less

TV Influence and Impact(facts that affect kids)

• Television alone is responsible for 10% of youth violence

• Children exposed to TV violence are more tolerant of real life violence

• Every exposure to violence increases the chance a child will behave more violently

TV Influence and Impact (chart)

Cartoons 471

TV Promos 265

Movies 221

Toy Commercials 188

Music Videos 123

Movie Commercials 121

TV Dramas 69

News 62

Reality Shows 58

Sitcoms 52

Soap Operas 34

Violence in an 18-hour period of Television

TV Influence and Impact (studies)

• Researchers studied people in a remote rural community they referred to as Notel for “No television”. They studied them before television was introduced to Notel and two years later. After two years, the children and adults showed a significant increase in physical and verbal aggression, and they often used aggressive behavior as a successful and acceptable method for achieving goals.

TV Influence and Impact (studies on children)

• The most violent hours for TV were between 6 and 9 a.m. and between 2 and 5 p.m. These times are the times of day when children and youth are most likely to be watching. This is no coincidence.

• Children who watched significant amounts of TV violence at the age of 8 were consistently more likely to commit violent crimes

Video Games (stats)• The average boy playing

mature video games is exposed to roughly 188 violent exchanges per day, 1300 a week, and 5200 a month

• 90% of games rated as appropriate for children 10 years or older include violence

• More than 60% of children report that they play games longer then they intend to play

Video Games (brain chemistry)• The impact of video games on

children’s brains were shown to be low in young people who played frequently. If levels of beta brain waves are very low, people can get angry easily and have difficulty in concentrating.

• Young adults showed less activation in certain frontal brain regions following a week of playing violent video games at home.

Video Games (addiction)

• When young people play video games, the object is excitement. The child then builds a tolerance for that level of excitement.

• Violent video games are habitat forming• There is no need to have a video game system in the house, especially for young children.

Video Games (psychology)

• First person shooter video games are killing simulators which use operant conditioning to teach kids to kill

• The Columbine high school shooters were both obsessed with playing first person shooter video games like Doom

•In the Arkansas school shooting, one of the two boys involved had no experience shooting a real gun

Video Games (play and sales)

• Children in grades 4-8 preferentially choose video games that award points for violence against others

• Children in grades 4-12 choose playing M rated games with 78% of boys reporting owning M rated games

• American children who have home video game systems play with them about 90 minutes a day.