The media (TV, radio, movies, music videos, magazines, and the Internet) are chock full of material sending the wrong messages.
Sex rarely has meaning, unplanned pregnancy seldom happens, and few people having sex ever seem to be married or even especially committed to anyone.
Is this consistent with American expectations and values?
If not, then maybe parents need to tell children what the media portray and what they think about it.
In other words, if certain programs are offensive, then say so, and explain why.
To be “media literate” it’s necessary to think about what you and your family are watching and reading.
Adults can always turn off the TV, cancel subscriptions, and place certain movies off limits.
Many believe there’s a link between media violence and real violence. Some recent high-profile school shooters have been fans of violent media: Michael Corneal of West Paducah, Kentucky, liked to play the violent video games Quake and Doom.
Kip Kinkel of Springfield, Oregon, loved the depressing music of Nirvana. And yet, millions of kids love Nirvana and play Quake and Doom, and never commit a single violent act.
Others maintain the real reasons teens become violent have little to do with entertainment. Many teens, they say, are bullied at school, neglected by parents, or have deep psychological problems.
Media promoters hold that it’s not fair to blame violent media for violent teens.
Does violence in the media make teens prone to commit acts of aggression in real life?
Those who say “yes” seem to hold the view that just as reading an inspiring book can help you to be a good person, being entertained by violence can make you violent. Violent video games have been accused of making kids aggressive, at least immediately after playing the games, according to some critics’ views.
And media faultfinders also contend that when violence seems fun and has no consequences, it encourages kids and teens to be violent, instead of teaching them how to solve problems peacefully.
Do TV and video game violence trigger a tendency among youth to become violent?
Those who say “no” see things differently: Violence in the media is entertainment—and that’s it. Teens know that the people getting “killed” are actors. They also know that video games are just games.
A current national attitude is that the vast majority of teens don’t take the media violence as a serious example to follow in real life. Kids who imitate the violence they see in the media are said to have major problems that are all their own.
Still, the repeated viewing of carnage and destruction mightcause some audiences to become desensitized to violent behavior.
“Continually blowing people up and committing mayhem in electronic games could be a prelude to violence,” explained Matt Hough, a WVU graduate and media enthusiast. “When I play a particular game for a few hours and I’m getting my butt kicked by some demonic character, I feel like smashing the control panel out of sheer frustration.”
Hough continued, “Click the remote control in your family room and what do you get? I’ll tell you: an electronic training vehicle for future criminals, a primer for murder and mayhem. American audiences are eating it up. Most of our news is violent from overseas: a terrorist tossing a grenade into a Sunday service or a bus bombing that kills innocent people. Mass shootings in cities throughout America. Viewers are led to some level of acceptance.
“If a villain is blown up at the end of a movie, the audience is glad. If Saddam catches a bomb and is destroyed, the viewers break out with applause. But people don’t see the other side of the killings, the part about the victims being real human beings, and that’s what makes it easier to stomach.
“When sons, fathers and husbands are slaughtered in violent reprisals, the audience doesn’t witness the grief of the children, wives and mothers who are left behind…That’s not a true picture of reality.”
So, what is the bottom line?
Maybe it’s time that parents took back their turf and started to show their authority.
After all, even if they cannot fully control what their children see and hear, they at least can make their views known and control their own home environment.
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Top o’ the morning!