Weldon 1

Allison Weldon

Mrs. Strehle

English Composition II

21 March 2021

Does media such as video games, movies, and music tend to help people release pent-up

emotion so that they are more mentally healthy, or does it tend to cause people to become more

violent, angry and afraid? A question that has been asked by many, especially since we are now

living in a time that relies on the internet. People use the internet in many different ways; some

have created jobs off of the internet alone, others use it to calm themselves or show their

emotions without having to be in person. A person may be too mentally unstable to only use the

media as an outlet to release their emotions. That person could see a video or a picture that may

trigger something in their brain causing them to have a breakdown and act unknowingly from

their emotions. Some people are better at controlling their emotions, others can’t control them

since they are more mentally unstable. Although almost every person that is violent uses the

media, not every person that uses the media is violent. A majority of people use the media as a

therapeutically way to release their emotions.

There is a lot of stigma behind mental illness. People who don’t have any mental illness

aren’t able to comprehend the severity that an illness can have on a person. A person’s life could

end because they are struggling mentally. The media has convinced people that mental illness

makes people crazy, and unable to live within regular society. “The way the media frame mental
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illness can carry real-world consequences for people who experience mental illness, whether it is

a relatively common condition (e.g., depression) or a more rare and severe disorder (e.g.,

schizophrenia)”(Parrot). Since the media has portrayed mental health in such a bad way, it

causes people who are actually struggling to feel embarrassed about their feelings. If a person

feels as if they can’t express the way they are feeling verbally and with a therapist they look to

other outlets.

Mental illness is something that many people struggle with. Some people struggle with

illness but haven’t been diagnosed with a specific type of illness since it has become hard to be

diagnosed with a mental illness. The reason some people can’t get diagnosed, is that therapists

come across new types of mental illnesses everyday. Which means a person could have an

illness but not be medicated or getting treatments because the diagnosis hasn’t been given a

name yet. Not being able to be given a diagnosis puts even more strain on a person since they

don’t completely know what is going on inside of their head. A person who doesn’t know what’s

going on with themselves could cause more damage trying to figure out what’s wrong especially

if a doctor is unable to figure it out.

Since the pandemic has started many people haven’t been able to see a medical

professional in person. So, the internet has been a way for them to come in contact with that

professional without having to leave their home and possibly come in contact with the virus.

Knowing many people aren’t able to leave their homes due to having the virus or being too
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scared from what they’ve seen about the virus, doctors have made a way to video call

professionals and still get treatment. As well as having to get a different way of treatment due to

the virus it has also caused many people’s mental health to deteriorate quickly. People have seen

all of the numbers and graphs of deaths and hospitalizations. Since they are unable to leave their

house and see family or just leave their house in general people’s anxiety has skyrocketed.

“Identifying people with mental illness requires initiation from those in need, available

medical services, and time allocation from professional experts. These resources might not be

available all the time”(Skaik). At the same time if a person knows they have an illness but can’t

get the resources to be helped they use their own way of release. Some people with mental

illness have no medically given treatments, they turn to the internet. The easiest obtainable form

of release for their emotional stress is the internet. Some have different ways of using the

internet for release; some listen to music, read free books if they cannot get a physical copy, or

listen to calming music.

The majority of people listen to music whether it’s for emotional release or pleasure.

Music has been a large part of many peoples lives. Some people have a job making music. Some

interviews have revealed that almost all of the music creators use their lyrics to show the

emotions they’re feeling since they can’t publicly state their feelings. Although having mental

stress celebrities are held to a different standard. They are shown in the media as a perfect

person, so when they publicly state they are struggling with mental illness they are looked down
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upon. “Some countries embrace and others exclude people with a mental illness”(Illingworth).

Some other countries do allow their celebrities to state their feelings, the United States isn’t one

of them. In the United States, if someone struggles mentally, whether they have an illness or

went through something which caused them to be in a depression. They are seen as weak and

unfit to survive within a community.

Since the media has become a normal thing in daily life, and more accessible, people are

starting from a younger age to become immersed in the media. “American children between 8

and 18 years of age spend an average of 6 hours and 21 minutes each day, using entertainment

media”(Pediatrics). Parents work very hard to provide for their families, but sometimes they get

very tired since they work up to 40 or more hours a week. So, to give themselves a break and to

keep their child occupied they give the child some form of phone or tablet. Giving a child

complete access to the internet is very dangerous. It is very easy to stumble upon a virus that

could give a hacker complete access to the person’s camera on the device, and their wifi. If a

hacker has complete access to a person's wifi they can find their address while also getting

control of every device that is using the wifi. Even if a parent doesn’t give their child access to a

tablet or phone, the child is still being immersed in the media. The average of a child between

the ages of eight to eighteen using media could be higher if you account for going out in public

and hearing the music played at stores, electronic billboards, or other ways the media is shown

just without us being fully aware.

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If someone is on their phone, television, tablet, or computer late at night it can cause their

mental health to be even worse since that person is creating a terrible sleep schedule. The other

thing that social media affects is sleep and circadian rhythm. The mobile devices and computer

monitors used to view social media websites all emit high degrees of blue light. This artificial

light disrupts healthy sleep cycles. The blue light included in artificial light is the most damaging

to humans. Blue light suppresses melatonin production greater than other wavelengths. Blue

light suppresses melatonin via the sensors in our eyes, therefore, makes it hard for us to fall

asleep. Although there are glasses made specifically for blue light, being on an electronic device

is still a bad habit. When a person is on their phone late at night it causes their brain to be awake

longer even after they put the device away.

Adequate sleep is associated with many health gains. However, when students spend

most of the time on social media, this can affect sleep patterns making it hard for you to fall

asleep. When you get worked up with anxiety and envy from what you see on different social

media platforms, this can keep your brain awake and on high alert and later disrupt your sleep.

Social media can also shorten the attention span of a student. When a student has a short

attention span they can get really bored of school which can cause them to not listen. When the

student doesn’t listen their grades slip. Plenty of students' mental health declines a large amount

when their grades are bad. I have personal experiences with having a bad attention span, since
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the app TikTok has become it has declined my attention span greatly. I get bored quickly after 10

minutes and have to watch or listen to something else while also trying to focus on school.

Some of the most popular shows and movies do contain tons of violence. As well as

video games, some of the most popular games right now are Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto.

“However, as video game technology is relatively new, there are fewer empirical studies of

video game violence than other forms of media violence” (apa.org). More research has since

come out regarding video game violence, there is roughly the same amount of video game

violence research as there is research on other forms of media violence like television shows.

Games and movies have normalized the hero using violence to get their message across, as well

as it being the only way to save the city or country in danger. “American media, in particular,

tend to portray heroes using violence as a justified means of resolving conflict and prevailing

over others. Television, movies, and music videos normalize carrying and using weapons and

glamorize them as a source of personal power”(Pediatrics). When children see a “hero” using

violence, they get pursued to think that violence solves all problems.

In the early development of a child’s life they learn by observing their surroundings. So,

if they watch a show that is heavily violent or has the use of illegal substances they can think that

this way of life is how people live. “Children are influenced by media—they learn by observing,

imitating, and adopting behaviors. Several different psychological and physiologic processes

underlie media-violence effects on aggressive attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, and emotions, and

these processes are well understood. Furthermore, because children younger than 8 years cannot
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discriminate between fantasy and reality, they may be especially vulnerable to some of these

learning processes and may, thereby, be more influenced by media violence. However, even

older adolescents and young adults are adversely affected by consumption of media violence,

demonstrating that the ability to discriminate between fantasy and reality does not inoculate one

from the effects of media violence”(Pediatrics).

If a parent is on their phone or using another type of electronic device most of the time

with a child, it can be a bad influence. ““Parents’ frequency of electronics use can set the tone

for what is permissible to their children,” Sperling says. “If you want your children to put their

phones down at dinner, that will be more likely to happen if you do the same.””(Mclean

Hospital). So, to have a good influence on a child, starting from a young age they need to be

immersed in electronic devices as little as physically possible.

When a person sees the news their fear heightens since they hear of all the terrible things

happening within the world. In addition to modeling violent behavior, entertainment media

inflate the prevalence of violence in the world, a perception of the world as a dangerous place.

Fear of being the victim of violence is a strong motivation for some young people to carry a

weapon, to be more aggressive, and to “get them before they get me.” For some children,

exposure to media violence can lead to anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, sleep

disturbances and nightmares, and/or social isolation. Some have defended media violence as an

outlet for vicariously releasing hostility in the safety of virtual reality. However, research that
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has tested this “catharsis hypothesis” revealed that after experiencing media violence, children

and young adults behave more aggressively, not less. Numerous studies have shown that an

insidious and potent effect of media violence is to desensitize all of us to real-life violence.

Other people think that when mentally unstable people use the internet as a way to cope it

actually causes their mental health to become even worse than it was before. If a person uses

social media too often they will gain anxiety when they aren’t using it. Also they will have

anxiety because they won’t know what is going on. Some people also start to overthink. Which

means they think about a topic for an extended amount of time and the longer they think about

the topic the worst ideas that could be happening come to mind. For example, if a person sees a

group of their friends hanging out they will think the group doesn’t like them anymore, or they

will think of even worse things. “Missing experiences can create anxiety and depression. When

people look online and see they’re excluded from an activity, it can affect thoughts and feelings,

and can affect them physically.” (Mclean Hospital).

Although the things that are seen on social media may be bad for a person’s mental

health. It could help them create a routine, a routine is very beneficial for people with certain

types of mental illnesses. If a person has a set routine which includes social media, it isn't always

bad. These people who need a routine often rewatch or reread the same things over and over.

Since they are only seeing the same ideas their mind isn’t being filled with the bad things from

the internet. Having a routine can help improve a person's sleep schedule. Having a regular sleep
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schedule has many benefits. It can lower the risk of heart disease, as well it gives your brain time

to power off and get the rest it needs. With a regular sleep schedule it makes a person get off of

their electronic device earlier. When you are on the internet for a shorter amount of time it

lessens the amount of anxiety and depression that is caused from seeing terrible things on the

internet.

The way a person’s mental health is affected doesn’t only come from videos or pictures,

it also is caused by cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a huge problem, it has caused the deaths of

millions. Whether is be by suicide or the person who was bullied finding their address and and

using their anger to hurt the person. With continued use of social media, teens become victims of

cyberbullying; this happens in virtual space without any physical contact. Since students are

powerless and unable to take real-time measures to stop such harassment; they end up tormented

and mentally distressed. For some, battling with anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts hasn’t

been easy, others have resorted to selling their gadgets, and this has worked. Sometimes selling

the phone or getting a new account has worked before, but it doesn't always work. If a person is

insisted on bullying another they will go to far lengths to find the person they are bullying.

The way media affects a person’s mental health completely depends on the person and

the severity of their mental illness. Although a person . Does media such as video games,

movies, and music tend to help people release pent-up emotion so that they are more mentally

healthy, or does it tend to cause people to become more violent, angry and afraid? A question
 Weldon 10

that has been asked by many, especially since we are now living in a time that relies on the

internet. The internet has been a key role in the development of the world. People use the

internet in many different ways; some have created jobs off of the internet alone, others use it to

calm themselves or show their emotions without having to be in person. A person may be too

mentally unstable to only use the media as an outlet to release their emotions. That person could

see a video or a picture that may trigger something in their brain causing them to have a

breakdown and act unknowingly from their emotions. Some people are better at controlling their

emotions, others can’t control them since they are more mentally unstable. Although almost

every person that is violent uses the media, not every person that uses the media is violent. A

majority of people use the media as a therapeutically way to release their emotions.
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From Star Athletes DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Love.” Communication & Sport, vol. 9,

no. 1, Feb. 2021, pp. 33–54.

SKAIK, RUBA, and DIANA INKPEN. “Using Social Media for Mental Health Surveillance: A

Review.” ACM Computing Surveys, vol. 53, no. 6, Dec. 2020, pp. 1–31.

“Violence in the Media - Psychologists Study TV and Video Game Violence for Potential

Harmful Effects.” American Psychological Association, American Psychological

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