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VIOLENT TELEVISION AND ITS EFFECT ON SOCIETY

Violent Television and its Effect on Society

by

Brody Route

B.S in Psychology: Counseling

University of Bradford

For PSY 5010: Social Psychology

Dr. Yong

16 December, 2021
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VIOLENT TELEVISION AND ITS EFFECT ON SOCIETY

Violent Television and its Effect on Society

Horror movies and violent television shows in general have been around since as early as

1896, with the first being “A Street In Paris” (Wilson, 2020). While these weren’t as graphic as

the things we see today, these silent films were setting the grounds for what we currently see.

Over the last several years, mass shootings in places like high schools, churches and concerts

have been taking place all over the world. There could be several different explanations to why

these instances occur, but TV and the media could be contributing much more than some might

think.

Parents are becoming more comfortable with letting their young children play violent

video games. While non-violent video games do have some benefits like problem-solving skills

and hand-eye coordination, they can also be detrimental to your child’s health. It’s recommended

that parents place restrictions on play time so that the child’s mental health remains at a

sustainable level. Video games with violence on the other hand, should be avoided by anyone

younger than the recommended age. Brain development is the main reason why older gamers can

play without a major influence. Violent video games should have no place for children, as it’s

been proven to increase aggressiveness and cause problematic behaviour (Kids Health, 2021).

Watching violent movies is a bit different from violent video games, although the results

may have similar consequences. Even teenagers should beware watching horror films too often.

These movies can cause thrill and excitement, as most movies thrive to do so. Some kids even

see actors and their characters as role models. While this can be a good thing for some actors,

idolising actors in violent movies can be lethal. Anyone watching these films has the ability to

become desensitised to violence (Times Reporter, 2012). After this happens, they might think it’s
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normal to hear about, witness or get involved in violent acts. It’s essential to know that the young

children and teenagers watching these movies are going to be our future.

In a study conducted by Arline Kaplan, of Psychiatric Times, it was found that the

average American watches 5 hours of video every day. Roughly 98% of that is watched on a TV.

What’s even more shocking than those statistics is that 66% of all televion shows display some

form of violence (Kaplan, 2012). During the time of this study, violent crimes decreased by 40%

over the last 10 years. The 10 years previous to that, it also dropped significantly by almost 50%.

The reason for people assuming the world is more violent, as a whole, is likely due to

propaganda.

Wathcing television can cause some aggressiveness and violence, but most acts of

violence, such as murder, are between people who know each other (Kaplan, 2012). Hit men

(which are extremely rare) are the main reason for strangers being killed, as it’s uncommon for

anyone else to kill someone who they don’t know. It’s not often, but some people with mental

illnesses are linked to exaggerated violence.

Kaplan reported that the boys who did the mass Columbine murder in 1999 were

mentally ill and their lives revolved around video games with very graphic violence. They killed

12 other students, a teacher, and caused injuries to more than 20 students. Afterwards, they shot

themselves. One of the boys who were involved were reported psychopathic, while the other had

severe depression and thoughts of suicide. Their fondness of video games and movies with

violence was directly correlated with their mental health and the shooting that they did.

There are multiple instances of specific movies that caused violence. In 2012, James

Holmes killed 12 people and caused injuries to more than 70 other people watching “The Dark
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Knight Rises”. He opened fire when the film was first starting, killing more people (at the time)

than anyone has in a mass shooting (Kohen, 2021). While he was being taken into custody, he

reffered to himself as the Joker, the main antagonist in the film. For James, he was so

psychologically damaged that he thought he was just like the Joker and his actions were similar

to the character portrayed in the film.

Another situation like this happened in 2012. After the movie “Project X” was released,

some young adults and teenagers were so inspired by the film that they brought it upon

themselves to recreate the main event in it. This movie is about a teenage boy who threw a

ginormous party, with almost 7,000 people attending. Hundreds of people were arrested, some

were injured and cars were destroyed. Since the party went so well in the movie, some smart

partiers replicated this with no worry of a disaster. Unfortunately, a young teenage boy was shot

by a man. The man who fired, randomly aimed and emptied his clip (Newcomb, 2012).

Although these two instances were different, with the first killer being influenced by a

character, the shooter from the party caused violence because of an idea from a movie. The list

doesn’t end there with movies influencing violence; Fight Club, Scream, Saw, Natural Born

Killers, The Matrix, Taxi Driver, and a handful of others caused people to create violence.

While movies, television shows and video games do cause some violence, the bigger

issue lies somewhere beyond that. The easy answer would be banning any and all movies with

any amount of violence, but that would be illogical. Even with all these instances of people being

influenced, the real problem is lack of understanding. Television was designed to help people

escape from their stressful lives. Watching something or playing a game with a loved one can be
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highly satisfying, and no one can prevent people from enjoying what they like. Most of the

people involved with violence surrounding television had(ve) some form of a mental disorder.

Anyone struggling mentally would benefit from having awareness of how media can

influence you. Expressing yourself with the music you like, the films you enjoy watching and the

video games you love playing should be encouraged. The point to where is becomes detrimental

is when you get too caught up in fantasy. It would benefit everyone to turn off their TV, put

down their phone and experience life without all the distractions. Television and cell phones are

wonderful to have, with so many benefits, they are just overused.

Everyone in this world needs to find a healthy balance between screen time and real life

time. Violent movies and games are never going away, so awareness should be taught and

boundaries should be set. There are age restrictions on things for a reason, and everyone should

take them more serious. Yes, violence can be entertaining, but it shouldn’t be in the majority of

things people admire. The statistcs prove to be too high. Fatalities influenced by television can

be a thing of the past if we treat things as they are. Entertainment is entertainment, and life is life.
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References

Wilson, K. (2020, January 10). The first silent horror movies - horror film history. Horror Film
History. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://horrorfilmhistory.com/wp/silent-horror-
movies/ 

KidsHealth Medical Experts (Ed.). (2021). Can playing video games be good for kids? (for
parents) - nemours kidshealth. KidsHealth. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/good-gaming.html 

Times Reporter. (2012, May 22). Movie violence can affect a teen's life. The New Times |
Rwanda. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from
https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/102500 

Kaplan, A. (2012). Violence in the Media: What Effects on Behavior?, 29(10). Retrieved

December 2, 2021, from https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/violence-media-what-
effects-behavior. 

Cohen, D. (2021, November 16). What we know about the Aurora, Colorado, shooting. The Cut.
Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.thecut.com/2021/11/aurora-colorado-
shooting-what-we-know.html 

Newcomb, A. (2012, March 14). Houston Teen Killed at 'Project X'-Inspired Party. ABC News.
Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/project-movie-inspires-
teen-parties/story?id=15922034