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Short Essay: Media-Related opinions (motivated by science)

Alexis Lefranc (2760796)

Faculty of Social Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
S_ME
A.M.M Leroux
December 24, 2023
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Violent media (e.g. TV, and video games) are harmful to children and teenagers

During this digitalized era, media is the main source of information,

communication and entertainment for the vast majority of teenagers. Violence in life is
unavoidable, and so is the spread of violent content through media. In this regard, the
influence of violent media such as TV consumption, video games or social media, on
teenagers is a topic that has sourfaced polemic debates and a wide range of scientific
research. Moreover, this essay will explore violence in media by analysing existing
literature and remarking on the unavoidable negative effects it has on children and
young adults.
The study by Patton et al. (2014) brings a close analysis of the relationship
between social media and violence among young adults. The author explores the
negative impacts of exposure to violence through online platforms throughout a
comprehensive literature search, where he emphasizes the harm to mental health,
academic performance and relationships among individuals. This specific study brings a
different scope to the matter; we usually assume that media can only influence in both
positive and negative ways, but we forget how the media can be used as a medium for
violence. Patton suggests that media is not only fomenting violent content but it is a
home for violence, where young adults end up themselves in violent interactions such as
cyber-bullying.
In addition, Liao et al. (2019) investigation helps in the understanding of the
connection between exposure to TV violence and the development of violent tendencies
in teenagers. The research employed questionnaires for young adults as the main source
of results where their findings showed a significant positive correlation between
increased exposure to TV violence and the likelihood of teenagers developing violent
tendencies. Furthermore, they highlighted the potential risks associated with media
consumption and guided their study based on theoretical frameworks such as
Cultivation Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Problem-Behavior Theory.
However, It is worth noting that not all violent media correlates with negative
attitudes. A study by Kühn et al. (2018), serves as a great example where he explores
the habitual concern of violent video games promoting aggression and having negative
effects on behaviour. The method employed in this study was a longitudinal intervention
design, where they observed a certain amount of participants playing video games for
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two months. The findings were very surprising as no significant changes in aggression
levels were found, therefore challenging the common assumption.
The consumption of violence is not always directly related to active acts of
violence as seen in this diverse literature overview, but it is indeed concerning how the
context of its consumption, certainly being the medium one prominent factor, can
influence directly youth attitude. Furthermore, concerns start rising when we realize that
media is not only consumption but interaction, where teenagers communicate with other
teenagers or interact with public content. This would not only mean that children and
teenagers would consume harmful content but also interact with it and engage in its
fomentation. Engagement also requires context, as shown above, engaging in violence
in the form of playing video games does not appear to have a negative effect but
engaging in social media does. The difference appears to be again the medium, where
TV shows and social media predominantly show a negative correlation as opposed to
video games. Consequently, video games and TV shows both serving as entertainment,
raise the question of why one incites violence and the other doesn't, which I consider to
be a great research gap that requires further research. Despite this distinction, the
conclusion is the same: the vast majority of media negatively influences teenagers and
children. Freedom of speech and the press are two fundamental pillars of democracy
and shouldn’t be controlled, but parental intervention and education should be
promoted.
In conclusion, the wide exploration of existing literature implies a negative
correlation between violent media and the attitudes and behaviours of teenagers and
children in this modern digitalized era. While studies by Patton et al. (2014) and Liao et
al. (2019) highlight the negative effects that media can have throughout two exponential
mediums such as TV shows and social media, challenging the common assumption that
media violence is transmitted only by consumption and showing that interaction plays a
huge role in media violence, Kühn et al.'s (2018) findings regarding video games
highlight the complexity of this issue. The distinction in the impact of different media
forms raises intriguing questions about the role of context and interaction in shaping
youth attitudes. Despite the nuances, the conclusion is clear, the majority of media
consumption negatively affects teenagers and children. Hence, it is crucial to foment
parental intervention and education while maintaining the principles of democracy such
as freedom of speech and the press.
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References

Patton, D. U., Hong, J. S., Ranney, M. L., Patel, S., Kelley, C., Eschmann, R., &

Washington, T. (2014). Social media as a vector for youth violence: A review of

the literature. Computers in Human Behavior, 35, 548–553.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.02.043

Liao, Y., Huang, C., Su, Z., & Wang, C. (2019). The Influence of Viewing Behavior and

Interpersonal Relationships on Teenagers’ Violent Tendency and Perception of

Happiness. IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/icea.2019.8858291

Kühn, S., Kugler, D., Schmalen, K., Weichenberger, M., Witt, C., & Gallinat, J. (2018).

Does playing violent video games cause aggression? A longitudinal intervention

study. Molecular Psychiatry, 24(8), 1220–1234.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0031-7