HARMANPREET KAUR

10138476
DANIEL KAE
30 MARCH 2024
RESEARCH PAPER

A cause and effect between violence in media and real-world violence

The violence shown in movies and on other social media leads to real life violence. This is a big
issue in the ongoing time. The exposure to violence in television, movies, videogames and other
media has been linked to an increased risk of violent behavior. In this research paper, I will look
at how this discussion has changed over time. Especially by looking at the research from the late
1900s to the early 2000s. Researchers and professionals have been arguing on this topic over the
period of 10 years. Some studies suggested that there is a direct relationship between violent
behaviour and violence in entertainment whereas others said that there is not any kind of
relationship between them. I am going to check out a lot of studies, big analysis studies and
different viewpoints to get better views about the complicated relationship between exposure to
media violence and aggressive behavior. There are various theories by which study of media
effects is done which includes communication, media studies, psychology medicine, sociology
and criminology. This research paper aims to explore the causes and effects associated with the
connection between violence in media and real-world violence, by providing a comprehensive
analysis of existing research.

To understand why people, think that there is a relation between violence in shows and movies,
let us go back a bit. There are some experiments and studies done in the past which show this.
Albert bandura was a psychologist. During the 1960s,he conducted a big study named the bobo
doll experiment. This was a first study done on this topic. His aim was to find out that social
behavior is affected by observing anything on social media. There were 36 children involved in
this study. It was concluded that children learned social behavior such as aggression and became
violent after observing violent scenes. This study was the first step towards understanding the
effects of media violence on the real world. Then, there were lot of studies done on this topic.
The studies done during the period of 1920 to 2005 found that the effect of movie violence on
real world followed a rough U- pattern over the 20th century. Overall, media violence is a debated
issue but there is no evidence which proves that there is a direct link between violent media
consumption and real-world violence. There are various causes and effects which I am going to
explain in detail in the upcoming paragraphs.
CAUSES :
*Modelling :
Modelling plays an important role in understanding the complex relationships between violence
in media and real-world behavior. Modelling is a process of learning something by observing the
role models or characters portrayed in media. Modelling done by celebrities or role models
influences youngsters. People learn by watching and copying what others do. Many children in
the present time learn dance after watching dance shows. There are also some people who learn
different kinds of recipes after watching cooking shows. So, social media, television, movies also
act as a teacher. Kids mostly copy what they see. There are a lot of things that children can learn
from social media and other platforms. Whereas, if they see fighting scenes in the movies. They
also copy that behaviour in their real life. Social media gives a big lesson. There are both positive
and negative effects of watching social media. There is a theory named cultivation theory. This
theory was proposed by Gerbner. It explains that prolonged exposure to media contents shapes
an individual’s mentality.
*Desensitization :
Desensitization is a process which means making someone nonreactive or insensitive to a
particular thing over the period of time. It is a psychological process where an individual’s
response to something particular is reduced after repeated exposure to it. When people
continuously watch a lot of violence on the T.V or in the movies, the effect of watching violence
on their mind becomes less. In the beginning they act more aggressively but when they become
usual to watching violent stuff, they become less aggressive. It helps people to overcome their
phobias. The repeated exposure to on screen violence may also contribute to desensitization.
Children become more aware about the happening in the World around after watching this kind
of stuff on television. Some researchers concluded that exposure to media violence can
desensitize people to violence in the real world. The idea is that if children keep seeing violent
things over and over again , their feelings about them become less strong.
For Example, When we watch a horror movie for the first time . We always get afraid or upset
after seeing some horror scenes. But if we again watch other horror movies and we become usual
of watching horror scenes. The initial fear starts to go away. This happens because our mind gets
used to those scenes and this does not affect as you much. Researchers called this process
desensitization. So, when people watch a lot of violent stuff on television and social media and
they do not act aggressively. They do not do aggressive things in real life. It proves that violence
on social media have less connection with the real-world violence.
*GENDER STEREOTYPE :
Gender stereotype can have both negative and positive effects. It is a simply an idea how boys
and girls, men and women should act and behave. There is various scientific research done which
proves that there is a relation between media portrayals and gender stereotype. Fox and
Bailenson, 2009 found that online female avatars conforming to gender stereotypes enhanced
negative attitude towards women. Sometimes there are famous stars say something about women
online. There are some people who get influenced by them and they begin treating women in the
same way as they said. Mostly, female reporters faced attacks due to their work. Scientists had
researched that how stereotype affect our views on the violence. There is gender discrimination
shown in some movies in which domestic violence is done on women. Some man thinks that it is
a right for men to hurt women and they do same thing in real world. These types of ideas came
from stereotypes. The European group, the advisory committee on equal opportunities for men
and women thinks that new media can keep old ideas about differences in using technology may
also change.
EFFECTS :
*CULTURAL EFFECTS :
Different cultures have different rules and regulations regarding violence. Every culture has their
own tradition. In some cultures, it is normal to do violent behavior whereas in other cultures,
societies do not tolerate violent behavior. The violent things shown on the television does not
affect all. Every culture people know that what is right in their tradition about the violence. For
example, in some cultures physical aggression is a sign of the strength. On the other hand , in
others it is not acceptable to act physically aggressively. Media can play an important role in
changing these types of perceptions. Movies and shows which displays cultural norms often like
to impact behavior. Different cultures, the way people act in group and the difference between
individual can change how media violence connect to real aggression. So, it depend on everyone
how they see and what they think about the violence shown on the social platform. Normally
violence shown on the media does not affect all the others. There are also some rules and
regulations set by the government up to which limit violence can be displayed in the movies.
There is already warning displayed on the screen if there is any violence related scene which will
affect culture.
*SHORT TERM AGGRESSION :
After watching violent stuff on the television, people act aggressively at a time but after the
sometimes they get normal. There are various by which people show their short-term aggression.
Some people do verbal aggression , some do emotional aggression whereas some act physically
aggressively. Scientists did a lot of tests in which they have showed that violent media
consumption is linked with short term aggression, but they have also found that this aggression
does not last for a long time. After watching violent things if people act aggressively, it shows
that ow aggressive or mean they are. For example, when children play video games, they act like
they are fighting in the real world. But as soon as they stopped playing video games they became
normal. There is study done by scientists in the control room. They seated some people in the
hall. They played an action movie, and they recorded their expression. It has been reported that
when movie ended, some people act aggressively for few minutes. But as they exit from hall
they are normal as usual. Beside this, there are some longitudinal studies which reveals that
during childhood if children are frequently exposed to media violence , it can lead to adult
aggression even if they reduced watching violent stuff in adulthood. So, the studies tell us that
violent media can make people act meaner, but it does not mean that they will stay in that mood
forever. It is just a temporary thing that happens right after watching.
*INFLUENCE ON CHILDREN :
The most important thing to consider in this research paper is effect of violence in media on
children. Violent stuff displayed on the screens have both positive and negative effects on
children mind. Firstly , I will consider positive effects. Children mostly in the childhood are shy
or withdrawn. They do not know what to do if they get caught in serious situation or get
kidnapped by someone. When they watch action movies , they learned how to cope with the
strangers. It would help them to get out from that situation. When children play video games ,
they start thinking actively. They want to explore more things which help them to lead a best life.
It adds creativity in their mind and help their brain to work better. There was study done in 2014
which found no evidence that violent video games increase violent crime rates. Majority of
people was surprised when they get to know that when children play video games there is
decrease in violent crime rate. Another study from university of Toledo (2015) have found that
playing violent video games could desensitize children to violence, but it did not mean that it
affects their real-world behavior. Playing specific games has even been linked to a thicker brain
and better decision-making. So, playing games in moderation can be positive and enjoyable
experience.
While considering the negative effects of media violence on children, there are various
points to consider. A long exposure to the violent media including television shows, movies,
music have a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. Children exposed to
frequent violent content may get aggressive on small things. Some children also get bad
nightmares after watching violent stuff during the daytime which will have a long effect in their
life if they get serious trauma. It can affect their emotional well-being. In some cases, there are
some children which are facing violence in their real life and when they watch also violent stuff
on media, it will put bad impact on them. It depends on children mentality who they respond
after watching violent stuff. If children have any old trauma related to violent. They act in
different way after watching violent stuff. The relation between media violence and influence on
children is multifaceted.
CONCLUSION :
To sum up, the connection between violent stuff in the movies or games and how people act in
real life is quite complicated. Studies have found some possible reasons why watching violent
things might make some people act more aggressively, both in the short term and as they grow
up. But it is not same for everyone. It is different for everyone. At some places, it also depend on
thinking ability of person. Parents who give right education to their children about the violence
their children do not suffer from any kind of problem. It also depends on the culture. As we keep
trying to understand how media affect us, this is important for scientists to keep studying on this
topic and also take public reviews to have a good result. In this way, we can figure out how to
make sure media does not cause too much harm and it is even good for us. However, it is
debatable topic , on this topics there are various points coming out. If I continue to talk about it.
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