Violent Media - Violent Youth

Creating awareness of the violence we're all subjected to daily.

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Guns, Media Violence And Mental Illness

‘Guns, media violence and mental illness’, The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, investigates how these three separate things combine to be the cause of mass shootings. The paper explores the theory that combined, guns, media violence, and mental illness, are a huge cause of school shootings.

Assault weapons, mental illness, and violent video games are the “big three” targets lobbyists and pundits claim as causes of mass and school shootings.

The gun lobby blames violent video games. The video game lobby points its finger at guns and mental illness. Politicians take pot shots at their donors’ favorite target, and caution against taking action against their donors’ interests.

A few of the loudest voices have some academic credentials, but they are in fact selling the public a bill of goods, not accurately portraying what the best science has repeatedly found as reported in vetted reviews. Before discussing the Big Three, first, review some facts about violent behavior in general:

There are dozens of risk factors for aggressive/violent behavior.

Violent behavior occurs only when multiple risk factors are present. No single risk factor is the cause of mass shootings or school shootings.

No single risk factor is necessary for violence. For example, not all mass shooters grew up in a violent family.

Understanding the Big Three

One cannot have a shooting without a gun, and guns capable of rapid fire with large capacity magazines enable killing large numbers.

It certainly “feels” as if mental illness must be a cause of mass shootings. It feels so because we can’t imagine ourselves doing such a thing unless we were extremely distressed and out of control. But the truth about mental illness and violence is more complex. We must distinguish the shooter’s state of mind from whether or not the shooter has a diagnosable mental illness. Diagnosable mental illnesses persist for relatively long periods, and decades of research find that the mentally ill are not more likely to commit violent crimes than those who are not mentally ill. Being highly distressed and angry is related to violence, but is not in itself a mental illness. It would be more useful to screen gun buyers on known risk factors for violence than on mental illness.

It is simply a lie for industry "scientists" and lobbyists to claim there is no evidence linking media violence to real-world violent behavior. The scientific consensus from the psychological, psychiatric, pediatric and medical communities has been that exposure to violent entertainment media (including video games) is a known causal risk factor for multiple types of aggressive behavior, including the types of physical aggression called “violence.”

For example, the largest and most scientifically sound analysis of violent video game effects, published in 2010, found a dozen studies that measured violent behavior yielded essentially the same average effect of violent video game play on violent behavior as on less extreme physical aggression. Earlier studies of TV effects, and recent studies of video games, also have linked media violence to criminal violence.

Does this mean violent video games are the single cause of mass and school shootings? No. Media violence is neither the largest risk factor, nor the smallest, but falls in the middle in terms of its size or importance. To reduce excessively aggressive and violent behavior (with or without guns), society must address the known risk factors, most of which are very expensive.

We can address one risk factor by simply recognizing the well-documented harm of violent entertainment media, and subsequently reducing children’s and adolescents’ exposure to violent screen media. Parents and other caregivers are well positioned to do this, once they learn the scientific truths about the harm caused by such media. This costs almost nothing.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sound-science-sound-policy/201804/guns-media-violence-and-mental-illness

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Brain, Behaviour and Media

‘Brain, behavioUr and media’, by Bernard J. Luskin, investigates how media influences an individual’s brain and behavior throughout the process of academic psychology. The paper explores the rapidly growing influence of social media, internet, phones, tv and films; and the fascinating developments that are being learned from brain scans. Revealing specific outcomes that affect both the brain and behavior of the individual involved. 

THE GOOD MEDIA EFFECTS:

IQs are rising, according to the Education Testing Service. Much of the increase is due to advances in media assisted learning and interactive game playing.

Girls are advancing in the field of science. Some studies attribute this to increased numbers of females engaging in interactive gameplay.

The nexus between media and learning is increasingly popular and we are learning more about learning.

Communication is increasing across cultures.

Media has helped foster public understanding of many crucial issues.

THE BAD MEDIA EFFECTS:

Attention spans are decreasing because of exposure to excessively stimulating and fast-paced media. A direct link between exposure to media stimulation and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has surfaced from research.

Violence in media causes desensitization to violence. It may facilitate violent acts. Violence may be contagious through observational learning and social agreement.

Media-assisted crimes like identity theft and child pornography are taking new forms.

The average number of sleep hours per night decreases in inverse proportion to the average number of hours per day of Internet use.

Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD) is increasingly diagnosed by professionals.

CONCLUSIONS:

Research has found that playing action video games has a positive effect leading to improvements in visual attention. Therefore, research is revealing both problems and benefits from the relationship between media stimulation and attention. More study is important.

Media studies, media and culture, media and communications psychology, are central to our early 21st century world. New knowledge is emerging. We presently know a lot more than we understand. As responsible parents and citizens, we must "pay attention."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-media-psychology-effect/201203/brain-behavior-and-media

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Tips on How to Deal with Media Violence

‘Tips on How to Deal with Media Violence’, by Caraline Knorr, is a blog that aims to find out how media violence can impact kids, and they also offer advice on choosing quality, age-appropriate media. The blog is as well accompanied by a video that highlights four smart ways to deal with media violence. Both the writing and the video are of a high quality and will ensure that you will have an enjoyable learning experience.

Tips for parents of all kids

Explain consequences. What parent hasn't heard "but there's no blood" as an excuse for watching a movie or playing a video game? Explain the true consequences of violence, and point out how unrealistic it is for people to get away with violent behavior.

Keep an eye on the clock. Don't let kids spend too long with virtual violence. The more time they spend immersed in violent content, the greater its impact and influence.

Teach conflict resolution. Most kids know that hitting someone on the head isn't the way to solve a disagreement, but verbal cruelty also is violence. Teach kids how to use their words responsibly to stand up for themselves -- and others -- without throwing a punch.

Know your kids' media. Check out ratings, and, when there are none, find out about content. For example, content in a 1992 R-rated movie is now acceptable for a PG-13. Streaming online videos aren't rated and can showcase very brutal stuff.

Keep an eye on interactive media violence. There's no way to accurately measure whether there's more or less violence than in the past, but the pervasiveness of it in interactive forms, such as social media, online videos, and video games, is relatively new.

Advice by age

Two- to 4-year-old kids often see cartoon violence. But keep them away from anything that shows physical aggression as a means of conflict resolution, because they'll imitate what they see.

For 5- to 7-year-olds, cartoon rough-and-tumble, slapstick, and fantasy violence are OK, but the violence that could result in death or serious injury is too scary.

Eight- to 10-year-olds can handle action-hero sword fighting or gunplay so long as there's no gore.

For 11- to 12-year-olds, historical action -- battles, fantasy clashes, and duels -- is OK. But close-ups of gore or graphic violence (alone or combined with sexual situations or racial stereotypes) aren't recommended.

Kids age 13 to 17 can and will see shoot-'em-ups, blow-'em-ups, high-tech violence, accidents with disfigurement or death, anger, and gang fighting. Point out that the violence portrayed hurts and causes suffering, and limit the time they're exposed to violence, especially in video games.

Most M-rated games aren't right for kids under 17. The kid down the street may have the latest cop-killer game, but that doesn't mean it's good for him. The ultra-violent behavior, often combined with sexual images, affects developing brains. Just because your child's friend is allowed to play violent games or watch violent movies doesn't mean they're OK with your child.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/tips-on-how-to-deal-with-media-violence

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The Most Violent Video-Games

A high number of psychological studies reveal that there is a positive correlation between violent video game play and an individual’s aggressiveness. Insight of these studies, researchers, and policymakers, similarly agree that playing video games are contributing causes to the increased aggression among young adults.

In one particular study, Christopher Barlett, a psychologist at Iowa State University, led a research team that had 47 undergraduates play “Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” for 15 minutes. Following, the group took different measures of arousal, both physical and psychological. It also tested whether the students would behave more aggressively, by having them give hot sauce to a fellow student who, they were told, did not like spicy food but had to swallow the sauce. When compared to a group who had played a non-violent video game, those who had been engaged in “Mortal Kombat” were more aggressive across the board. They gave their fellow student's significantly bigger portions of the hot sauce.

A number of similar studies have reached the same conclusion: A dose of violent gaming makes people act a little more aggressively than they usually would, at the very least for a few minutes after playing. But what sort of violent video games were they exposed to, below are instances are some of the most violent video games available on the market presently:

Bulletstorm: Full Clip 

EditionBulletstorm is a sci-fi action first-person shooter game, developed by People Can Fly and Epic Games. Released on February 25, 2011, The game is well-known for its sense of style and crass humor, rewarding players with points for performing ridiculous and creative kills. These rewards outwardly focus on players using guns, kicks, and an electric whip-like device to destroy their opponents. There's plenty of blood, gore, and dismemberment, and players get points for killing enemies in increasingly extreme methods.

Conan Exiles

This massively multiplayer online survival role-playing game, released on May 8, 2018, set in a fictional prehistoric Hyborian Age. The game begins when the main character is rescued, by another character named Conan, becoming exiles they both begin their descent into a harsh desert landscape. It ultimately develops into a storyline that is full of bloody, gory action that includes decapitations and dismemberment; otherwise, there are certain events in the game that highlight the brutality of Conan's world, its environment, and its subject matter, which includes cannibalism, torture, and human sacrifice.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Battleground is a player vs player action game, where up to 100 players can fight to the death; in a continually shrinking arena. Where the last player remaining wins. The players can use any weapon at their disposal, including guns, bats, bare hands or even cars; but your goal is to kill everyone you come across to ensure your safety. Even though players can choose to enter the game solo or in a team, alliances between players can quickly be tossed aside in favor of points and survival.

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Desensitisation Theory

The desensitization theory infers that exposure to real-life and entertainment violence may alter cognitive, effective, and behavioral processes. These effects can over time develop into desensitization; a diminished cognitive, emotional behavioral response to a stimulus. For instance, the stimulus could a decrease in fear and sensitivity to extremely aggressive behavior and taboo subjects, and possible introduction to everyday life.

The theory suggests that constant exposure to such violence on a regular basis, no longer makes such a strong emotional impact upon the audience, possibly causing them to also be insensitive towards violence in everyday life. Implying children and adults are both becoming immune to the horror of violence, gradually accepting violence as a way to solve problems, imitate the violence they observe on TV and identify with characters.

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What is emotional desensitisation?

Desensitisation is is a term that explains a perspective change in emotional responsiveness. It further refers to the gradual decline in responsiveness to a type of stimulus over a period of repeated exposure. In the context of media violence, desensitization more specifically describes a process by which initial response to violent stimuli is reduced, thereby changing an individual’s present internal state. In particular, desensitization to violent media stimuli is thought to reduce anxious arousal. Fear is a spontaneous and probably innate response of humans in reaction to violence. As with other emotional responses, repeated exposure to media violence can have a decreased negative affect, because violent stimuli lose their capacity to elicit strong emotions the more often the stimulus is presented. For instance, witnessing community violence would initially elicit strong negative emotional reactions, but after repeated exposure to community violence, these emotional reactions would be dampened, resulting in less emotional distress.

Research has found that the more time individuals spend watching violent media, the less emotionally responsive they became too violent stimuli and the less sympathy they show for victims of violence within reality. Bartholow, Bushman, and Sestir (2006) used event-related brain data to compare responses by violent and nonviolent video game users to violent stimuli and relate them to subsequent aggressive responses in a laboratory task. It was identified that the more violent game's participants played on a common basis, the less brain activity they showed in response to violent pictures and the more aggressively they behaved in the following task. In a series of studies with children age 5 to 12 it was demonstrated that common usage of violent video games was associated with reduced empathy with others in need of help.

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Violent Media and Real-World Behaviour

“Aggressive habits seem to be learned early in life, and once established, are resistant to change and predictive of serious adult antisocial behavior.” - by Douglas A. Gentile

The relationship between violent media and real-world violence has been the subject of extensive debate and considerable academic research. Many believe that the many forms of violent media, literature, film video games etc, may have adverse long-term effects on adolescents. Especially when being exposed to violent media when their minds are still developing. A long-term effect of exposure is called desensitization; desensitization is a term that explains a perspective change in emotional responsiveness. Much academic research has been conducted on the subject, as well as theories create to try and explain the topic.

Examples of Academic research

Emotional Desensitization to Violence Contributes to Adolescents’ Violent Behavior A number of adolescents encounter different forms of violence within their schools, communities or homes. From previous studies, it has been confirmed that exposure to highly violent behavior and occurring over a period of time can both be linked to the development of emotional desensitization. Though the long-term consequences of these results are unknown at this point. The study conducted investigated emotional desensitization to violence, accompanied by externalizing problems and the connection between the exposure to violence in pre-adolescents and violent behavior present in late adolescence. The study focused on a community sample of youth, equaling 704 candidates, reported on their exposure to violence in multiple stages of development 11, 13 and 18. At ages 11 and 13, the exposure to violence was assessed; the violent behavior was measured at age 18. From the research conducted the results suggest that emotional desensitization to violence in early adolescence contributes to serious violence in late adolescence.

Desensitization to Media Violence The current study was designed to add to existing evidence on the subject of desensitization in the media violence– aggression link in four ways: (a) by looking at altered emotional reactions to a violent film clip as an outcome variable of long-term, habitual media violence exposure; (b) by looking at desensitization to violence both in terms of a decrease in anxious arousal and of an increase in pleasant arousal; (c) by looking at altered emotional reactions to violent films as a situational predictor of aggressive cognitions and behavior; and (d) by comparing responses to violent media stimuli with responses to sad and funny stimuli to address the issue of the content specificity of the aggression-promoting effects of desensitization.

To examine these predictions, a study was conducted where participants would first complete an online questionnaire about their everyday media violence exposure. In addition, trait aggression, trait arousability, and normative beliefs about aggression were also be measured at this stage. Two weeks later the participants would come into the laboratory and be exposed to two different emotionally arousing films: a violent clip and a sad or a funny comparison clip. They answered a brief questionnaire after each clip assessing a variety of variables including their emotional arousal during the film clip. SCL was recorded constantly before and during the films as a measure of physiological arousal. Following the film clips, participants completed a lexical decision task as a measure of the cognitive accessibility of aggressive thoughts and a competitive reaction time task as a measure of aggressive behavior. The findings suggested that the more individuals habitually used violent media content, the less physiological reactivity they showed to a violent film clip presented to them in a laboratory setting.

Examples of Scientific Theories

Media effects debate the media effects debate is a long-standing question of how influential the media is towards the individuals exposed to it. One side of the debate believes, that the claims that there could be possible effects from media are false. The argument suggests that effects in media, for instance, violence in a film, are as influential as music, colour, deep-focus photography and rhythmic editing.  Inferring how can one decide what of penetrative quality and influence. Though there is a conflicting argument that states there is an obvious correlation between what’s depicted on the screen and what happens in reality. For example, since the release of Scream, it has then come to inspire a series of gruesome murders. One of the stranger cases referred to two teenage boys in England who believed that the film was sending a message to them, ordering them to kill their friend. The boys enticed their friend to a secluded area and later attacked him and left him to die. The victim astonishingly survived the ordeal, though was stuck with the is a stark reminder of the strange power films can hold over people.

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History Of Violence

During history, many forms of violence have been featured in the fictional surroundings of a horror story. A horror story is a tale that is created with the intent of inducing a feeling of fear. These tales can be traced back to ancient origins and have come to influence a considerable amount of folk literature. Since the twentieth-century, violence has become a popular form of literature exhibiting the universal violence of modern society.

Horror stories themselves can feature supernatural elements such as witches, werewolves, or they can confront the more realistic psychological fears. Productively, western literature had its own culture with its own fears and curiosities, the Gothic novel, began to emerge in the 18th century. The era is mainly known as the pre-romantic era. This genre was first introduced by Horace Walpole, whose Castle of Otranto (1765) that many believed helped the genre become a legitimate literary form. Nearly a century later Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley introduced pseudoscience into the genre in her famous novel Frankenstein (1818), about the creation of a monster that ultimately destroys its creator.

During the twentieth-century literature established itself by demonstrating the universal violence of modern society. From the destruction caused by large-scale warfare to separate cases of murder, rape, and abuse. Critics of modern literature have predominantly attributed this trend to either the graphic appeal of violent behavior and its likeness to unsettling readers by unnerving their individual beliefs. Others have emphasized the historical implications of violence during the eras succeeding World War II, were poets and novelists predominantly conveyed the anxieties of a world that seemed unable to obtain long-term peace, and in which human levels of aggressiveness could result in global destruction. By the end of the twentieth century, images of violence occurring in all forms of media had become a normality of everyday life that the destructive potential of the human race seemed a given, ensuring moral solutions to the problem seem improbable. Consequently, violence has become a subject that most modern writers desire to write.

For most of the twentieth-century poets, violence was an unavoidable reality that permeated their works. Critics have examined in the writings of Hart Crane the central imagery of destruction as it expresses the poet's inability to accept a deeply flawed world. In the poetry of Sylvia Plath and John Wain an attempt to perceive the sources and effects of modern violence ending in anger, frustration, despair, and, in the case of Plath, suicide. To conclude, critics have come to acknowledge that the postwar poet had the responsibility to study the nature of violence so people could ultimately understand and avoid similar happenings in the future. Instances of the form of violence are expressed in the literature include George Orwell’s 1949 novel: 1984, and Hart Crane’s 1930 poetry: The Bridge.

But how violence is shown is always evolving, but it's important to know the origins of a subject to understand how and why it's changed. Maybe helping to predict how it will change in the not so near future.

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Films Glamorising Violence

Films Glamourising Violence Over the last 100 years, films have become one of the greatest entertainment pastimes of the modern era. With this popularity, entertainment films have frequently glamourized violence in some way or another. The occurrence of copycat crimes that have been inspired by cinema, it’s an occurring issue that has been present for decades and it doesn't look as if it will go away any time soon. It’s not uncommon for an individual to see certain activities take place in a film and to then imitate them in reality. Occasionally, it is just the case of mentally unstable individuals seeing a particular film and acting upon a random event they see in it. 

The Town

Ben Affleck's crime thriller presents a sequence of brilliant scenes, particularly when he and his criminal gang dress up as nuns, and employ some heavy firepower to enable them to rob a bank for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Due to the fact that when compared to reality the act of robbing a bank is purposely constructed to seem more straightforward, easier and profitable then it actually is. Though this didn’t dismay a couple, from Illinois America, from attempting to imitate the bank heist from Affleck and co.

While wearing nuns outfits and masks similar to the characters in the film, Navahcia Edwards, 25 and her fiancé entered a Chicago bank heavily armed and withdrew with over $100,000 (£74,880). It was reported that there were no casualties, coincidently no shots were fired during the robbery, and eventually, the couple was caught and sentenced.  After the arrest, there was no mention of the money previously stolen being recovered.

Fight Club

David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's popular novel has inspired people to create their own versions of 'fight club', with many being situated across America. To kind of trend has also appeared within the setting of schools, where large groups of teenagers fight against each other. However, these types of phenomenon are subsequently subdued by the local authorities.

However, the more dangerous side effect was that a large number of people felt empowered by the anti-capitalist themes excited and enacted similar acts as Tyler Durden. One particular imitator was named Kyle Shaw, he set off a homemade bomb, built from fireworks and detonated it outside a Starbucks, a notorious symbol of corporate America. It had been rumored that Shaw had been planning his own Project Mayhem, the group set up in the film by Tyler Durden to bring down corporate America. Shaw devised to reenact the events of the film and was a known obsessive fan of both the book and film, further making the association clear.

Scream

The character of Ghostface is one of the most awarding achievements of the modern horror cinema and his mask has become one of the most known around the world. Even though the film is an almost parody of the slasher genre, it has then come to inspire a series of gruesome murders. One of the stranger cases referred to two teenage boys in England who believed that the film was sending a message to them, ordering them to kill their friend. The boys enticed their friend to a secluded area and later attacked him and left him to die. The victim astonishingly survived the ordeal, though was stuck with the is a stark reminder of the strange power films can hold over people.

The ProgramIn the 90's movie, The Program, the main protagonist lies down in the middle of a busy motorway as an act of boldness and to also establish just how masculine he is. As expected, a few people stupidly decided to emulate the film's actions. One account featured a young man persuading his friend to the idea that they should both dress in dark clothes,  and lie on a busy Philadelphia highway all accomplished at night. As presumed, these actions didn't end well as they were both hit by a truck. Even though one of them was lucky to escape with his life, the other wasn’t. Believe it or not, similar instances were reported nationwide in the wake of the movie's release.

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Are Video Games the cause of school shootings?

After the most recent school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, America, leaving at least 10 dead; along with a staggering 22 attacks that have resulted in either injury or death in just 5 months. There have been numerous discussions around the globe were one prominent question is being asked, one that’s sparked a debate for decades. Is there a cause for these violent actions?

An answer to this question could be violent video games,  it seems that’s what a number of local lawmakers and politicians in America believe. After the shooting at Broward County, Florida high school, when a local lawmaker voiced his made his thought public that the gunman “was prepared to pick off students like it’s a video game.”  Moreover, in January, after two students were killed and many others wounded by a 15-year-old shooter in Benton, Kentucky, the state’s governor attacked popular culture, telling journalists, “We can’t celebrate death in video games, celebrate death in TV shows, celebrate death in movies, celebrate death in musical lyrics and remove any sense of morality and sense of higher authority and then expect that things like this are not going to happen.”

After conducting some research on the matter I discovered that there are many extensive violent and gory video games available on the market, some of which aren’t suitable for younger audiences. They include:

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is a player vs player action game, where up to 100 players can fight to the death; in a continually shrinking arena. Where the last player remaining wins. The players can use any weapon at their disposal, including guns, bats, bare hands or even cars; but your goal is to kill everyone you come across to ensure your safety. Even though players can choose to enter the game solo or in a team, alliances between players can quickly be tossed aside in favor of points and survival.

Friday the 13th: The Game, based on the horror movie franchise of the same name, this multiplayer third-person survival horror game is set during the 1980s in numerous locations in the Camp Crystal Lake, that’s featured in the films. Allowing up to eight people to play at once, one player is randomly picked to play the role of Jason Voorhees, whose aim is to kill as many counselors as possible before time runs out. Gruesome acts of violence follow as characters are killed with weapons, random objects, or even bare hands. Accompanied by barely dressed female characters that can be seen skinny-dipping while they are being hunted down; potentially adding a sexual element to the violence being enacted.

Conan Exiles is a massively multiplayer online survival role-playing game, released on May 8, 2018, set in a fictional prehistoric Hyborian Age. The game begins when the main character is rescued, by another character named Conan, becoming exiles they both begin their descent into a harsh desert landscape. It ultimately develops into a storyline that is full of bloody, gory action that includes decapitations and dismemberment; otherwise, there are certain events in the game that highlight the brutality of Conan's world, its environment, and its subject matter, which includes cannibalism, torture, and human sacrifice.

Furthermore, scientists in the behavioral fields have been studying and debating the effects of media violence on behavior since the 1950’s. Similarly on the subject of video games since the 1980’s.

Recently there has been an increase in new research that has begun to analyze what are the adequate facts about the effects of violent gaming. Elements that have been established as short-term effects, include: playing violent games can result in increased hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior. Moreover, adolescents can develop gaming addiction, an addiction that has recently clarified a valid addiction, that can prove by violent regards to other gaming peers.

Despite the extent of research conducted there is still no clear answers to weather over long periods of time will the increase in the chances of committing a violent crime, like murder, rape, or assault.

So what do you think was the cause?

[sweetraus]

“Anytime a kid shoots another kid, just ‘cause a gun’s involved does not make it video game-related violence…If he shoots him in the head, tea-bags his corpse and calls him a noob, then you can blame the video game.”

Nathan Anderson (via sweetraus)

[abiding-in-peace]

We must also be careful to avoid ingesting toxins in the form of violent TV programs, video games, movies, magazines, and books. When we watch that kind of violence, we water our own negative seeds, or tendencies, and eventually we will think and act out of those seeds.

Thich Nhat Hanh (via abiding-in-peace)

[starlightandtears]

I told my roommates I have empathy pains when I watch really violent/triggering media and one of them laughed at me 🙃

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A number of people are more susceptible to violent media and only some people recognize the change in behavior.  

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