DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1.What are some examples of media that make children act more violently?


2.Why do you think the internet is constantly blamed for the amount of violence in children?


3. Are you going to make any changes in the future, for your family when you decide to raise kids, knowing the risks?

ARGUMENT

We believe as a group that Media influence has a big role in the way students perform in school, act a home, and evolve as an adolescent.

Georgia P.Report: Tv internet harm kids

Violence in schools is a very serious situation. However, the way the public perceives and treats what they hear is what’s making the whole situation much worse. In the media, student aggression is a highly publicized topic. In many communities, parents, teachers, and even students themselves are worried. Students are feeling victimized because of bullying and other forms of violence within their classrooms. However, crime analysis suggests that the problem of school violence is over exaggerated. School violence has been traced back several centuries. Current data doesn’t support that there has been a drastic increase in school-based violence throughout the years. Fluctuations in school violence over the years have been modest. The media over publicizes the amount there in an attempt to stir up controversies. According to The Criminal Victimization in the United States Reports from the United States Department of Justice, instances of rape, robbery, and assault are more likely to occur at home rather than in school. Children’s’ homes are beginning to be known as one of the most dangerous places, due to the shocking increase in situations of violence at their houses. Studies show that in 1992 that family members victimized 91% of the approximately 2.9 million abused or neglected children. The media, however, doesn’t give as much attention to these statistics as they do the slow changes of violence in schools. Cases prove that schools, in fact, are safer for children than some of the streets of violent cities. Most school violence appearing in newspapers or on television should be critiqued on their ability to collect their data. Reported increases of crimes must be weighed against increases in population and the context of offenses. Researchers believe that perceptions are being distorted because the reporting blends together statistics and statuses of serious crimes with the reporter’s own personal views and beliefs. As for the public, their interest in the issue of school violence fluctuates based on the interest level of what is being publicized. The over exaggerations and criticisms of the media are what drive the interest of the public. The media feeds off the energy given to them by the members of the community. Their over dramatic stories draw in followers, typically parents and sometimes students, who listen to these issues and spread the word. They tell others, and soon everyone knows about what happened. 
The situation of violence is a very serious one. It is one that should not be taken lightly. The media, however, has proven to over exaggerate the truth in order to achieve high publicity for themselves. As previously stated, research shows that in many cases, school is a safer place to be when compared to the homes of many. The amount of violence in schools has barely changed throughout many decades of years, and unless any drastic changes take place, the amount will remain fairly constant.

Fantasha May

      Link: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-12-01-media_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

“Report: TV, Internet harm kids” is an article from USA Today, it summarizes multiple reports and studies that have came to the same conclusion that media is harmful to children. The reports used for this article was gathered from 173 of the strongest papers and/ or studies over the past 28 years. According to Ezekiel Emanuel of the National Institutes of Health  the studies performed provides overwhelming evidence of the importance of limiting children's use of media. He says the report also urges Hollywood and technology makers to create entertainment that is less toxic and more family-friendly. Researchers found violence, obesity, and teen pregnancy was among the top things that media cause a high risk of. USA Today reporter Liz Szabo believes it is up to the parents and policy maker to take control and at least try to better regulate media. She compares present day media to that of the past indicating that  in previous years watching T.V was a family activity, parents back then could easily regulate what their child saw and the amount they watched. If something came on that was negative the parent could show their disapproval immediately indicating to the child that the images or statements seen and/or heard on T.V was not acceptable. In present day America an average child spends about 45 hours a week immersed in media wither its playing video games, watching their favorite T.V show, browsing the internet, social networks, or simply enjoying a movie.

America has turned into a world of technology where kids have T.V’s in their rooms, personal laptops, or even cell phones where they are exposed to multiple harmful things such as pornography, hate sites, social networks, etc. Violence in the  media shows children not only how to act but that it is an acceptable behavior. When children see that violence is ok through the media they began to use it openly. Although this article does not focus only on violence it shows how media affect children attitude and behavior in multiple ways from the amount of exercise they get to how early they have sex. I support the fact that parents should influence their children to engage in other things that do not involve the media but I believe that it is highly difficult for a parent to control or monitor what their children are exposed to by the media. Things such as video games, the internet, and cell phones, and television makes it difficult for anyone to know exactly what children are browsing or witnessing.   However the blame is not solely on parents alone but the media itself for producing such harmful images. Michael Brody, a child psychiatrist at the University of Maryland says the country needs to address the onslaught of negatives images. "At some point," Brody says, "we are all going to be paying for this." Which I believe is going to be proven true in the near future.

Tears-by Jamie Rowen -Miranda Williams

I did not cry for Michigan. It seemed before my time. I did not cry for Jonesboro, too far away to mind. I did not cry for Palisades even though it may be mine. I did not cry for Conyers, Georgia. By then it all seemed fine. But I poured my heart right through my eyes The day they shot up Columbine.The tears they fell for children lost And children on the line. My head fell quick into my hands for parents who must pine. My eyes stayed glossy to a screen Watching kids of my own climb. But, What shook my body up the most, What made it hard to breathe, What bolted all my stomach down And wouldn't let me leave. What made me think about those boys And try to empathize Was the fright, the fear, the look of death In one scared victim's eyes. She described a scene so horror-filled So wrapped with movie cut. I thought about these kids and film what put them in their ruts. I ruled out only media-- we all watch similar things But combined with loneliness and fear Who knows what games can bring? One lesson to be learned from this, The only one for which I'm sure, Is that a gun manufacturer, movie title, music       lyric, parent, anti-depressant, Internet       trench-coat, insult, or whatever else, Is not the thing at fault. And no gun policy, censorship, parent in jail,       drug ban, Web-site check, dress code,       suspension, or whatever else, Would have removed their every thought. We must take looks inside ourselves,       accepting looks with love. For what they didn't like in someone else, Is what they saw in themselves. This Poem Tears is about how the Columbine shooting made this one girl feel. I like this poem because it speaks for many people and how they felt when the Columbine shooting took place. She describes how horrifying it had to be especially for the families of the victims involved. She expresses how she cried for the children who lost their lives and how they were around her age. I can relate to how she felt because when I saw the news that day in 1999 I too cried, and felt deep sympathy as well. The author of this poem even wonders what the murders were thinking at that time, what was going through their minds as they were committing this act of violence? One would have to wonder if they were crying out for help prior to when this catastrophe took place. In this poem Jamie Rowen talks about how someone other than these guys should be held accountable, how did they get these ideas, where did they get these guns, why was it ok for them to come to school in long trench coats during the month of April? Is it possible that these questions could have prevented these acts? I think so, maybe if they didn’t have access to these items then maybe they would’ve thought twice about their plan. When we look at school violence we also need to look at whether or not there was a prevention plan in place. Are High Schools allowed to do locker searches at any given time? The author brings up a valid point about whether there were recent web browsing sweeps therefore teachers and/or parents will know what their children are checking out on the web. As a mom I feel that it is very necessary to check everything my child is looking up on the internet. I agree that if some of these things were looked at then maybe things would not have been possible to happen. I especially like the last line where she says “We must take looks inside ourselves, accepting looks with love. For what they didn't like in someone else, is what they saw in themselves.” Basically she’s saying that they hated things so much that they wanted to kill others when obviously they didn’t have much self-worth. When I read this poem I cried because it took me back to that day when I had heard about the shooting and I could not believe how it was possible for two teenagers to come into school with guns, knives, bombs, and etc. without anyone thinking that it wasn’t strange. Due to that act of school violence, several schools now have more security and metal detectors. Although I used to be against students being forced to wear uniforms, I felt that it took away from their individuality but I realized that a child being uniformed was a must so that there won’t be any more masked murderers in our children’s High School wearing long trench coats. http://smiley00.tripod.com/poem213.html

Song number 2 lyrics:

Violence rules! (x5) Violence rules, guns are cool and we've got guns, in our school (x2) 20 people livin' on a desert isle They're all friendly they all smile Then the food supply gets too low 20 people 10 gotta go Violence rules, guns are cool and we've got guns, in our school (x2) 1,000 people gather in the streets of Manhattan The lights go out guess what happens? It's time to steal, it's time to shoot! It's time to rob... taste my boot! Violence rules! (x5) Violence rules, guns are cool and we've got guns, in our school (x2) Violence rules, guns are cool (x2) Violence rules, guns are cool and we've got guns, in our school

Kids Online and Off, Feast on Violence-Remi Koffs

Remi Koffs

Summary of Popular Article for Media’s Influence on School Violence-

“Kids Online and Off, Feast on Violence”

It is common for many people to believe that the media does influence school violence.  The video and computer games that children play, the television shows and movies that they watch, and the events they see and hear on the news all have an effect on a child’s actions.  The news paper article from USA Today entitled “Kids, Online and Off, Feast on Violence” by Karen Thomas, gives logic behind this theory of media influencing school violence. 

In this article she begins by quoting Bill Clinton, “Violent images ‘warp young perceptions,’” (Thomas, 1).  She explains the relevance of the quote by stating how certain music sources, television shows, and video games can inspire a child to act in an aggressive way that could lead to tragedy or death.  She gives an example of a fourteen year old boy who “claimed that the 1995 film The Basketball Diaries inspired him to begin firing on students at a Kentucky high school.  Parents of those slain students filed a $130 million lawsuit against the filmmakers last week” (Thomas, 1).  This proves the statement that media does influence a child’s aggression.  It seems that even the parents of these children believe so, considering they are suing the creators of that movie.  The writer continues, saying how years ago, “TV’s Beavis & Butt-head was blamed for a spate of young fire starters… satanic rock music was blamed for a rise in teen suicides” (Thomas, 1).  Seemingly these media sources promoted violence which can cause a child to act out in a negative way.

Another point Thomas makes is about the internet and its way of introducing new types of violence.  She says, “The new ingredient: the Internet, with its rapid-fire access to an array of information- from pipe bomb how-to’s to White Supremacy chat rooms.  Could the global kindred spirit of the cyber world make outcast teens more likely to act out their rage” (Thomas, 1)?  She brings up the fact that an enraged child is capable of simply clicking onto the internet and finding different negative techniques that can release their rage, and not in a good way.  Because of this source of media, children can now unfortunately find the best way to commit violent, aggressive acts against people.  They are now able to simply look up ways to take down those bullies in school who have been cruel to them. Sure, some say revenge is good, but the way some internet websites put it can be the complete wrong idea.

Continuously, Thomas brings up the shooting massacre that occurred at a Colorado high school.  She says that the teens suspected of committing the crime watched the news of the then recent Columbine High School shooting.  She questions, “Could the instant feedback of their act have prompted or fueled their rampage” (Thomas, 2)?  She basically is asking if the fame brought to the killers of Columbine lead by the mass media could have influenced the crime that they committed.  Additionally she says that it’s reported that one of those killers from the Colorado high school shootings was a fan of the computer game Doom, in which is notorious for murderous events.  Throughout this article, Thomas continues to discuss how the media is at blame for violence in schools. After reading this article, it is concluded that various sources of media does in fact influence school violence.

Thomas, Karen. "Kids, Online and Off, Feast on Violence." USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc., 22 Apr. 1999. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. <http://usatoday.com/news/index/colo/colo22.htm>.

 

The Impact of Media on Adolescents and Children-Ailey Pestcoe

            In the article, “Impact of Media on Children and Adolescents; A 10-year Review of research,” they refer to the affect of media on children, as a child’s “media diet.”  In the article the research they did included, video games, the internet, commercials, books, television, movies, rock videos, and news. Dietz and Strasburger reviewed everything that had happened in the past 20 years.  This is an older article therefore; the dates they used were in the 90’s. 

            Obviously the media has an effect on any teen, child, or even adults.  In many films recorded back in the 90’s they contained violence, horror, and some sexual content.  Many authors of books, who reflected on the effects of these movies on children, came to the conclusion, that violence increases aggressive interactions with strangers, classmates, and friends.  In a larger review of 217 studies conducted between 1957 and 1990 they looked at the effects of television on antisocial behavior.  They learned that regardless of age, the effects were prevalent, but preschool children demonstrated the greatest effect size. It is also starting to appeal to children around the age of two; they are a target audience now. Violence is in the cartoons they watch, and the games they play.  The effect on males however; was only slightly higher, than the effect on the females.  Data indicates that the average American child spends more than 21 hours per week viewing television.  There is an estimate that about every child who watches television view 10,000 violent acts per year. With cable television coming out, and the loss of audiocassette players there is a larger concern for television effects.  If television hadn’t been developed there would be 10,000 fewer homicides, 70,000 fewer rapes, and 700,000 fewer assaults.  A questionnaire was distributed to high school students noting that out of the 75% who have been exposed to television violence, 10 % went to a counselor about it. 

            Children in grades 6-8 view more than 6 hours a week of television.  The news is having great effects on the younger age groups. Highly publicized events such as the space shuttle Challenger disaster have generally shown mild responses in young viewers.  In other instances, children worry after being exposed to criminal news, or big “scary events.” A child, who witnessed a drowning on the news, would be less likely to go canoeing.  Another case where a child witnessed a fire on the news would be less eager to build a fire in their fireplace.  These effects can also be hard to measure sometimes because they may have a secondary therapeutic effect, and reduce symptoms.

            Not only does the news have an effect on students, advertising does as well.  The negative impact of tobacco, and alcohol ads, can cause major effects in a child’s future.  Preschool children were asked to identify different symbols, most only recognized Mickey mouse, and Disney, but some were able to recognize the famous camel. Adolescents, who had a favorite commercial, were more common to smoke, or drink.

            Overall, the media has caused great effects to the society.  The article proves that as a child gets older, they become more susceptible to the environment around them.  The media is all around; it is on computers, in the news, on television, or in the paper.  There is no way to avoid the effect of media on children.