FOR RELEASE: February 2003
TITLE: Media Violence Impacts
Children and Families
Movies, television, video, and the Internet have
become the most powerful external sources of information about society and
interpersonal relationships for children, said Debbie Richardson, Oklahoma
Cooperative Extension Service assistant child development specialist.
"Children begin watching television at a very
early age, sometimes as early as six months, and are ardent viewers by the time
that they are two or three years old," Richardson said. "The average
American child by age 18 sees about 200,000 violent acts on television,
including 16,000 murders."
In addition, 67 percent of households with children
own video game systems, and violent themes compose 60 to 90 percent of the most
popular video games, she said.
According to the American Psychological Association,
there are four long-term effects of viewing violence, Richardson said. These
include increased aggressive and anti-social attitudes and behaviors, increased
fear of being or becoming a victim, increased emotional desensitization to
violence and victims of violence, and increased appetite for more and more
violence in entertainment and real life.
"Young children are the most vulnerable to the
effects of violent media programming," she said. "They have neither
the cognitive nor emotional structures to understand the context of the
violence. They do not grasp the consequences of the behavior and are more
likely to imitate violence."
Richardson said Craig A. Anderson from the
Department of Psychology at Iowa State University testified before the U.S.
Senate about the effects of media violence. Anderson said, “The effects of
television and movie violence on aggression are not small. Indeed, the media
violence effect on aggression is bigger than the effect of exposure to lead on
I.Q. scores in children, the effect of calcium intake on bone mass, the effect
of homework on academic achievement or the effect of asbestos exposure on
cancer.”
As more homes and schools obtain computers,
increasing numbers of children (at least 45 percent in the United States) are
now using the Internet for homework, games, and entertainment, she said. The
Internet with all of its benefits is a vast, uncensored information highway
that can be an unsafe place for children. They may be easily exposed to
information that promotes hate, violence, and pornography.
A survey conducted in 1999 for the National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children found that approximately one in five
children, ages 10 to 17, had received a sexual solicitation online, Richardson
said.
Following are tips to help children, youth, parents,
grandparents, and other adults become "media literate" and critical
viewers.
·
Be a wise consumer.
·
Know what your kids are playing and watching.
·
Monitor and limit access to violent programs and games. Explain why
they are harmful.
·
Select programs and games that promote problem solving and cooperation.
·
Watch programs and play video games with the child, and discuss what is
seen.
·
Learn about the Internet and monitor children’s computer access and
activity.
·
Be aware of media ratings and use blocking devices.
·
Help educate others in the community.
For more information about media violence or other
Extension programs, contact your local Cooperative Extension office.
Prepared by:
Debbie Richardson
Asst. Ext. Spec. Child
Development
Oklahoma State University
104 HES, Room 237
Stillwater, OK 74078
405 744-6231
Mandy H. Gross
Communications Specialist
Oklahoma State University
318 PIO
Stillwater, OK 74078
405 744-6792