How,does,media,violence,affect family How does media violence affect our kids?

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Here we go again with a simple-minded answer to a complex social question.For every hour a four-year-old spends in front of television, we are told,regardless of what they view, the odds of his becoming a bully increase by 9per cent. That has to mean every four- year-old is a bully shortly after hisfourth birthday.  The single question that has occupied researchers in relation to childrenand the media since the introduction of television is: what is the impact ofmedia, particularly media violence on children? Despite the many millions ofdollars spent on research, the findings are spurious.  Two large studies in the 1960s, one in the US by Wilbur Schramm and hiscolleagues, and one by Hilde Himmeiweit in Britain, got it right when theyreported: for some children, under some conditions, some television is harmful;for other children under the same conditions, or for the same children underother conditions, it may be beneficial; for most children, under mostconditions, most television is probably neither particularly harmful norparticularly beneficial.  Effects studies have become a self-perpetuating industry for four decades.Answers have not been found, because the wrong questions are being asked. Someresearchers, notably David Buckingham, have pointed out that effects studiesmiss the social and narrative context.  The context of violence is what makes it acceptable or unacceptable, and thedepiction of violence in drama is essential for children to understand theworld in which they are growing up, both at an individual level and a societallevel. Yet the belief that media violence is harmful, and now the suggestionthat watching any television is harmful, remains.  The factors that have been identified as risk factors for children who arein trouble and who become bullies are child abuse, family breakdown, unemploymentand poverty, isolation, lack of social success, peer-group pressure. The mediaare not high on the list of influences when other risk factors are absent. Buttrying to isolate the impact of media alone misses the bigger issue  While media violence may not be a major factor in explaining individual actsof violence and bullying, it may be a very important factor at the societallevel. The media depict a very violent world and the media exploit thatviolence in news programs as well as in sport and fictional drama. In the society we see on TV there are high levels of aggression, and thereis wide acceptance of antisocial behavior. As a result of viewing this kind ofprogram day after day, we know that people (viewers) perceive the world to be amuch more dangerous place than it actually is and fear they will be the victimsof violence. This is particularly true for the vulnerable: those living alone,children, women and older people. Perpetrators learn that aggressive attitudesand behaviors are often acceptable, even on the sports field.  Media content has changed its form in the past few decades. Morality talesare now few. Remember when the hero drew his gun only when he was provoked, andalways in the service of good? Increasingly the models of behavior in films,television, video games and music are antisocial. Gangsters, drug dealers andpsychopaths are often glamorized.  Right and wrong are no longer clear concepts. This extends way beyondfictional programs, as we know from the war in Iraq, our treatment of refugees,and the debate that surrounds these issues. We don’t believe our politiciansany more. And the examination of their manipulation of facts becomes part ofthe media environment where conflict is heightened and exploited for commercialadvantage. Altogether this, media world presents an experience where the valuesdepicted are at best ambiguous and confusing.  Behavior is a function of social context. If young people are to grow up tobe socialized human beings rather than bullies, constructive rather thandestructive, they have to have hope and opportunity. They must be offeredsomething to live for, to believe in, to value. And our media with its emphasison conflict, violence and sensationalism, its exploitation of bullying in sportand other arenas consistently undermines that process.  We know the importance of a child’s early years. If children are not giventhe stimulation and support they need in those early years, they will grow upto become marginalized adults. Their health, literacy, and physical skills areall-important. But just as crucial for their social well being is thedevelopment of their emotional and moral intelligences. Children requirehealthy bodies, educated minds, and an understanding of their social purpose.  We won’t reduce bullying by the impossible task of stopping four year oldswatching television. Rather television can have a positive role to play. It canbe a wonderful medium to inspire and inform as effectively as it now promotesantisocial values.  In 1995, Nelson Mandela, then president of South Africa, sent a message tothe first World Summit on Television and Children in Melbourne. In part, he said: “Thefuture of our planet lies in children’s hands. All of you involved intelevision, which is one of the most powerful influences o\n children, have anawesome responsibility on your shoulders.”  Ata time when it appears that the moral and the cultural fabric of our society isdisintegrating, it is ever more important that we instill in our youth andchildren a strong sense of values, a compassion and understanding of oneanother culture and humanity, and offer them knowledge about the world.