Media Violence
...answers for more then three decades. At first glance, the debate is dominated by one question. Whether or not media violence causes real life violence and whether or not it has a negative effect of the modern day Canadian family. Closer examination reveals a political battle. On one hand, there are those who blame media violence for societal violence and want to censor violent content to protect our children. On the other hand, there are those who see regulation as a slippery slope to censorship or a smoke screen hiding the basic causes of violence in society.
One thing is certain: the issue of media violence is not going away. Increasingly, the debate is focusing on the "culture" of violence, and on the normalization of aggression and the lack of empathy in our society.
Study after study has shown that viewing encourages aggression and desensitization in children. The debate is over. Media violence causes violence among those who are exposed to it. This essay describes how the depiction of violence is evolving in a number of media formats. It analyzes how, and why, violence is used by entertainment and information industries. It offers an overview of research findings, an outline of government responses to the issue and a look at some of the key arguments in the debate. It also explores the role of media education can play in helping young people put media violence into perspective.
So lets start with this basic argument; violent media is a contributing factor to youth violence in our society. It is not the only factor. But this paper is after all about the media and it is not within our scope or purpose to explore in depth the other reasons kids resort to violence. We are going to talk about violence in the media and what we have learned about its effect on our Canadian children. There have been many studies and a survey showing that media...
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