Teen violence in media

The Slenderman case revives a long-standing debate: does media exposure influence acts of violence in youth? In June , numerous news outlets told the chilling story of 2 Wisconsin preteens who had lured their best friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times. Following this horrific crime, the typical questions of how and why were asked, but soon came another question: Was the internet, in fact, an accomplice? Had their online activity led to a blurring of fiction and reality in such a way that had allowed them to commit attempted murder?

Everyone knows that American kids spend a lot of time with the media, but a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation of more than 2, children between 8 and 18 shows just how immersed they are. They discovered that the average youth devotes 7. They also found that children and teens whose parents set limits spent, on average, 3 fewer hours per day. Parents are understandably concerned about the effect that violence in video games, TV, movies, and popular music will have on their children. Several studies have been done on the effects of exposure to violence through video games, movies, TV shows, and music. Some of the conclusions from these studies include:.

I killed my first Klingon in It took place in the computer center at Stanford University, where I was playing a new video game based on the Star Trek television series. I was an "early adopter" of the new technology of video games, and continued to be so for many years, first as a fan of this entertainment medium, and later as a researcher interested in the question of what environmental factors influence aggressive and violent behavior.

Teenagers are being exposed to violent and graphic images at a much higher rate than ever before. With access to the internet through various forms of technology, teens easily set their eyes on disturbing information daily. How is this affecting our children, though? New research recently set out to find the answer to that exact question and found a strong link between aggressive behaviors in teens and violent media. A very common example is video games.