Taking a Serious Look at Media Violence and its Effect on Children

Violence has been around since the beginning of time--before television, radio, or video games. As many people would ask, how then did people learn these violent actions without the extreme exposure of the media? The question has a simple answer; humanity is the creator of its own media; the media is not the creator of humanity. "In 1949, a mere 2% of American homes had television sets. This increased to 64% by 1955, 93% by the mid-60's, and 98% today" (…

…generally exposed through the media? References: Hughes, J. & Hasbrouck E. "Television Violence: Implications for Violence Prevention." School Psychology Review. 25.2 (1996) 134-151. Kuehnel, J., & Meadows, R. (2005). Evil Minds: Understanding and Responding to Violent Predators. Up Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Zimbardo, P. 1999. A Simulation Study of the Psychology of Imprisonment Conducted at Stanford University. March 8, 2004, http://www.prisonexp.org/. Zuckerman, M. "The Victims of TV Violence." U.S. News & World Report. 115.5 (1993) 64.