Media Violence and Children Samantha Frazier Alaina Wertman

Our Research Question How does violence on television affect children?

Is media the only source? Personality Environment Parents

Negative Effects APA study – More aggression based on television viewing AAP findings – Media Literacy Congressional Health Summit FTC findings

Minimal or No Effect Defining violence as a problem – Cartoons, live action, the news – “good” violence No direct correlation between television violence and aggressive behavior – Instigation vs. Imitation – Understanding the difference between fantasy and reality

Minimal or No Effect (Continued) Catharsis theory – A “healthy” media violence

Our Research Method – Self Report Survey – Five children, average age 12.8 Stats – 16.6 hours of tv watching a week – 3.6 violent acts per week viewed – 60 % reported that tv violence induced bad dreams – None of the children reported a rise in aggression or verbal or physical violence

Our Research (Continued) All children saw a difference between the violence on cartoons vs. live action. The distinction of “reality” Responses about overall effect on children and teenagers varied.

Conclusion Media is not the only source, but does have some input as to how violent children can be. Children are more astute than we think, and process the media well. Parenting is a huge factor