Is media violence harmful?

in Esther - Isaiah, Media, Old Testament, Scripture / on July 20, 2012 at 9:01 pm /
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“Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”

Proverbs 6:28

This scripture talks about the inevitability of sin having an effect on us.

We’ve all heard that media violence can lead to behavior, but yet we still watch it. žBy the time a child graduates from elementary school, he/she will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence (Bushman & Anderson, 2001).  Media violence is everywhere.  Sometimes it can be easy to accept some shows that are free from other inappropriate material and justify it as OK because “it’s just violence.” It’s as if media violence isn’t all that harmful.

Why do we do that? Can we really control whether or not that we let it affect us? Can we expose ourselves to media violence and still prevent it from having any influence on our souls?
Here is a fascinating finding that ought to help our tendency towards this mindset: violence leads to aggressive behavior, just as smoking leads to lung cancer.  Yep, you heard me. žIt has been found that the effect of media violence on subsequent aggression is JUST AS STRONG as the effect that smoking has on predicting lung cancer.

Isn’t that a little scary when you think about it? Who would ever dispute the fact that smoking leads to lung cancer? No one. We all accept that fact. And yet when it comes to media violence, it’s easy to dismiss its effect on our own behaviors. Why is that?

Some researchers call it the “third person effect” in that we tend to believe that others are far more likely than we are to be affected by the media we consume. Perhaps we think we can expose ourselves to “a little violence” and still retain complete control over our thoughts and behaviors.  But the influence that media violence can have on us is a lot stronger we realize. And because its effect is more subtle in that we don’t notice how much it is affecting us, perhaps it is more dangerous than some other types of content.

The bottom line is: whatever we watch DOES affect us. We can’t decide whether or not it affects us. The good news is, we can control what types of content we allow ourselves to consume.

“Whatever you read, listen to, or look at has an effect on you.” 

-For the Strength of Youth

Personal Notes:   I believe the media can have subtle effects on our development that we need to be aware of. Satan would have us believe that we are immune to the effects of violence. I know I’ve made the excuse plenty of times that “oh it’s just violence,” but after learning about this research, it really made me realize how deceived I had been.

 

4 Comments

  1. vane says:
    July 24, 2012 at 12:54 pm

    para mi tambien la violencia actual proviene de las cosas que consumimos como “entretenimiento”.
    -La realidad supera muchas veces a la ficcion-.

    Reply
  2. Josh says:
    July 31, 2012 at 1:47 am

    Actually, we can control how what we watch affects us. I’m sure you do it, if you ever watch any documentary that includes evolution as a major facet of it.

    Also, the Bible itself is violent, containing many recordings of battles. The Bible is a book, and books are a form of media.

    Also, why are you reporting on an 11 year old psychology analysis?

    Reply
  3. Jessica B says:
    September 21, 2012 at 10:47 pm

    Wow, that’s cool!

    Reply

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