Televised Violence Is Here To Stay Essay

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Televised Violence Is Here To Stay Essay, Research Paper Televised Violence is Here to Stay One of the most heated issues debated, ever since the invention of the television, is the effects of media violence on society. Many try to wipe it out, but will undoubtedly fail. It has great educational and entertainment value. There have even been studies showing that viewing television violence will actually relieve stress. For these reasons, televised violence, including fights, with or without weapons, resulting in bloodshed, will never diminish. Many parents try to shelter their kids from the violence portrayed on television. They only look at the negative aspect because the parents complain by saying the violence only teaches their children how to kill and to get away with it

(Leonard 92). Television is the most credible and believable source of information on the reality of the world. It teaches that the world is a violent and untrustworthy place (Bennett 168). It reports on how the world really works. Televised violence cultivates dominant assumptions about how conflict and power work in the world. Violence is an important fact of life (Howitt 17). It is very much part of the human condition. The media cannot pretend that violence does not exist. Televised violence orients people to their environment. It helps them understand their world. It serves as a mirror in which people examine themselves, their institutions, and their values (Comstock 357). The exposure of children to televised violence is functional to the extent that it prepares them to

cope with reality. Conflict is important for children to grow up with. It is part of their life. Kids should not be lead to think that nothing is going to happen to them (Comstock 354). Exposure to violence in childhood is not a bad idea. Ghetto children see violence unknown to other children. They have to live with it, and because it is so hateful, they do not get influenced by it. People who grew up in a tough ghetto situation regard others who did not as patsies, naive, and easy to use. Children learn a good deal of their society’s culture by viewing the violent television shows. People acquire definitions of appropriate behavior and interpretations of reality from the mass media. Lower income persons often think they are learning the style and etiquette of middle-class

society from television programs (Ball 305). The viewing of televised violence helps children academically, as well as socially. One study shows that children entering school, raised on the violent television shows, picked up a one-year advantage in vocabulary over children whose parents prohibit the viewing of violence (Clark 136). Here, the positive effects clearly outweigh the negative. There have been many attempts to ban violence from television. The majority of the viewers prevent the idea through the ratings. There is a discrepancy between public attitudes and private behavior; while people may publicly condemn television violence, they may actually enjoy it in private (Howitt 6). The majority of people get whatever they want in the mass media. There is substantial public

demand for violence. The key question is: Why? To a large extent, the answer to this question lies in the social and cultural structure of society. Violence constitutes a significant and recurring theme in the value structure (Leonard 91). There can be little doubt that topics of violence are of intense interest to the public and attract large audiences. Television gives people what they want to see. In entertainment, it is a more acceptable truism to assert that the supply creates the demand. Leisure time cries for fulfillment (Lineberry 24). Violence is the dominant theme of all mass media. The audience ratings do correlate positively with the percentages of violent programs. Violent types of programs gain great popularity; networks regard violence as good bait. It is a tool