Impact of media such as video games, film and TV on the behaviour of Essay

Impact of media such as video games, film and TV on the behaviour of teenagers - Essay Example The way the media has captured the hearts and the minds of young people has made people think that it will impact not only their routine but also their behaviour patterns and thinking patterns. It is feared that violence in media will make young people become violent in nature. Many people believe and are convinced that children and teenagers will become more aggressive and will indulge in unlawful activities if they are exposed to violence in media on a continuous basis (Freedman, 2002, p. ix). These beliefs and fears about media violence impacting the young people negatively have been fostered by claims of scientific research conducted by psychologists and health organisations. However, the fact that media violence does not cause aggression has been proven by many research studies in field of social psychology (Freedman, 2002, p. ix). Many shortcomings, like poor measuring of aggression, lack of appropriate methodology and failure to control the important third variable, have been found in the pieces of research that claimed that media violence causes aggression in teenagers (Holder, 2012, p. 77). However, the negative impact of violence in media, especially in video games and television shows, has been hyped so much by the media that it has created fear in the minds of people. People need to understand that there are several positive effects of video games and television shows that have been recorded through reliable research studies. It is the need of an hour to get deep into the topic. Instead of believing just half the story, people should make efforts to know the whole truth. The fear that media violence causes teenagers to behave in aggressive manner is baseless as research studies have proved that media can be useful not only in developing certain physical skills but can also help in the development of social and moral values. The impact of video games Video games are considered to be one of the most harmful screen based media of all. The fact that one of the most popular media among teenagers and young people is the video game has increased the concern of adults. It was understood that regular playing of video games have led to negative physical, psychological and social effects on players (Gunter, 1998, p. 15). It was also thought that the unhealthy level of pre-occupation with video games and computers can lead to development of addiction in children (Gunter, 1998, p. 15). In their study, Linn and Lepper (1987) have reported that teachers have found observably more impulsive and aggressive behaviour in boys aged 10 to 12 years, known to be regular video game players, and with whom they had regular contact in school (as cited in Gunter, 1998, p. 96). According to Anderson et al. (2010), a meta-analysis showed that aggressive behaviours in players across culture, and gender is found to be increasing with playing of violent video games (as cited in Holder, 2012, p.77). However, contrasting claims were made by various research stu dies on the impact of media on teenagers. The relationship between aggressive behaviour and video games is not established in all the researches (Gunter, 1998, p. 96). In a study of individuals aged 12 to 34 by Gibb et al. (1983), no relationship was found between the measures of hostility or self-esteem in the subjects with the amount of indulgence in the video games they played (as cited in Gunter, 1998, p. 96). In fact, a study by Kestenbaum and Weinstein (1985) has