Mass media has become an integral part of human lives and it has a significant impact on individuals’ values and beliefs which, in turn, define the way people act. The topic of exposure to violence in mass media and a consequent probability of developing more aggressive behaviors is widely investigated and discussed in the literature. In this paper, the relevant evidence provided in three recent scholarly articles will be summarized.
Overall, research findings verify the assumption that media violence increases the risk of aggression in real life. Such a conclusion is made in all three of the reviewed articles by Anderson et al. (2017), Coyne (2016), and Tanwar and Priyanka (2016). The mechanisms through which such a detrimental effect is achieved include the normalization of aggression, which means that abuse and other types of violence become regarded as something normal (Coyne, 2016).
Additionally, Anderson et al. (2017) note that long-term exposure to media violence leads to desensitization to violence and automatization of aggression-associated scripts, while short-term effects comprise psychological arousal and imitation. Considering that people learn about the world from mass media, its impact on developing personalities of children and adolescents can be particularly profound. As Tanwar and Priyanka (2016) state, due to the lack of experience, children frequently cannot discern fantasy from reality. Thus, they are prone to adopting aggressive models of conflict resolution, especially when they watch TV shows capturing violence too much.
However, age, duration of exposure, and the type of media are not the only factors determining the behavioral outcomes. Anderson et al. (2017) observe that the overall cultural background plays a role as well. For instance, they found that the magnitude of detrimental effects due to media exposure was lower in Japan and much higher in the United States and China (Anderson et al., 2017). It means that values and beliefs promoted in the macro-cultural environment can either mitigate or foster media-influenced aggression. Nevertheless, regardless of possible insignificant differences due to cultural upbringing, the media can induce aggressive behaviors in individuals living across the world.
References
Anderson, C., Suzuki, K., Swing, E., Groves, C., Gentile, D., Prot, S.,… Petrescu, P. (2017). Media violence and other aggression risk factors in seven nations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(7), 986-998.
Coyne, S. (2016). Effects of viewing relational aggression on television on aggressive behavior in adolescents: A three-year longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 52(2), 284-295.
Tanwar, K., & Priyanka. (2016). Impact of media violence on children’s aggressive behaviour. Indian Journal of Research, 5(6), 241-245.