Unfortunately, interpersonal violence is an integral part of the modern world, and its rates are relatively high in the U.S. Various factors play a significant role in shaping people’s attitudes toward violent acts, and the impact of the media is probably the strongest one. The purpose of this essay is to discuss the influence of the media, the accuracy of representations of homicide on evening news reflecting the true nature of lethal violence in America, and the differences in how violence is projected by media type.
To begin with, there were many studies regarding the effect of the mass media on the ways citizens act and think. According to Alvarez and Bachman (2016), “people can learn and imitate violent behaviors and attitudes from individuals and groups” they have never met (p. 59). What is more, “when individuals are repeatedly exposed to violent media, they are more likely to perceive ambiguous events as being hostile” (Alvarez & Bachman, 2016, p. 60). Therefore, people may begin to tolerate such actions and even get engaged in them. Moreover, by translating images of this violent world, the media makes many people start adding security features to their homes, avoiding certain streets or parts of American cities, and thinking about the integrity of facing cruelty and assault.
It is unlikely that homicide representations on news shows accurately reflect the lethal violence’s true nature in the U.S. A great deal of media attention is received, for example, by mass shootings at school and multicides in general, though they compose a low percentage of all murders in America (Alvarez & Bachman, 2016). I believe that my primary source of information is social media as it is one of the most used and modern ways of getting acquainted with current events. It seems to me that precisely social media tells the truth about violence and assaults that are not discussed in other sources like newspapers and local news. In these media types, the truth is usually presented in such a way so as not to frighten or injure the psyche of the audience. Simultaneously, cartoons, movies, and video games contain about half of all television violence.
Reference
Alvarez, A., & Bachman, R. (2016). Violence: The enduring problem. SAGE Publications.