Electronic Media violence
Abstract
Over the last decade, there has been an increase in the consumption of electronic media. This is due to the high accessibility of portable media devices such as smartphones and laptops. People are now able to access media content at any time. Media violence has become prevalent in the different forms of electronic media today such as video games, TV shows and social media. This raises the concern on the impact such violence has on children as well as adults. One of the major consequences of media violence is increased violent behaviour. This can be seen through the decrease in empathy towards victims violent behaviours and the increase of aggressive behavior. However, media violence can also be used as a positive tool. It can be a means to vent out people’s frustrations thus reducing the chances of aggression towards society. In this essay, we will analyze the impact that media violence has on adults and their effects on society.
Introduction.
Violence is a form of aggression with the intention of causing physical harm. Electronic Media violence is the portrayal of violent behaviour ie where an individual intentionally causes physical harm to another person. At the start of this century, electronic media had been limited to the use of televisions which could only be accessed at certain times. This has since changed as devices have become more portable. The use of social media has opened up more avenues for the consumption of violent media. consequently, these avenues have been used as a means to act out the violence seen. Although children have been heavily affected by consumption, adults have not been spared. There has been a rise of cyberbullying cases, reduced empathy on victims of violence, promotion of unhealthy relationships, promotion of high-risk behaviours and stereotypes just to name a few.
Cyberbullying/Online harassment
The main impact of media violence has been a rise in aggressive behavior among adults. Aggression is the intent to inflict harm on a person. It can be expressed through physical action such as punching someone, using abusive language and writing offensive messages through social platforms(cyberbullying). Media violence portrays no consequences to the aggressor is experienced thus making people assume that there are no consequences of being aggressive. Use of the internet gives people anonymity to act out violently without consequences. This has led to more cases of people stalking and bullying through social platforms. Victims of violence end up being bullied when they speak out. This has led to depression and more suicide attempts.
Promotion of Unhealthy relationships.
Reality shows depicted on Tv display acts of aggression in their relationships. The conversions are focussed on gossiping, use of abusive languages and the use of physical assault to handle arguments. The shows are highly scripted to increase their ratings but their depiction is taken as truth since they are acted out by celebrities. This has normalized use of such behavior when handling an argument. Videos of people in a relationship being verbally abusive with each other often circulate social media. Digital music has also played a role in violence through the lyrics and the videos displayed. For example, the song Love the way you lie, by Rihanna and Eminem depicts violence in a relationship as a form of love. Such songs promote acceptance of domestic violence in relationships which is unhealthy.
Promote high-risk behaviours
Likes, shares and comments are the new social currencies in use today. Everyone wants their post or video to be liked by others. This pressure leads people to attempt risky things for them to be the next trending thing on social media. In movies and Tv shows, violent acts are highly curated and all the precautions are taken to protect the actors. For example, in the show WWE wrestling, the fights are simulated to look real. People are now shooting videos in an attempt to try out the stunts seen through the media. They have zero regards for their safety which leads to bad physical injuries. The more likes and shares the videos get, the more likely for people to continue attempting such risky behaviour.
Promote stereotypes
In video games, the male characters are depicted as tough-looking men with muscles who go for battle. This reinforces the idea of what a man should look like. Female characters have very small waists, huge breasts and huge buttocks. They are also scantily dressed in bikinis. In some games, the women are used as a price for the characters. This reinforces the stereotypes of the physical attributes women and men should have. Using people as a price especially women dehumanizes their value. In WWE female wrestling matches, more often than not, the women strip each other for them to win. This has also played a role in the stereotypes placed on women. There has also been a rise in body shaming. This is where people write mean things, insulting someone’s physical features when they do not measure up to the expectation.
Enhancement of these stereotypes leaves people feeling like they do not measure up to societal expectations. This makes them more anxious and leads to depression.
Reduced Empathy
Exposure to media violence through the different forms of media has desensitized people to violence in real life. Viewing violence has been normalized that people fail to see the need to act whenever an actual act of violence occurs. People have become less empathetic to the victims of violence and they try to justify the violence. There have been cases where victims of violence such as rape have been bullied to the extent that they chose to take their lives. Some of the people doing acts of violence have been praised and even defended. This reduces the likelihood of people speaking out against violence for fear of being attacked.
Preventative Measures.
There is a need to control the consumption of violent media in society. The government has done this by issuing fines to extreme production companies. Awareness of the consequences has led to more Social media content being filtered. Acts of extreme violence are detected and pulled down before they spread. There has been an increase in curating the narrative depicted by video games. People also need to actively filter the content that they consume.
Conclusion.
Electronic media violence has played a big role in how adults interact in society. Through the promotion of cyberbullying, unhealthy relationships and reduced empathy. The need to filter the content consumed is now more imminent than before. Adults also need to model good behaviour as children often imitate their actions.