Does Violence in the Media Create Violent Hostile Children?
It was only eight years ago when the unthinkable became reality. Two teenagers, by the name of Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. The two murdered thirteen and wounded twenty-three others before they turned the guns on themselves (Shin, 2006). "How is it that these boys were able to do what they assume it was the influence of the video game Doom. The two boys spend most or their time playing it and were even able to create their own versions of it. They even created a website where others could play their new game. Was this the source of the Columbine massacre? In order to answer this question, one must take a look at today's society. As technology continues to improve, people are becoming more and more dependent on the media as the main source of knowledge. Although everyone is affected by the media, it has been proven that children are targeted the most. According to the parents in the Media in the Home 2000 study, children spend 6 and one-half hours with media each and every day (Children," 2002). Everything from television, to video games, to movies, and to music impacts the children's lives everyday. The violent media, with its negative images and lyrics, appears in our everyday lives delivering wrongful messages to our youth; therefore, it influences them to act out what they see on television and hear on the radio. Over the years, entertainment has truly evolved. Yes, violence has always played a role in entertainment, but in recent years, it is noticeable that media violence has not changed. In other words, the entertainment industry sees more violence as a means of making more money. Not only has violence increased in quantity, but in quality as well. It has become more graphic, more sexual, and more sadistic ("Violence," 2006). Television shows, movies, and video games have become know for emphasizing slow-motion bullets towards people's chests and dead bodies surrounded