the effects of violence on children
The Effects of Violence on Children How do children react to violent entertainment? Do they even think it’s wrong? Does it affect them in any way? Many people have wondered about this. There are numerous books, magazine articles and websites on the internet discussing these questions. Many parents think that it’s perfectly fine for their children to play violent video games and watch violent movies and TV shows. In fact, they even buy violent forms of entertainment for them. Various people would agree that violent video games and other forms of violent entertainment encourage violent behavior in children. There are plenty of reasons for people to believe this. Some of these reasons are that violent entertainment is available everywhere, that parents do not control what their children watch and play, and that children learn by watching and playing that violence is fun and want to imitate what they see. Does violent entertainment have a negative effect on children? Yes! It most definitely does! Violence is everywhere. It’s in cartoons, on the news, on the Internet, in movies or in video games. All these exposures have a negative psychological effect. However, Gerald Jones, a journalist, author, and comic writer, disagrees. He believes that violence is good for children. He believes that these violent “fantasies teach our kids to trust their own emotions, build stronger selves” (qtd. in Neal). According to CBS news, “Media Violence Good For Children?” Dr. David Walsh, founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family, strongly disagrees with Jones, as do many other medical groups and people. Aimee Tompkins and Rome Neal believe that all this exposure to violence causes children to have an increase in aggressive behavior, become less sensitive to the people around them, have fewer hobbies, be less friendly to others, see it as an acceptable solution to their problems and become fearful of the world around them which causes them to want to hurt others.
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