media violence

This adds to the proof that media violence has a direct influence on the violent behavioural patterns of an individual exposed to media violence. d of cartoon-viewing, the five-year-olds were sent out to play for an hour while researchers counted the number of aggressive acts performed against each other in this time frame. He or she sits in front of the set hour after hour, year by year. “Most of them do demonstrate a higher level of aggressive behaviour immediately after exposure. ” (Fedler 1978:56) Therefore, it can be stated that after an extensive period of exposure to violence in the media, several effects will be evident in the viewer which is displayed in their aggressive tendencies. But after a short time, something like 30 minutes, or if some activity like a break for milk and cookies intervenes, then the measurable effect is lost. Television defenders could argue a lack of any long-term effects of exposure to violence, and it is reasonable that viewing a single program is unlikely to have any significant permanent impact on a child. There is certainly evidence that children use TV as a model for play activities. ” (Fedler 1978:55) Comparison between the amount of aggressive acts performed by this group of children and that of the group which was exposed to the cartoons was then taken as a method to decipher the effects of exposure to TV violence. The cumulative effect of such exposure cannot be reproduced in a short laboratory experiment. On the other hand, in real life, a child does not watch one or two programs. “As a control measure, you might take a similar group of children but let them watch Sesame Street or some other non-violent program, or not expose them to TV at all.