The twenty- first century, the information age. Everywhere you turn you can't help but be exposed to some sort of media. Whether it be radio, television, movies or the internet, everyone of us is receiving messages from the media. What effects does this constant bombardment of messages have on us? Well on one hand it is obvious, do you believe that Coca-cola is better than Pepsi, is a Ford car really all that different from a Toyota? In this case the media has made us believe that two virtually identical products are different. Some will even argue that the media makes us purchase things we don't need, whatever the case maybe it is clear that media does have some measurable effect on us. Which leads us to the question: What effect does violence in the media do to us? If a Chihuahua can influence us to buy more tacos what can watching someone being shot do to us, does it lead us to act in a more violent manner? These questions will be furthered explored in the rest of !
             Some will argue that violent acts portrayed in the media certainly lead to violent behaviors in people, especially the young. They point to certain incidents such as the Columbine massacre, Jonesborough Arkansas, and other school shootings as examples of this. In at least one of these cases, Columbine, the perpetrators had heavy exposure to violent media, which not only influenced them to kill, but also taught them how to do so efficiently. They also point to a positive correlation between violence among adolescents and an increase in violent acts portrayed in movies and television. These arguments although unscientific do make sense. According to, ironically, media accounts the Columbine killers spent a great deal of time playing violent video games which many have likened to training programs used by the military. In regards to the correlation, studies by the US Department of Justice indicate that the rate of juvenile crime indicate that ju...