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Abstract
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The link between violent media--movies, television, and video games--and aggression among children and teenagers is both well established and widely misunderstood, experts told The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health.
Many people misunderstand the research, believes Victor Strasburger (University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA). Exposure to violence in any media is an established risk factor for aggression in children and adolescents--but only one of many. "There will never be a study linking mass murder to violent video games; mass murders are sufficiently rare that it would take a study of millions of people", Strasburger explained.
Most media violence research involves youth aggression rather than violence, noted Douglas Gentile (Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA). Aggression is defined as any behaviour--physical, verbal, or relational--that is intended to do harm, he said, whereas violence is "a very narrow subtype of aggression that is physical and extreme, [and] that can cause severe bodily damage or even death".
Exposure to violent media is associated with increased child and adolescent interpersonal aggression, as well as decreased empathy and prosocial behavior...
Language: en |