Media Violence & it’s Impact on Society

We usually see violence on social media and casually just scroll and let it be. What we don’t realize is that it has a huge impact on not just us but everyone in society. We live in an era where everything is very fast-paced and everything is available on the internet. There’s no veil or anything like that covering the harsh realities. Media violence has such a big impact on children especially because they’re exposed to it more than we were at that age.

The adolescent years are the ones where you get to learn and mold yourself. Parents these days just hand over phones to kids which have access to the internet. These kids surf on the internet and watch videos or play games which may contain violence. For example, there’s PUBG which is a shooting game and it’s quite popular. You’ve to shoot, kill and become the last survivor in order to win. What is this game subconsciously teaching kids who are exposed to it and playing it?

It has become so easy to access it because it’s available to download on your phones. You can play it anywhere at any time, it may be a great game but not for kids. Similarly, many youtube videos have adult content as well which should be filtered and youtube does have a kids version, but it still needs some filtering. It’s very easy to be exposed to content that’s PG 18+.

Televisions are present in bedrooms, lounges and now there’s Netflix which is available on laptops and even on phones. While Netflix does give parents the benefit to keep a record of what their kids are watching but you can’t possibly be with them 24/7 to monitor what they are doing.

Impact:

The impact it has is shown through their behavior. They become more aggressive and start practicing what they see such activity in movies, shows or videos. Younger children do act out what they see and it’s proven that they copy what they see. Children are influenced by media—they learn by observing, imitating, and adopting behaviors. It’s also important to keep in mind that younger children cannot differentiate between reality and fantasy hence, they believe whatever they see. They will eventually copy and act it out in public and may harm other children around them. This mindset can also stay intact and become more dangerous as they grow old.

It’s important to keep a check on your children and make sure that they have no access to violent content. We need to encourage content creators to be mindful of this impact and make sure they put a warning.

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