Opinion: Violence On Entertainment and Its Consequences

Does Violent Content on the Entertainment Industry Cause People to Act Out Violently?

Everyday while playing a video game or watching a movie we can see violent behavior being used as a way to entertain. We can see how the bad guy gets beaten up or how he throws a good punch at the hero, we see movies in which a lot of fighting and blood is portrayed right in front of our eyes and even if we don’t intend to allow such behavior to take place in our daily life, we subconsciously take it into our system and later on it will at some point cause a reaction. 

In my opinion the amount of violent behavior that is currently portrayed as a way to entertain is unbelievable yet I think that everyone is different and therefore these kinds of content do not have the same implications on everyone. To get a little deeper into the topic we should know how being strongly exposed to violent content affects kids and why some people say that violent content does interfere with behavior also we need to understand the counter claim which says that violent media does not affect people’s conduct.

Experts agree that no single factor can cause a nonviolent person to act aggressively, some studies suggest that heavy exposure to violent media can be a risk factor for violent behavior. Children who are exposed to multiple risk factors like substance abuse, aggression, conflicts at home and also are immersed into violent media are more likely to behave aggressively. Claiming that violent content does have implications in children who let themselves be carried away by what seems “cool” and it has even bigger implications on children who are also exposed to risk factors like the ones previously mentioned.

On the other hand, according to the Massachusetts General hospital, the assertion that violent video games and movies cause violent behavior has not been demonstrated by scientific research. It says that young people who have aggressive traits and are stressed are more prone to delinquent and bullying behavior, it says that even if they are drawn to these sort games, it still does not determine how their behavior in real life will be like. The claim is that violent content does not affect behavior and according to some people this will remains as a fact until it is scientifically proven wrong.

In my viewpoint, all behavior is a function of two factors: nature and

nurture. Everyone in the world has a different way of thinking, a different opinion and these facts all together entail conflict. When you add up the constant exposure to violent content specially in children who are still trying to build up a personality it is completely normal for them to repeat what they see perhaps on tv, video games, music and social media. Kids are often “trend followers” they try to copy what they think is cool but to me watching violent things does not only affect children but people in general as in some cases I believe that violent content subconsciously causes people to act in a certain way.

By Natalia Del Castillo, Step 10