disassociation of media with crime

disassociation of media with crime

The different forms of mass media such as radio, televisions, newspapers, magazines, and social media platforms such as Facebook are a great source of information and entertainment. It would be impossible to know what is happening around the globe if these various forms of media would not have been invented. However, with the growth of these forms of media, especially in recent years, multiple sources suggest that they are associated with a negative influence on people, including aggression and anti-social and criminal behaviors.This information is partly accurate since there is no evidence indicating that media being associated with causing criminal behaviors.This article seeks to prove the disassociation of media with crime by discussing two peers reviewed journals that focus on assessing the rate of crime levels with the rise of violent films and television shows in recent years.

A report released by the American Academy of Paediatrics reveals that violence in films has more than doubled since the 1950s. It further stated that gun violence in movies that have been rated PG-13 has more than tripled 1985. This is a matter of concern since the exposure of these violent films to children at a tender age may result in them acting it out in real life. What is more concerning is that the movie production houses no longer put the R rating on these violent movies and that parents no longer monitor whatever their children are watching. This has resulted in children expressing aggressive behaviors in their adolescent and prime age. However, there is no reliable evidence that proves that the increase in violence in movies has caused a rise in the crime rate. Two peer-reviewed journal articles support this statement.

The first article is an article by Christopher Ferguson, which is titled “Media Violent Effects and Violent Crime”. Ferguson begins by stating that the rise in violent crimes, more specifically robbery in the 80s and 90s in the United States led scientists to believe that the increase in these vices was a result of the violent films. This was not the actual case because further research indicates that waves of violent crimes were at its highest peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s, despite there being limited technology, let alone violent films. He continues by stating that America is currently at its safest in forty years despite movies, games, and music becoming more graphically violent in relation to the 90s when violent crimes were at its peak. In addition, the author says that studies showed that the introduction of television and video games in European and Asian countries had not been linked with any wave of violent crime.

In the second article which is titled “Does Movie Violence Increase Violent Crime?”, the authors Gordon Dahl and Stefano DellaVigna researched through movies between 1995 and 2004 and studied their effects on the crimes during that period.Their results revealed that the rate of crime reduced as the films increased more violence in their scenes. The results further indicated that per every one million increase in audience for violent movies, the rate of crime, more especially robbery with violence reduced by between 1.1% and 1.3%. The authors further state that extreme movies reduce an average of 1000 assault cases every weekend. They justify this statement by stating that spending time watching these movies change the time spent on other activities and are a substitute away from more dangerous activities.

I would agree if the children and the teens were not allowed to watch movies with violent content. This is because of the other effects that are known to be associated with watching violent films. For example, the authors of the two articles both agree that in the short run, media violence increases aggression on an individual. This aggressive behavior gradually develops, and individuals graduate to expressing violent behaviors, which in turn affect the growth and development of a child or adolescents. To support my argument, I referred to the behavioral theory of criminology, which states that human behavior is developed through learning experiences. It is, therefore, the responsibility of parents and other adults to monitor and regulate whatever the teens watch, especially in their absentia.

In conclusion, this article has looked into the contribution of media, specifically the television, on the crime levels. From the discussion, it is concluded that violent films are in no way associated with rising criminal activities such as robbery with violence. Two peer-reviewed articles were used to support this notion. The first article by Christopher Fergusson states that despite the lack of influence from the violent films and technology generally, the late 1800s and early 1900s recorded the highest record of criminal activities in the United States. The second article by Gordon Dahl and Stefano DellaVigna further states that an increase in violence in films has ironically recorded a decrease in the level of the crime rate. However, it is essential to note that as much as violent films do not cause a rise in crime level, it is responsible for aggressive and violent behaviors, especially among children and adolescents.