Having control is a trait that we must all learn to let go of, and, just the same, embrace it when needed to be. I had done a lot of research to try and prove that it was not the people’s, the known and general public’s, fault for being exposed early in their life to a lot of violence. I found out the reason behind why a lot of violence and aggression comes from adults, and early teens, is because they were exposed to violence shown on television too early, when it should have been meant for adults. Children should be governed by their parents, and parents will always have a bigger influence on their kids then anyone else can. What I am trying to say is is that parents need to be more aware and in charge of what their kids are exposed to on the television screen, whether it be a movie, show, or video game. Thought the research I have done I have come to the conclusion that it is not the creators of the violent scenes in movies, shows, and games, it is the older peers, or even parents, that can cause the outcome of a child. By allowing kids to watch strong or even mild violence at a young age can leave an impression in their mind to act a certain way on different occasions, and in different scenarios. I am wanting to make the general public aware of this phenomenon that has only increased as technology has grown. 

Television’s began making their first appearances in homes in the 1930’s. Now, movies back then were not made with voices, but they started out as acts with music played in the background. Violence was allowed to be shown in these films, and therefore they made age limits on how old someone had to be to watch a certain film. This was a while back, but nonetheless people didn't know what kind of an affect violence would have on their children as they grew older. Mentioned previously, violence was not a big problem back in the 80’s and 90’s. Many have thought that the way kids are raised is what turns them into who they become. That is the truth behind why people do things they shouldn’t, but seem okay with growing up, when they become adults. Parents have the power to control what their kids are allowed to watch and at what age they should be allowed to watch a certain film, or play a violent video game. Through this problem everyones Intelligence Quotient has dropped a little. This phenomenon that is taking place as we speak must be closely monitored. There is too much freedom too allow certain things to be seen by children, even with an adults consent. Parents should not be allowed to show children certain things until their child is of age. This is a big deal as we continue with the further advances in technology. Some do not know the true extremes that can come from watching too much violence, and playing too much violent video games. Nobody knows what can happen if their kid watches too much violence, but we sure do have a clue. Turning into a murderer is the last thing anyone wants for their infant, or child to turn into, this is an extreme case. There have been multiple men that have tried to imitate the acts of the characters in moves, and video games, and have turned insane. By becoming insane they have murdered many innocent lives because of the mental illnesses that they had developed. I am using three popular names that others should be more aware about. The mens names are James Holmes, Jacob Tyler Roberts, and Jeff Weise. The biggest name out of the list is James Holmes. This man was arrested and put up for trial for the murder of ten innocent people watching a movie in a public theater in Colorado. James grew up in a very clean home and had a very good childhood. I played sports, watched television, and played video games just like every other kid would. He began to watch and play too much video games. He had started to pick up a mental illness from these events, and this apparently led him to go and kill twelve innocent people. Now, most would think that that can not prove very much of what cause him to do this. James Holmes for this murder case had his hair dyed orange like the joker, from “The Dark Knight”, the batman movie. There was a test that was done by Steven F, Messner. He had created a test where he chose people to watch a certain amount of violence for, at least, four hours a day for up to a week. After the test he was able to draw the conclusion that everyones IQ, intelligence quotient, had decreased. (Messner) Now the men that had committed crimes due to their illness was caused from more than a weeks total of watching violence. They have been doing this for a few years. The reason that they won’t think twice about what they have done is because they are very accustomed and numb to the idea of death. Children are the root towards what is being done in their adulthood. There is another test that helps prove that what the parents allow for the kids to watch is causing more aggressiveness. “But a closer look at kids who played more hours of violent video games per week revealed increases in aggressive behavior and violent tendencies, compared to those who played fewer hours a week. When asked if it was okay for a boy to strike a peer if that peer said something negative about him, for example, these kids were more likely to say yes.” (Park) That statement was obvious, but what isn’t is for why adults turn into what they really are. The only problem is that we cannot just kill of the source because it helps so much of our economic background and we have accepted it into our lives. The thing we can do is regulate how much our children watch of television, and regulate what our children do watch when on it. 

We perceive something immediately in time with what it looks like and what that thing you saw has any importance to you. How you look at something and define what its purpose is to you and whether you except that definition is what you do with it after. Some see this phenomenon as something that you can choose on whether what you see is good and bad, and whether it should be shown to a certain audience, for the younger or the older intelligence. Now the effectiveness of television violence is up to the viewers themselves.It all starts with the mind before actions are taken and the mind is what defines this problem. There was a research test done that showed that kids that watched their favorite shows were less likely to see violence as bad in their shows. ( Hartnagel ) In the research Hartnagel had performed for his test, he had to take in many different considerations in the process of finding out that television violence effects people differently. That sounds very vague and simple to understand everyone is different and understand things differently, but the different variables they brought into pay is very much needed. We must see that there is a difference in how we view the violence that is portrayed in society, and we need to see the consequences that are placed in front of the solution. “While the causes of youth violence are multifactorial and include such variables as poverty, family psychopathology, child abuse, exposure to domestic and community violence, substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders, the research literature is quite compelling that children's exposure to media violence plays an important role in the etiology of violent behavior.” (Beresin) Cultures understand everything different. It isn’t as much as they understand everything differently, it is that each culture has their own point of view on different subjects and also have the same thoughts and emotions towards the same problems. So, the part that separates people is simply the basics, their gender,sex,ethnicity, and age. The age makes a bigger difference because we are more naive when we are younger and more swayed towards other things that seem adult. It is what happens when kids wanna be older and get to watch much more gore in a movie. This is why we needed to have age limits on movies to prevent these type of things happening. The sex makes a difference because girls are not really into the whole bloody mess, and violence, that is portrayed in movies, and they do not have as much as an affect in their life cause by the violence that is seen at a young age. Now this can be said in many ways of course, but this is the strongest way to point it out. 

It is very difficult to argue against a claim that is been set into motion and has always been the case for everyone that grows up. Along the lines of a child growing up their parents have one of the biggest influences on them. There is a lot of research that has gone in to this, and it is hard to face that how we raise our kids in our control. Accepting that someone has a power to set our a child lives is hard to take hold, but it is something that must be taken seriously and make a change come about. We can let our kids make their own decisions as they grow up but we can still have  a major effect over their lives. Patricia M. Edgar wrote an article saying that along with the case of television violence taking a grasp on our kids, the venue can make a difference as well. What happens around the childs life can only increase, sometimes, the aggressive behavior they portray in their own lives. (Edgar) This change is what will help the future generations, hopefully. To come about change we must make a stand and that is the only argument that can stand. How the stand is made is what will carry on in history and make a true fix.

Why do some people think there are so many other ways to try and fix the media problem, and what is shown on television is? You cannot change the media situation as a whole because we make a lot of money off of the television and a lot our time in life is spent using it on a daily. I think the parents need to step in and help fix the problem. It is not the media that is produced that needs to change, we asked for what the produce, if we hadn’t, then it would have never been made. So, it is not such a bad thing to watch violence and play and kill on video games, but it is to be kept to a limit so it never has to get out of hand. The power is in the older generation to help the younger generation not fall into the trap of extreme aggression and hatred toward others. 

Television, and video game, violence is something that has come up as a reason behind violence and aggression in the lifestyle of many kids, and adolescents, in the modern day culture. It is something that has a huge influence in how we live. There is a T.V. everywhere that you go, whether it is always visible or not is a different case, but you can always plan on there always being a television. The media has been able to break through the barrier of life, and we have let it consume us, and take its place in our daily lives. This is starting with the newer and younger generation and we need to stop it before this continues in a downward spiral. So, to the parents, please take responsibility and monitor what your kids are watching. This could be the difference in a few more lives being saved everyday. 
