Media Violence And Teen Behavior Essay

Anthony Gross
Durden
Rough Draft
Feb. 23rd 2012
For decades it has been argued whether or not video game violence has any link to adolescent anger and behavior problems. More than half the world’s adolescents reported having at least one video game console in their bedrooms. (2010) This has nearly tripled since 1992 when only 18 percent of teens had access to a gaming console in their homes. It’s believed that with the introduction to violent video games the aggression levels in teens has risen. This is because video games are much more interactive then movies and television which gives teens a more real control of a character that is committing these violent and crime based acts. While there have been endless hours of research and hundreds of studies done some argue that it is still not clear if there is a correlation between anger driven teen behaviors and video game violence. I think that teens learn from these violent behaviors and take the violent acts that are portrayed in these games and transfer them into their everyday life. With technology over the past 20 years developing like it has it’s no wonder why our children are learning things like their ABC’s and counting from video game consoles or other forms of hand held electronic devices. Today’s youth would much rather communicate using texting or social networking cites such as Twitter and Facebook rather than talking on the phone or hanging out in a common area such as a mall. The increased use of technology to communicate mixed with the lack of supervision has contributed to the change in adolescent behavior.
With the economy down and parents forced to work long hours for low wages or multiple jobs it has left our young adolescents at home alone for long periods of time. Technology has arisen in the absence of adults for today’s youth. This has given adults a break from having to spend a large amount of their free time teaching their young such needed things in life. Even with the good in...