Does Social Media Affect Children Negatively ?

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We are surrounded by the media every day of our lives and it has a noticeable negative effect on behavior, especially in children. Children are exposed to many different sources of media such as video games, television shows, films, and music. These sources of media often share a common theme of violence. "Young persons learn their attitudes about violence at a very young age, and once learned, these attitudes are difficult to modify" (News RX 30). With the simple click of a remote control, children can virtually get involved in violent acts of shooting and killing. All of the violence in the media can have a negative effect on children, and impact them in many different ways. An example of violence in the media can be seen in video games. Video games were first introduced to us in the 1970s as a source of entertainment, but have taken a turn for the worse in recent years. "Today, most children play real-time, first-person shooter games in which the player views the world through the eyes of the video game character that they control" (Signorelli 2). Games like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Gears of War create a first-person experience for children which can lead them to imitating in-game behavior in real life. Many video games reward children for their violent behavior in the game, and the their main purpose is to kill and attack enemies. This can cause children to develop aggressive thoughts, and have a disconnected view of society. Many school shootings have been linked to violent video games. This is because children begin to believe that the real world is the same as the virtual world they have created, and start to act out in violent and aggressive ways. "When children play violent video games, especially at a young age, they receive the same kind of operant conditioning as killing" (Grossman 17). Another negative effect violent video games have on
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