Media Violence

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PEDIATRICS Vol. 95 No. 6 June 1995 949

AMERICAN

ACADEMY

OF

PEDIATRICS

Media

Violence

Committee on Communications

American children and adolescents are being

ex-posed to increasing amounts of media violence,

es-pecially in television, movies, video games, and

youth-oriented music. By age 18, the average young

person will have viewed an estimated 200 000 acts of

violence on television alone) Video game violence,

children’s cartoons, and music lyrics have become

increasingly graphic. In movies, action films depict

anatomically precise murders, rapes, and assaults;

with each sequel, the number of deaths increase

dra-matically.2 Although media violence is not the only

cause of violence in American society, it is the single most easily remediable contributing factor.3

According to recent Nielsen data, the average

American child views 21 to 23 hours of television per

week.4 By the time today’s children reach age 70,

they will have spent 7 to 10 years of their lives

watching television.5 Although movies and video

games are more graphic in depictions of violence,

television is the single most important medium in the

lives of young people (98% of all American

house-holds have at least one television set).4 Despite public concern about television violence, the amount of

tele-vision violence has not changed appreciably in the

past two decades: the level of prime-time violence

has remained at three to five violent acts per hour,

and violence in Saturday morning children’s

pro-gramming ranges between 20 to 25 violent acts per

hour.68 American media are the most violent in the

world, and American society is now paying a high

price in terms of real-life violence.9’10

Some people in the entertainment industry

main-tam that: 1) violent programming is harmless

be-cause no studies exist that prove a connection

be-tween violence in the media and aggressive behavior

in children and 2) young people know that

televi-sion, movies, and video games are simply fantasy.

Unfortunately, they are wrong on both counts. Over

1000 studies-including a Surgeon General’s special

report in 197212 and a National Institute of Mental

Health report 10 years later13-attest to a causal

con-nection between media violence and aggressive

be-havior in some children.3’6’9’14’15 Studies show that the more “real-life” the violence portrayed, the greater the likelihood that it wifi be “learned.”16’17 Likewise, the portrayal of violence as being justified

(particu-The recommendations in this statement do not indicate an exclusive course

of treatment or procedure to be followed. Variations, taking into account

individual circumstances, may be appropriate.

Acad-emy of Pediatrics.

larly by the “good guy”) is the single most prevalent

notion in American media and the most powerfully

reinforcing one.9’18 At young ages (before age 8), cull-dren cannot uniformly discriminate between “real life” and “fantasy/entertainment.”14’16’19 They quickly learn that violence is an acceptable solution to resolving even complex problems, particularly if the aggressor is the hero.9

The only country in the world with nearly as much

entertainment violence as the United States is Japan. Yet Japanese society is far less violent than American society. If media violence contributes to real-life

vi-olence, why isn’t Japanese society more affected? A

1981 study2#{176}found that the nature of the portrayal of violence is different in Japan: the violence is more realistic and there is a greater emphasis on physical

suffering (ie, the consequences of violence are

em-phasized). Interestingly, in Japan the “bad guys”

commit most of the violence, with the “good guys”

suffering the consequences-the exact opposite of

American programming. In this context, violence is

seen as wrong, a villainous activity with real and

painful consequences, rather than as justifiable.1#{176}

Media violence may: 1) facilitate aggressive and

antisocial behavior; 2) desensitize viewers to future

violence; and 3) increase viewers’ perceptions that

they are living in a mean and dangerous

world.921-Although less is known about video games and their

effects, the media violence literature provides

grounds for concern. Media studies range from

content analyses (monitoring the amount of violence

contained in programming), to naturalistic studies

(studying children as television is introduced into

their culture), to longitudinal correlational studies

(following a population of children for years and

sometimes decades).14’24 As one leading researcher

noted recently, the controversy is over.25 The vast

majority of studies conclude that there is a

cause-and-effect relationship between media violence and

real-life violence. This link is undeniable and

un-contestable. Even if the overwhelming scientific

evidence did not exist, there would still be ample

reason to oppose violent programming based on

common sense, philosophical, humanistic, or aesthetic grounds.26

American media have also succeeded in

glamoriz-ing guns in a way that endangers the public health of

youngsters and adults. At a time when guns rank as

one of the leading causes of death among children

and adolescents,27 gun-play and references to guns

are still rife on prime-time television, in the movies,

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TABLE. Joint Network Standards on TV Violence*

950 MEDIA VIOLENCE

Voluntary Limits on:

#{149}Gratuitous or excessive violence #{149}Glamorous depictions of violence

#{149}Scenes showing excessive gore, pain, or physical suffering

#{149}Scenes showing uses of force that are “on the whole” inappropriate for a home viewing medium

#{149}Replicable, unique, or “ingenious” depictions of inflicting pain or injury

#{149}Portrayals of dangerous behavior or weapons that invite imitation by children

#{149}Realistic portrayals of violence that are unduly frightening in children’s programs

#{149}Gratuitous depiction of animal abuse Encourages:

SPortrayal of the consequences of violence

#{149}Scheduling all programs with regard for the likely composition of the intended audience

Urges Caution

#{149}Instories and scenes showing children as victims

#{149}Inthemes, plots, or scenes that mix sex and violence (eg, rape)

*Source: Network Television Association, New York, 1992.

in video games, and in music lyrics. The United

States is the most heavily armed nation on earth.28

Any programming that makes these instruments of

killing more attractive, glamorous, or desirable is

dangerous, unhealthy, and unethical.

The American Academy of Pediatrics therefore

makes the following recommendations:

1. Pediatricians should urge the entertainment

in-dustry-television network and cable executives,

television and movie writers, producers and

di-rectors, and video game manufacturers-to

dem-onstrate sensitivity to the issue of media violence in a timely and substantial fashion. In the inter-ests of creative freedom and free enterprise, vol-untary attention to this issue is preferable.

Vol-untary remedies should include, but not be

limited to, parental advisories, ratings systems, and careful (ie, late night) placement of

program-ming and promotions with violent content.

2. Pediatricians should applaud the cable/network industry’s recently published guidelines

regard-ing violent programming (see Table) and urge

adherence to them.

3. Pediatricians should contact their local stations

regarding violent programming for children and

the need to curtail it sharply, replacing it with

educational nonviolent programming for

chil-dren. There is no substitute for reducing both the

amount and the graphic nature of current media

violence on television, in movies, and in video

games.

4. Pediatricians should strongly urge networks to

avoid programming with the gratuitous

depic-lion of weapons and to cany programming that

depicts the consequences that violence can have

on family and society.

5. Pediatricians should urge musicians and music

producers to exercise voluntary restraint by cre-ating nonviolent lyrics and music videos.

6. Pediatricians should urge all broadcast media to

sponsor at least a 1-day moratorium on violence

in their programming each October during

na-tional Child Health Month.

7. Pediatricians should ask parents to monitor their

children’s consumption of all media closely and

to limit total television viewing to no more than 1 to 2 hours per day. Consistent efforts should be

made to help parents understand that by

watch-ing television with their children and discussing the content, they can address many potentially objectionable content areas.

8. Pediatricians are encouraged to become

edu-cated about the issue of media violence, to incor-porate that information into their anticipatory

guidance, and to become advocates for reducing

violence in the media.

9. Pediatricians should encourage schools and

par-ents to teach or continue teaching media literacy

to children. This involves discussing how the

media work, the intent of commercials and

pro-gramming, and whether their messages are

ap-propriate. Children who are “media literate” are

more resistant to harmful media effects.3’14’29

10. Pediatricians should communicate with the

Fed-eral Communications Commission (FCC) to

strictly enforce The Children’s Television Act of

1990, which mandates that every local television

station has an obligation to produce some

edu-cational programming for children. Major efforts

should be made to increase the quantity and

quality of educational programming for children

and teenagers, so that “good” programming will

vastly overwhelm “bad” programming.

1 1. Further research is needed to determine how to

mitigate the harmful effects of media violence.

COMMFI-rEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, 1994 TO 1995

Steve Shelov, MD, FAAP, Chair

Miriam Bar-on, MD, FAAP

Lillian Beard, MD, FAAP

Marjorie Hogan, MD, FAAP

H. James Hoiroyd, MD, FAAP

Bob Prentice, MD, FAAP S. Normal Sherry, MD, FAAP Vic Strasburger, MD, FAAP

REFERENCES

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Nebraska Press; 1992

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3. Strasburger VC. Children, adolescents and the media: five crucial

issues. Adolescent Medicine: State of time Art Review. 1993;4:479-493

4. AC Nielsen Company. 1992-1993 Report on Telez’ision. New York, NY:

Nielsen Media Research; 1993

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AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS 951 5. Strasburger VC. Children, adolescents, and television. Pediatr Rev. 1992;

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I I. National Council for Families & Television. Report on the Industry- Wide Leadership Conference on Violence in Television Programming. Los Angeles: National Council for Families & Television; 1993

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14. Dietz WH, Strasburger VC. Children, adolescents, and television. Curr

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15. Klein JD, Brown JD, Childers KW, et al. Adolescents’ risky behavior and mass media use. Pediatrics. 1993;92:24-31

16. Liebert RM, Sprafkin J. The Early Window-Effects of Television on Chil-dren and Youth. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Pergamon Press; 1988

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D, Bryant J,Huston AC, eds. Media, Children, and the Family: Social

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18. Berkowitz L, Rawlings E. Effects of film violence on inhibitions against subsequent aggression. IAbnorm Soc Psychol. 1963;66:405-412

19. Singer DC. Does violent television produce aggressive children? Pediatr Ann. 1985;14:804-810

20. Iwao 5, Pool IS, Hagiwara S. Japanese and U.S. media: some

cross-cultural insights into TV violence. ICommunications. 1981;31:28-36 21. Comstock GA, Paik HJ. Television and the American Child. San Diego, CA;

Academic Press; 1991

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and theory. In: Zillmann D, Bryant 1. Huston AC, eds. Media, Children, and the Family: Social, Scientific, Psychodynamic, and Clinical Perspectives.

Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum; 1994:151-162

25. Eron LD. The Problem of Media Violence and Children’s Behavior. New

York, NY: Guggenheim Foundation; 1993

26. Gadow KD, Sprafkin J. Field experiments of television violence with

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399-405

27. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Deaths resulting from

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MMWR. 1994;43:37-42

28. Davidson 0G. Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control. New

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29. Huston AC, Wright JC. Educating children with television: the forms of

the medium. In: Zillmann D, BryantJ, Hutson AC, eds. Media, Children, and the Family: Social Scientific, Psychodynamic, and Clinical Perspectives.

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1995;95;949

Pediatrics

Committee on Communications

Media Violence

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Media Violence

AMERICAN

ACADEMY

OF

PEDIATRICS

Media

Violence

,

,

1995;95;949

Pediatrics

Committee on Communications

Media Violence

Services

Updated Information &

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/95/6/949

including high resolution figures, can be found at:

Permissions & Licensing

http://www.aappublications.org/site/misc/Permissions.xhtml

entirety can be found online at:

Information about reproducing this article in parts (figures, tables) or in its

Reprints

http://www.aappublications.org/site/misc/reprints.xhtml

Information about ordering reprints can be found online:

1995;95;949

Pediatrics

Committee on Communications

Media Violence

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/95/6/949

the World Wide Web at:

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