Week 6 Post 1

The book discusses how overexposure to media bad for children. I think this also brings up the topic that violent media may lead to violent actions. Recently we skyped with a British man in my communication class who wrote a whole article on video games and how they influence us etc. which we had to read for the class. Afterwards we could ask him questions and one girl asked if he thought that violence in media and on the games causes people to be violent. He said yes and no to the question. It depends on the type of person and the environment they grow up in and if any psychological issues are present while playing the video game. I also agree with this statement. Violent video games, music, tv shows may influence people who already have issues present to do violent things but a normal sound person knows the difference between reality and fiction and knows in the ‘real world’ these things and actions aren’t acceptable. For example this adorable British guy who was your typical nerd and whose job is basically to play video games a lot and analyze the affects it has is in no way violent. I have friends who have literally played grand theft auto 5, the latest gaming craze because I think it just came out last week, for hours on end and yet I don’t see them running over people with cars or randomly punching people in the face just because that’s all they’ve been doing in the game. Violent media may contribute to people who already have violent tendencies to commit acts but they certainly do not make people do these things. It is ridiculous that games or movies or anything are fully to blame. Sure a kid would be better off watching a happy movie or playing outside but if you raise your kid in a happy environment and teach them the difference between right or wrong then they’ll be fine.