Does media violence hurt children?
Some claim that violence in the media is just a bit of entertainment and doesn’t really impact on children’s attitudes and actions.
However, there’s a huge body of reliable research that says otherwise. This research finds that exposing children to glamorised* portrayals of violence on our screens raises the risk that they will:
* by glamorised we mean violence that is done by heroes who are shown being good at it; whose violence is seen as justified, is applauded, rewarded and has few real life consequences; and can be in a comic context.
Game on!: sensible answers about video games and media violence by Courtney Plante and Craig Anderson is a resource that will help you think it through. It takes an Q and A approach, so you can just dip into it.
The Effects of media violence on children is a CMA resource that discusses the issues and the research.
And here’s a Taking action page if you’d like to help make media violence less accessible to children. And this one is relevant too.
Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).
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