What do you guys/gals think? Do you think, for children and teenagers in particular, that watching violent TV shows and listening to violent music influences their actions?? Or watching and listening to something specific makes them more prone to do that act??

In case anyone cares, the reason I ask is because we briefly talked about this in Psychology class.

There has been violence in cartoons since cartoons were made and violence on television since we've had television. But it didn't take rap music or bloody video games to create nazi germany or a monster like stalin..

I don't think it makes anyone more prone, really. but that's just me.

I think it falls into the separating reality from fantasy in their minds.

i.e. I goto church and I feel uplifted, and at peace because I BELIEVE in the words spoken.

If I watch Rambo, I KNOW that is fantasy, and have little or zero emotions.

Then there is the curiosity factor.. Kids see, and do like monkeys at times.

I remember my mother scolding my older brother for snorting coke. I asked her what that ment, and said you use a straw to sniff coke into your nose.

I swiftly got a soda, and a straw.

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Originally posted by Soothsayer:
I swiftly got a soda, and a straw.

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LOL, well if this is really true, would that kind of provide "proof" that such things DO influence their actions?

I personally don't think it really affects the way they act, but a popular study Bandura did on children trying to prove this same thing came out with results that it did influence them to act in such ways. However, it was later argued that people who watch and listen to violent movies and music seem to be more violent, but that it's not necessarily because of the entertainment in which they participate in, but rather underlying factors such as them naturally having the genetic make up of being a violent person, making them more prone to watching violent movies...

I don't really know which one to "believe." It seems that children are greatly influenced by others, but on the other hand, "naturally" violent people would like to watch and listen to violent stuff... They both kinda work I guess.

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Originally posted by Soothsayer:
I think it falls into the separating reality from fantasy in their minds.

i.e. I goto church and I feel uplifted, and at peace because I BELIEVE in the words spoken.

If I watch Rambo, I KNOW that is fantasy, and have little or zero emotions.

Then there is the curiosity factor.. Kids see, and do like monkeys at times.

I remember my mother scolding my older brother for snorting coke. I asked her what that ment, and said you use a straw to sniff coke into your nose.

I swiftly got a soda, and a straw.

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LOLOL! You would definitely be one of the kids I would NOT tell to not spread peanut butter on the couch.

Speaking of TV shows and the mentioning of cartoons, here is a story for ya.



The wacky square yellow SpongeBob is one of the stars of a music video due to be sent to 61,000 U.S. schools in March. The makers -- the nonprofit We Are Family Foundation -- say the video is designed to encourage tolerance and diversity.

But at least two Christian activist groups say the innocent cartoon characters are being exploited to promote the acceptance of homosexuality.

"A short step beneath the surface reveals that one of the differences being celebrated is homosexuality," wrote Ed Vitagliano in an article for the American Family Association.

The video is a remake of the 1979 hit song "We Are Family" using the voices and images of SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats and other TV cartoon characters. It was made by a foundation set up by songwriter Nile Rodgers after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in an effort to promote healing.

Christian groups however have taken exception to the tolerance pledge on the foundation's Web site, which asks people to respect the sexual identity of others along with their abilities, beliefs, culture and race.

"Their inclusion of the reference to 'sexual identity" within their 'tolerance pledge' is not only unnecessary, but it crosses a moral line," James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, said in a statement released Thursday.

Rodgers said he was astounded by the attack.

"That is so myopic and harsh," he told Reuters. "You have really got to look hard to find anything in this that is offensive to anyone. The last thing I am going to do is taint these characters."

Dobson was quoted by the New York Times on Thursday as having singled out the wildly popular SpongeBob during remarks about the video at dinner this week in Washington, D.C.

SpongeBob, who lives in a pineapple under the sea, was "outed" by the U.S. media in 2002 after reports that the TV show and its merchandise are popular with gays. His creator, Stephen Hillenburg, said at the time that though SpongeBob was an oddball, he thought of all the characters in the show as asexual.

It is not the first time that children's TV favorites have come under the critical spotlight of the Christian right. In 1999, the Rev. Jerry Falwell described Tinky Winky, the purse-toting purple Teletubbie, as a gay role model.

I have seen that on the news and think it is incredibly silly ...beyond that, it's stupid. It started not just because of the one line about tolerance, but also because, ironically enough (from what I saw on the news) there is another website called 'we are family' for family and supporters of gays..

My daughter loves spongebob..has posters and all kinds of junk of his in her room..me, I don't really care for him, but don't think he's gay..yeesh..

I think that the vast majority comes down on the parents. Kids need guidance, and if they own a parental advisory game it should't effect them if their parents can successfully teach them right from wrong.

I don't think there's any doubt that the media affects how children behave. Adults too. The evidence is all around us. That's the main reason we have ratings on movies, music, games, etc. Remember the 12 year old boy in Florida who killed his 9 year old neighbor girl by body-slamming her? What was his defense? "I saw it on wrestling". I mean, you could come up with hundreds of examples. However, and this is just my opinion...I think a kid has to have a predisposition for violence anyway for a copycat crime of that magnitude to occur. But yes, I believe that a lot of day-to-day antisocial behavior can be directly blamed on the media. I think it's obvious.

I agree with Warhawk.

My opinion is that the children are becoming desensitized; they see and listen to too much

Yeah, this is another topic I don't have a FIRM stance on one way or the other. I can see it both ways at different times...


However, do you think the incident about the boy in Florida, with his defense reply of "I saw it on wrestling" was used as just that, a defense??? It seems most people say whatever they have to to try and justify things or to get off easy...

Possibly. And the lawyers could have come up with that ploy to divert blame away from their client. Now, with no TV, movies, violent music, etc. would we still have violent crime, and anti-social kids? Yeah, the media is a 20th century phenomenon. We've always had violence. But I still feel the media is having an effect. We live in a world of instant gratification. 30 minute TV shows have about 20 minutes to introduce, develop, and conclude a plot line. Commercials are becoming shorter and almost manic. With DVD's and CD's, you can jump instantly to your favorite song or scene, and there's no rewind. With the internet, you're a few mouse-clicks away from all the knowledge known to man. And it's not just the media. We have fast food, fast transportation, ATM machines, everything, rush, rush, rush. It's all giving us the attention span of a bunch of gnats. And when we don't get our way, we get angry.

I'd have to say what a kid watches does affect him, at least short term. I remember when I was kid, I wanted to be the hero but never the villian. I don't know if computer games have the same effect on kids now that movies and tv will.




In this society we have always glorified and romanticized the gangster and the outlaw so I don't see any new trends developing along those lines.

There is absolutely way too much junk on television, video games and right here on the internet. Our pop culture is garbage for the most part, in my opinion.

That being said, and watching my own kids grow up, they take what they think is important and ignore the rest.

None of them have ever been in any serious trouble and regard the garbage as just that.

It's real simple: Be a good parent, love your kids and lead by example. Kids have always been able to get into trouble if they wanted to and ultimately will make their own decisions, no matter what is put in front of them.

If people didn't buy the junk that's out there it wouldn't exist.

Good parenting and not spending money on the pop culture affects more than a bunch of high-minded morality.

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It's real simple: Be a good parent, love your kids and lead by example.

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Good parenting and not spending money on the pop culture affects more than a bunch of high-minded morality.

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Dito on that AF. The parents play the primary role. Sure the kids are going to have access to this material. . .but it depends on how much clout the parents have w/ their kids that will determine whether or not the kid will obey their parent on what to be influenced by.