VIOLENCE ON THE SCREEN ENCOURAGES VIOLENCE IN REAL LIFE – Discussing both sides

  Violence on the screen does not affect violence in real life – firstly parents need to be involved in their children’s life from a very young age. From a young age parents teach their children how to walk and talk, they too must teach them what they should and should not watch and teach then what is wrong and right. Each child looks up to their parents and learns from them –so violence is not only in the form of viewing on the screen but in your home environment. Parents have tremendous power to influence their children. If a child has interest in viewing violence it is because their personality reflects that interest. Children are born with their own personality and learn interests from family, friends and school. There are incidents where homes do not have television and their families are exposed to violence due to alcohol or drugs. These children are exposed to violence not by viewing but by what they are exposed around them. In viewing violence on the screen, you might get someone who might want to “copycat” a crime of violence that they watched but how many millions have watched that same screening and never acted on it. The first man and woman who ever lived on earth Adam and eve bore their first son Cain who viewed no violence and had no TV but Cain murdered his brother Abel out of pure anger and jealousy and being an imperfect sinner. It was not right what he did but Adam suffered the consequences. 

 Violence on the screen does affect violent in real life – you turn on the TV, go out to the movies, listen to the lyrics of some songs, watch music videos and the big billboards on the side of the roads, majority is all about violence. Children exposed to watching violence from a young age become more willing to accept violence from others and even perform violent acts themselves when things do not turn out the way they want it to. With this view in mind you start to believe that this world has nothing to offer but danger and unsafe. 2 out of 3 programs contain violence. the TV at times is a substitute to a babysitter as parents sit their children in front of the TV while they cook, do washing etc we might think that cartoon viewing is not harmful to the children because its cartoons. Research has proven that 2 hours of cartoon viewing per day expose more than 1000 violent acts a year. Children do not know the difference between reality and fantasy.

  In 1999, two teenage boys murdered 12 schoolmates, a teacher and injured 21 at columbine high school in California and then killed themselves. Parents, friends and family said that these two mentioned teenagers’ lives were centred on violent TV games and violent movies. Showing violence leads to more aggressiveness, violent behaviour and being antisocial. In another incident, a 17 year old teenager, Andrew Conley strangled his 10 year old brother and his reasoning for doing it, was that he was inspired by the TV series Dexter, who is a serial killer. He said that by killing his brother, he could be like the TV character Dexter.

 If as a child you were taught and brought up with morals and standards with regards to the view of violence, that including viewing sports such as boxing, wrestling, or any violent form of entertainment, as an adult you would not waste any time in viewing such. Our creator who best knows us had the following written in the bible psalms 11:5 “God examines the righteous one as well as the wicked one, he hates anyone who loves violence”