COYA

MEDIA VIOLENCE: EXPOSURE AND CONTENT

American children and youths spend, on average, more than 4 hours a day with television, computers, videotaped movies, and video games (Roberts et al., 1999; Woodard, 2000). But their exposure to media varies considerably, depending on their age, parental viewing habits, and family socioeconomic status (SES). Most systematic research on children’s exposure to violent media dates back to the 1970s, when most families did not have access to cable television, music videos, video games, or the Internet. As noted earlier, very few contemporary studies systematically document children’s actual consumption of violent media; this is particularly true for the newer media.

Several content analyses over the last 30 years have systematically examined violence on television (Gerbner et al., 1980; Potter et al., 1995; Signorielli, 1990). The largest and most recent of these was the National Television Violence Survey (NTVS)¹ (Wilson et al., 1997, 1998), which examined the amount and content of violence² on American television for three consecutive years, as well as contextual variables that may make it more likely for aggression and violence to be accepted, learned, and imitated. Smith and Donnerstein (1998) report the following NTVS findings:

• 61 percent of television programs contain some violence, and only 4 percent of television programs with violent content feature an "antiviolence" theme.
• 44 percent of the violent interactions on television involve perpetrators who have some attractive qualities worthy of emulation.
• 43 percent of violent scenes involve humor either directed at the violence or used by characters involved with violence.
• Nearly 75 percent of violent scenes on television feature no immediate punishment for or condemnation of violence.
• 40 percent of programs feature "bad" characters who are never or rarely punished for their aggressive actions.

The NTVS report notes that many television programs fail to depict the harmful consequences of violence. Specifically, it finds that of all violent behavioral interactions on television, 58 percent depict no pain, 47 percent depict no harm, and 40 percent depict harm unrealistically. Of all violent scenes on television, 86 percent feature no blood or gore. Only 16 percent of violent programs feature the long-term, realistic consequences of violence.

MAJOR BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS OF MEDIA VIOLENCE

Because an exhaustive description of the research literature is not possible within this brief discussion, findings from meta-analyses are reported³ where available. In meta-analyses, the results of multiple studies are combined and compared systematically and an overall effect size computed. These analyses include findings from randomized experiments that look at aggression immediately after viewing violence, as well as cross-sectional surveys that provide a snapshot of the relationship between viewing violence and behavior at a fixed point in time. Also presented are findings from longitudinal studies that examine whether exposure to media violence affects violence and aggression over time.

Television and Film Violence

Many anecdotal reports have described instances in which television and film violence led to immediate violent behavior in individual children, but scientific studies of this relationship draw a more complex and qualified picture. Most of the relevant research has focused on how watching dramatic violence on television and film affects aggressive thoughts and emotions, as well as aggressive behavior. Some important studies address violence as well.