Media Violence

Blaming Social Violence on the Media

Violence in the media has statistically increased in the last decade, yet incidences of societal violence have not risen along with it. This contradicts the claim by many that violence in television shows, the movies, video games, and music has greatly contributed to the depravity of those exposed to such violence, including children. While increased exposure to the media presents increased exposure to its contents, and thus subjective violence, if present, theoretical implications depicting media as the primary stimuli to the committing of criminal acts has not been objectively proven.

Prior to evaluating evidence for or against causative violence in the media, the concept of violence must first be analyzed. According to the National Television Violence Survey (NTVS), violence can be defined as the "overt depiction of a credible threat of physical force, or the actual use of such force intended to...
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