Children and Media Violence

1
Children and Media Violence

• Aimee Reid

2
H.R.2248

• To provide for the establishment, use, and
  enforcement of a consistent and comprehensive
  system for labeling violent content in audio and
  visual media products.

3
SUMMARY AS OF 6/16/1999--Introduced.

• 21st Century Media Responsibility Act of 1999 -
  Amends the Federal Cigarette Labeling and
  Advertising Act to state that it is the policy of
  Congress to provide for the establishment, use,
  and enforcement of a consistent and comprehensive
  system for labeling violent content in audio and
  visual media products, including with regard to
  the appropriateness of such products for minors.
• Authorizes manufacturers and producers of
  interactive video game products and services,
  video program products, motion picture products,
  and sound recording products (products) to submit
  to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a joint
  proposal for a system for labeling the violent
  content of such products. Outlines labeling
  system requirements, including that (1) such
  product shall specify a minimum age for purchase
  and viewing and (2) the label should appear
  conspicuously on the product.

4
Continued.

• Requires the FTC to review any proposal that is
  submitted by such manufacturers and producers
  within 180 days after the enactment of this Act
  to determine if it meets such requirements.
  Requires the FTC to issue a labeling system
  within 180 days after commencing a review of such
  proposal. Directs the FTC to establish its own
  labeling system if a proposal is not submitted.
• Prohibits a person from manufacturing or
  producing such a product unless it bears a label
  meeting requirements of this Act. Prohibits a
  person, from the same date, from selling such
  product to an individual whose age is less than
  the minimum age specified under the labeling
  system.
• Empowers the FTC to investigate allegations of
  violations of this Act. Provides civil penalties
  for violations.
• Renames the Federal Cigarette Labeling and
  Advertising Act as the Federal Cigarette and
  Media Violence Labeling and Advertising Act.

5
The organization breaks down the early years of
TV viewing development this way

• INFANTS (018 MONTHS)From birth to 18 months,
  infants are interested in TV only for brief
  periods of time because they are attracted to the
  light and sound.
• TODDLERS (1836 MONTHS)They pay much more
  attention to what is on TV and are able to get
  meaning from programs they watch. They react
  equally to animated violence and real violence
  because their link between fantasy and reality is
  not strong.
• PRESCHOOLERS (35 YEARS)Children look forward to
  shows. They understand what they are viewing, but
  cannot give it a context. They cannot judge
  reality versus fantasy or commercials versus
  regular programs. They are attracted to highly
  vivid scenes, rapid movement, sound, and color.
  In other words, most children pay the most
  attention to the most violent scenes on the
  screen.
• ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AGE (611 YEARS)Children
  believe that TV reflects real life and will
  become more active and show more aggressive
  behavior after viewing violent scenes. High
  viewing levels have been shown to interfere with
  reading development.

6

• The resulting Surgeon Generals report and a
  follow-up report in 1982 by the National
  Institute of Mental Health identify these major
  effects of seeing violence on television
• Children may become less sensitive to the pain
  and suffering of others
• Children may be more fearful of the world around
  them
• Children may be more likely to behave in
  aggressive or harmful ways toward others
• It was found that children who watched many hours
  of violence on television when they were in
  elementary school tended to also show a higher
  level of aggressive behavior when they became
  teenagers.
• By observing these youngsters into adulthood, it
  was found that the ones whod watched a lot of TV
  violence when they were eight years old were more
  likely to be arrested and prosecuted for criminal
  acts as adults.
• Interestingly, being aggressive as a child did
  not predict watching more violent TV as a
  teenager, suggesting that TV watching may more
  often be a cause rather than a consequence of
  aggressive behavior.

7
Psychiatric Effects of Media Violence

• The National Institute of Mental Health has
  reported that "In magnitude, exposure to
  television violence is as strongly correlated
  with aggressive behavior as any other behavioral
  variable that has been measured." In addition to
  increased aggression, countless studies have
  demonstrated that exposure to depictions of
  violence causes desensitization and creates a
  climate of fear.
• Television violence has been shown to be a risk
  factor to the health and well-being of the
  developing child, adolescent, and to the
  stability of their families.

8
(No Transcript)
9
(No Transcript)
10

• A study by the Parents Television Council (PTC)
  entitled "TV Bloodbath Violence on Prime Time
  Broadcast TV" looked at changes in the levels of
  violence on television from 1998 to 2002.
• The report notes that on the major non-cable
  broadcast networks, "In 2002, depictions of
  violence were 41 more frequent during the 800
  p.m. Family Hour, and 134.4 more frequent during
  the 900 p.m. hour than in 1998.
• Overall, only 10 of children's viewing time is
  spend watching TV designed for kids. The other
  90 of the time is spent watching programs
  designed for adults.
• The study also noted that while CBS was the lest
  violent network, Fox was the most violent,
  followed closely by UPN and NBC.
• The Center for Media Literacy presents three
  common themes with respect to TV violence
• violence drives the storyline
• violence has no consequences
• TV is a world of good and bad

11
Causes of violent behavior.

• The causes of violent behavior in society are
  complex and interrelated.
• Among the significant contributors are
• poverty
• racism
• unemployment,
• illegal drugs,
• inadequate or abusive parenting practices,
• real-life adult models of violent problem-solving
  behavior.
• At the same time that there has been an increase
  in the number of reported violent acts directed
  at children, there has been an increase in the
  amount and severity of violent acts observed by
  children through the media, including television,
  movies, computer games, and videotapes, and an
  increase in the manufacture and distribution of
  weapon-like toys and other products directly
  linked to violent programming.

12
Suggestions from the Senate Judiciary Committee

• A few suggestions of how violence in the media
  can be monitored if not changed for children.
• These are just to name a few
• encourage the television, motion picture, music,
  and video game industries to develop a uniform
  rating system for their products
• establish a biannual "report card" by the
  Federal Trade Commission detailing the prevalence
  of media violence and industry efforts to reduce
  it
• require that retail establishments disclose music
  lyrics to parents
• ensure that parents will have access to filtering
  technology that will enable them to block access
  to Internet content they deem unsuitable for
  children
• encourage Internet service providers to rid
  their systems of "hate" material, and criminalize
  the posting of such material, when posted to
  incite an act of violence, etc.
• If we take steps at both the national levelby
  dealing with the marketing of, and access to,
  violent mediaand at the most local of levelsby
  empowering parents to exercise greater control
  over the material their children accesswe can
  significantly reduce the impact of violent media
  on our young people.

13
RATING SYSTEMS

• Motion Pictures
• Films receive one of the following five rating
  symbols from the Rating Board of the Motion
  Picture Association of America ("MPAA")
• "G" General Audiences--All Ages Admitted.
• "PG" Parental Guidance Suggested. Some Material
  May Not Be Suitable For Children.
• "PG-13" Parents Strongly Cautioned. Some
  Material May Be Inappropriate For Children Under
  13.
• "R" Restricted, Under 17 Requires
  Accompanying Parent Or Adult Guardian.
• "NC-17" No one 17 And Under Admitted.
• Television
• The television industry has developed a
  voluntary rating system comprising six age-based
  labels and four content-based labels. the
  aged-based labels, which are modeled after the
  MPAA rating system for films, are as follows
• "TV-Y" All Children
• "TV-Y7" Directed to Children Ages 7 and Above
• "TV-G" General Audience
• "TV-PG" Parental Guidance Suggested
• "TV-14" Parents Strongly Cautioned
• "TV-MA" Mature Audiences Only

14
NAEYC supports measures that can be taken by
responsible adults to limit children's exposure
to violence through the media. Such efforts
include but are not limited to

• legislation requiring reinstatement of guidelines
  for children's television by the Federal
  Communication Commission, including requirements
  for videotapes and elimination of television
  programs linked to toys
• legislation limiting advertising on children's
  programming, and standards for toys to ensure
  that they are not only physically safe but also
  psychologically safe

• promotion of more developmentally appropriate,
  educational programming that meets children's
  diverse needs for information, entertainment,
  aesthetic appreciation, positive role models, and
  knowledge about the world (Huston et al., 1989)
• development of resources to assist parents in the
  constructive and educational use of media with
  their children

15
Sources.

• Kaufman, Ron, 2004.Filling their minds with
  death TV violence and children
• http//www.turnoffyourtv.com/healtheducation/viole
  ncechildren/violencechildren.html
• NAEYC, 2004. Media Violence in Childrens Lives
  A position statement of the
• National Association for the Education of Young
  Children
• http//www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSMEVI98.
  PDF
• American Psychological Association, 2007.
  Violence in the Media - Psychologists Help
  Protect Children from Harmful Effects.Washington,
  DChttp//www.psychologymatters.org/mediaviolence
  .html
• Majority Staff Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
  1999. CHILDREN, VIOLENCE, AND THE MEDIA A Report
  for Parents and Policy Makers
• http//judiciary.senate.gov/oldsite/mediavio.htm