Violent Behavior in the Media and its impact on Violence in the Research Proposal

Violent Behavior in the Media and its impact on Violence in the Physical World - Research Proposal Example Society as a whole is consistently being fed with violent images, ideas and themes from the media that surrounds us. This is particularly important in the present age where mass media is a common method is a common method of advertising and entertainment. Mass media comes in many forms and the term is used to any form of media communication that reaches a large group of people at the same time. Different forms of mass media include newspapers, the Internet, billboards, movies, television and magazines. One form of mass media that is of particular interest is television. From once being a novelty, and a luxury item that only a few could afford, televisions are now commonplace in households, with many who consider themselves ‘light’ viewers watching several hours each day. Many who watch television pride themselves on the ability to distinguish fact from fiction, what is real from what is illusion, yet these distinctions are solely on the part of the viewer, and change as the viewers own perception changes. The high prevalence of television in the lives of a large amount of people, as well as the high number of hours that are viewed by even light viewers leads to concern that there is high potential for what is observed to affect both thought processes and behavior. In addition to this the large amount of information that can be portrayed through the television, both from sounds and visual information is substantial. A factor that has been of interest within the literature for many years is whether the violence and aggression that is prevalent in mass media in general and particularly on television has any influence on the levels of violence and aggression that are observed in the real world. Violence in media can generally be defined as visual or audio portrayals of physical aggression by one character, generally human-like, towards another. In contrast, aggression in the media can be defined as an act intended to either injure or irritate another person . Debate has been wide ranging concerning whether the violence on television plays any role, with opinions and studies indicating different results. This debate is becoming of increasing importance as the prevalence of violence on television continues to rise . Murders and shootings are common in many different genres of television program and movies. Martial arts, expositions and fist fights are all common fare to emphasize a point, or to fill in the gaps between pieces of story . This study looks at the background and need for studies on violence on television, the arguments for the ability of mass media to cause violence,