Violence In Mass Media (Part 1)
In this age of technological advancement, people now more than ever are becoming increasingly dependent upon mass media as its main source of information, entertainment and recreation. People have become more detached from their environs and from human contact as well. Gone are the days when families and neighbors would gladly exchange the day’s gossip and news over meals or coffee. Children would rather stare at computer screens for hours rather than sweat it out in the yard with their siblings and friends. Thus without realizing it, citizens of today’s global world have become virtual slaves to mass media.
Probably of all media customers, children are most at risk. Unable to clearly distinguish right from wrong and compounded by the absence of responsible adult guidance, children are fed on a daily basis with a barrage of print, audio and visuals that do more harm than good.
Alarmingly, violence in mass media is becoming regular fare. Television, clearly the most popular medium, has in recent years been reported by the Center for Media and Public Affairs to have increased rather than decreased the depictions of violent acts.
Television and cable network’s popularity is quite understandable. The ease through which information, news and entertainment can be had through the medium is an enticing bonus. But more so because they are able to facilitate vicarious experiences that otherwise could not be had by the average everyday working person. They provide escapes through which men become super athletes, business tycoons, crime-busters within the confines of their living room and where housebound women are instantly transformed to glamorous scheming socialites or desirable sirens. Children on the other hand see their fantasies acted out by their invincible anime characters and superheroes.
Underneath majority of these television characters are depictions of violence, not only of the physical kind but more of the insidious and subliminal type. And unfortunately, the children bear the brunt of its influence.
Renee Andrea T. Aguinaldo
July 2008
