Quote:
Originally posted by ARTelevision
Admitting to the overwhelming message of research that violent media is a part of the problem of desensitization, alienation, and confusion experienced by youth and the weak people in our society - of which there are millions - is not a resounding endorsement, is it?
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At most you can say a correlation exists between violent media and the problems you listed. It's not a question of "admitting" to anything; the research hasn't shown much more than that. They demonstrate tenuous links, using findings that show "an increase in aggressive thoughts" to theorize that all exposure is bad.
The only exception is that of desensitization; research has shown that repeated exposure to media violence desensitizes people to media violence. I have yet to hear of a study that shows that people who watch violent media become numb to real violence. It doesn't mean it's out there, but I haven't seen it yet.
Look, I'm not saying violent media doesn't have an influence on those who watch it. All stimulus does, from movies to that 8th grader down the street. The problem is that research like this is never used to say "Oh, you should let your kids watch TV in moderation." It's always used in a support of BANNING the media in question. The Lieberman's and Hatch's of this world desperately grab for any study which proves their side, and then twist it until things support their point.
70% of the gamers out there are adults (
http://www.womengamers.com/articles/myths.html), and few people would argue that they need protection from violent media. For the remaining 30%, parents have the responsibility here. The government should not be in the business of "saving our children" from adult entertainment, when the parents can do it far more effectively and for less money.