Band 6+: In many countries, an increase in crime has been blamed on violent images on television and in computer and video games. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Some people all over the world think that cruel scenes, which younger generation might see on TV screens or on the Internet, and computer video games are responsible for boosting level of crimes. Others deny it and believe that there are numerous different factors that should be taken into account. While I acknowledge that violent movies, TV shows, and games could have negative influence on people’s behavior, I suggest that this problem is much more multifaceted than it seems to be.

On the one hand, the world society has seen negative consequences of excessive violence in films and TV series. One clear example of this is the USA and the Hollywood’s movies in the 1960s. It was the era when gangster’s films were exceptionally popular. Their notorious fame coincided with rising of criminal activity, especially among teenagers. It was believed that adolescents tried to imitate their favorite characters. Film companies changed their approach to film production after it. Criminals were replaced to honest and decisive police officers as the main characters. This action led to the decrease of the crime level over several years. Hence, some facts suggest that cruelty on TV screens possibly lead to negative changes in human’s behavior.

On the other hand, some statements look more like prejudice than a real fact. For instance, blaming video games for all sins is highly popular among some politicians and celebrities. However, statistic reviews show an opposite situation. The level of crime in developed countries, where video games are much more affordable to people, is significantly lower than that in developing countries, where citizens have smaller incomes and fewer possibilities for playing video games. Therefore, the main factors that contribute to number of crimes are not TV shows or games but quality of life, literacy, and incomes of the population.

In conclusion, while I suggest that there many factors that have influence on criminal activity in different countries, I argue that cruel TV scenes and violent video games are not the most important of them.