These days, the amount of violence in the media is growing. While some people argue that this trend will undoubtedly lead humans to a dangerous future, others claim that it has no damaging effect on society. I believe that in most cases, media violence does’t affect people’s behavior.
Firstly, I think that people act on their motives, regardless of what they see on the television. That is to say, if someone intends to do harm to somebody, that is not because of watching TV or playing computer games, but due to that person’s character and education. Although it is generally considered that violent media accustoms viewers to cruelty, I doubt this opinion. In my view, reasonable and intelligent people treat others humanely irrespective of what they see or hear in fictional stories.
Moreover, video games and television may even reduce social violence by providing a safe outlet for aggressiveness. In other words, truculent people may fight in virtual reality instead of evincing their combative spirit in the real world. This may not only help those people, but also reduce the level of social violence in long-term perspective.
Finally, despite many claims and assumptions about the negative effects of television and computer games, I have never seen any proven connection between violent media and illegal activities in social life.
Taking everything into consideration, I would say that violence in contemporary media has no substantial influence on people’s behavior. Television and computers are not the main factors that shape personal character, and they can even be useful in reducing the level of violence.