# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Movies with ill-mannered stories and content that glorify violence harm adolescents’ decision-making and deterrence.

# data[].attributes.headline
A 2021 research paper from the Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal entitled "The Effect of Violent and Melodrama Movies on Risky Decision Making and Behavioral Inhibition in Adolescents"

# data[].attributes.subject
A 2021 research paper from the Basic and Clinical Neuroscience Journal entitled "The Effect of Violent and Melodrama Movies on Risky Decision Making and Behavioral Inhibition in Adolescents"

# data[].attributes.headline
A health article from Verywell Mind (2023) entitled "How Violent Media Can Impact Your Mental Health"

# data[].attributes.subject
A health article from Verywell Mind (2023) entitled "How Violent Media Can Impact Your Mental Health"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of the most studied-and most controversial-topics in media psychology is the impact of violent media on consumers, especially children. Violence in is movies, on television, in video games, and on the internet. It's also included in content aimed at kids, tweens, and teens, and therefore, it's no surprise that psychologists, parents, and media consumers, in general, are concerned about the impact it has on people.

As a result, ever since the advent of television decades ago, psychologists have investigated the possibility of a link between the consumption of violent media and increases in real-life aggression.

This article will explore the research on this topic including arguments for and against an association. In addition, this article will examine newer research that has found a relationship between exposure to violent content, especially via news media, and mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety.

Does Consuming Violent Content Lead to Increased Aggression?

Studies have consistently shown that media violence has an impact on real-life aggression. These studies use a diverse set of methods and participants, leading many experts on the impact of media violence to agree that aggression increases as a result of media violence consumption.

However, that doesn't mean exposure to media violence drives consumers to murder or other particularly violent acts. These studies explore different kinds of aggression, making the association the research has established between violent media and aggression more nuanced than it initially appears.

Evidence for a Link Between Violent Content and Aggression

Many experiments in labs have provided evidence that demonstrates that short-term exposure to violent media increases aggression in children, teenagers, and young adults. However, aggression doesn't always mean physical aggression. It can also mean verbal aggression, such as yelling insults, as well as thinking aggressive thoughts or having aggressive emotions.

There Varying Degrees of Aggression

Moreover, even physical aggression exists on a continuum from a light shove to something far more dangerous. As a result, people may become more aggressive immediately following exposure to media violence but that aggression manifests itself in a variety of different ways, a majority of which wouldn't be considered particularly dangerous.

Consuming Violent Media During Childhood May Result in Adult Aggression

More disturbing are the few longitudinal studies that have followed people over decades and have shown that frequent exposure to media violence in childhood results in adult aggression even if people no longer consume violent media as adults.

For example, one study found that frequent exposure to violent television at age 8 predicted aggressive behavior at ages 19 and 30 for male, but not female, participants. This effect held even after controlling for variables like social class, IQ, and initial aggressiveness.

Similarly, another study that surveyed 329 participants between the ages of 6 and 9 found that 15 years later the exposure of both males and females to television violence in childhood predicted increased aggression in adulthood. In particular, the 25% of study participants who viewed the most media violence in childhood were the most likely to be much more aggressive in adulthood.

These individuals exhibited a range of behaviors including:

This was especially true if they identified with aggressive characters and felt that television violence was realistic when they were children.

These findings suggest that frequent early exposure to television violence can have a powerful impact on individuals over time and well into their adult lives.

Why Is This Topic So Controversial?

So if there's so much research evidence for a link between media violence and real-world aggression, why is the debate over this topic ongoing? Part of the issue is one of definition.

Studies often define violence and aggression in very different ways and they use different measures to test the association, making it hard to replicate the results. Moreover, many researchers edit together media for lab experiments, creating a situation where participants must watch and react to media that bears minimal resemblance to anything they'd actually consume via TV, movies, or the internet.

As a result, even when these experiments find media violence causes aggression, the extent to which it can be generalized to the population as a whole is limited.

Of course, it would be naïve to think that consuming media violence has no impact on people, but it appears it may not be the most powerful influence. The effect of media violence is likely to vary based on other factors including personality traits, developmental stage, social and environmental influences, and the context in which the violence is presented.

It's also important to recognize that not all aggression is negative or socially unacceptable. One study found that a relationship between exposure to television violence and an increase in positive aggression, or aggression that isn't intended to cause harm, in the form of participation in extreme or contact sports.

Does Consuming Violent Media Lead to Mental Health Issues?

While psychologists have been studying the association between the consumption of violent media and increased aggression for well over 50 years, more recently, some have turned their attention to the impact of media violence on mental health concerns.

Consumption of Violent Media May Lead to Anxiety

Studies have demonstrated that there's a correlation between exposure to media violence and increased anxiety and the belief that the world is a scary place. For instance, an experimental investigation found that late adolescents who were exposed to a violent movie clip were more anxious than those who watched a nonviolent clip.

Constant Exposure to Violent Media Via Technology May Lead to Poorer Mental Health

Today, the violence shown on the news media may especially impact people's mental health. New technology means that violent events, including terrorist attacks, school shootings, and natural disasters, can be filmed and reported on immediately, and media consumers all over the world will be exposed to these events almost instantly via social media or news alerts on their smartphones and other devices.

Moreover, this exposure is likely to be intense and repeated due to the need to fill a 24-hour news cycle. Studies have shown that this kind of exposure, especially to acts of terrorism, has the potential to lead to depression, anxiety, stress reactions, substance use, and even post-traumatic stress (PTSD).

Plus, those who take in more images of a disaster tend to be more likely to experience negative mental health consequences. For example, in a study conducted shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, people who viewed more television news reports about what happened in the seven days after the event had more symptoms of PTSD than those who had viewed less television news coverage.

How to Cope With the Impact of Media Violence

Violence will continue to be depicted in the media and, for most adults, there's nothing wrong with watching a violent horror or action movie or playing a violent video game, as long as it doesn't impair your mental health or daily functioning.

However, if you feel you're being negatively impacted by the violence depicted in the media, especially after a disaster that's getting constant coverage on the news, the first solution is to stop engaging with devices that could lead to further exposure.

This means turning off the TV, and for anyone who frequently looks at the news on their computers or mobile devices, adjusting any settings that could lead you to see more images of a violent event.

How You Can Help Your Child

For parents concerned about children's exposure to violent media, the solution isn't to attempt to prevent children from consuming violence altogether, although limiting their exposure is valuable.

Instead, parents should co-view violent media with their children and then talk about what they see. This helps children become discerning media consumers who can think critically about the content they read, watch, and play.

Similarly, when a disturbing event like a school shooting happens it's valuable to discuss it with children so they can express their emotions and parents can put the incident in the context of its overall likelihood.

When to Seek Therapy

If a parent notices their child seems depressed or anxious after frequent exposure to media violence or an adult notices their mental health is suffering due to regular consumption of violent media, it may be valuable to seek the help of a mental health professional.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here's How Violent Media Can Impact Your Mental Health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Psychological research provides evidence for a relationship between the consumption of violent media and mental health issues. Learn more here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed.

# data[].attributes.headline
A 2009 journal article from the American Academy of Pediatrics, entitled "Media Violence "

# data[].attributes.subject
A 2009 journal article from the American Academy of Pediatrics, entitled "Media Violence "

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Verifying you are human. This may take a few seconds.

# data[].attributes.headline
A trade publication article from The Nation's Health (2019) entitled "Media exposure to mass violence can lead to cycle of harm to mental health"

# data[].attributes.subject
A trade publication article from The Nation's Health (2019) entitled "Media exposure to mass violence can lead to cycle of harm to mental health"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Media coverage of mass violence can cause distress in people who are exposed to it. That anxiety can drive them to consume more trauma-related media in the future, causing even more distress, a recent study shows.

Published in April in Science Advances, the study tracked more than 4,000 people over a three-year period from 2013 to 2016. The study began days after the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, in which three people were killed and hundreds more were injured. The research was designed to track immediate emotional responses and responses to the bombing over time. However, after the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, in which 49 people were killed, the study was also able to gauge participant responses to that event. Both incidents were extensively covered by media.

"The cycle of media exposure and distress appears to have downstream implications for public health," Rebecca Thompson, lead author of the report, said in a news release. "Repeated exposure to news coverage of collective traumas has been linked to poor mental health consequences - such as flashbacks - in the immediate aftermath and post-traumatic stress responses and physical health problems over time, even among individuals who did not directly experience the event."

Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, a professor of psychological science, medicine and public health at University of California-Irvine and senior author of the study, has examined community trauma since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Her prior research indicates that the relationship between consumption and distress is not only cyclical, but cumulative.

"It's important that the public should be aware of the consequences of exposure to violence," Silver told The Nation's Health. "There's very little benefit to consuming this type of media and it appears that it can have very negative effects."

Consuming media on mass trauma can cause acute post-traumatic stress symptoms, the study said. Such stress was linked to more

worry about future mass violence incidents among participants and to increased attention to media coverage of mass violence incidents.

"Past collective trauma may sensitize individuals - that is, make them more emotionally responsive - to media coverage of future events, resulting in heightened distress and worry following subsequent media exposure," the study said. "This heightened distress may also lead to increased attention to media coverage of future events."

People who are exposed to human-caused disasters such as mass violence through repeated media exposure are at risk for developing emotional distress, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. SAMHSA says that the 24-hour, repetitious nature of the news cycle can be an obstacle to coping and moving on from trauma, and advises limiting news exposure for those affected by it.

Media also has a role to play in limiting exposure, according to the new study. Researchers called for traditional media outlets to be measured in coverage of mass violence, such as offering strictly informational accounts as opposed to "lengthy descriptions of carnage."

Silver noted that the changing media landscape places increased responsibility on people to measure their intake of mass trauma-related media. While people in the past received news mainly through TV and print media, the internet and social media have increased opportunities for exposure.

In the 24-hour period following the May killings of more than 50 people at a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, Facebook removed 1.5 million uploads of the video footage of the attack. In the October Tree of Life Synagogue killings in Pittsburgh, which took the lives of 11 people, the shooter used social media to post antisemitic messages before his attack. And in April, the shooter who killed one person at a synagogue in Poway, California, posted a trail of antisemitic messages online and attempted to livestream his attack.

"We're noticing increased availability to very graphic images that can be quickly posted on social media and then widely distributed by the public," Silver said. "Violence can go viral."

For more information on the study, visit https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/4/eaav3502.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Media exposure to mass violence can lead to cycle of harm to mental health

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Media coverage of mass violence can cause distress in people who are exposed to it. That anxiety can drive them to consume more trauma-related media in the future, causing even more distress, a recent study shows. Published in April in Science Advances, the study tracked more than 4,000 people over a three-year period from 2013 to 2016.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
Long-term media violence exposure will increase proactive aggression and reactive aggression.

# data[].attributes.headline
A 2020 research article from ScienceDirect/Elsevier entitled "The long-term effect of Media Violence Exposure on Aggression of Youngsters"

# data[].attributes.subject
A 2020 research article from ScienceDirect/Elsevier entitled "The long-term effect of Media Violence Exposure on Aggression of Youngsters"

# data[].attributes.headline
A psychology article from Psychology Today (2023) entitled "Why Do People Deny Violent Media Effects?"

# data[].attributes.subject
A psychology article from Psychology Today (2023) entitled "Why Do People Deny Violent Media Effects?"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Do People Deny Violent Media Effects?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Most of us don’t like to admit that the things we enjoy doing might also be bad for us, whether that be playing violent video games or eating chocolate.