Media Violence is Harmful to Kids!

The “Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children,” at the August 2000 congressional public health summit, cited well over 1,000 studies that “point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children… Its effects are measurable and long-lasting… prolonged viewing of media violence can lead to desensitization toward violence in real life.”

Most American children spend far more of their childhoods watching television than they do in school. By age 18, on average, they have seen more than 200,000 acts of television violence, including more than 16,000 murders.

I suspect that the violence in movies, music, and interactive entertainment such as computer games and video games has an even deeper impact.

I am encouraged by the presence of some wonderful new games that are based on dance moves, driving, skiing, skateboarding, soccer, and baseball. Keep your eye out for, and support, entertainment choices that are exciting, fun, and non-violent.