Are you oblivious to the abuse?

"Children are learning to associate violent death with candy bars, 

popcorn, and soft drinks at the movies… children are being operantly conditioned to associate violent death with pleasure… the influence of mass media violence on children has led to more and more threats by school-age conspirators, many that are not publicized."  

 Lt. Col. Dave Grossman stated the above just last month, speaking about the impact of video games and the media on our society. You can read the rest of his thoughts here. Grossman, however, is not the only one concerned with the affects violent media has on children and their life down the road. According to “Media Now”, Straubhaar points out the fact that three-fifths of prime-time television is consumed with 4.5 violent acts per show. Roughly eight acts of violence are shown in an hour! Another side note to sink in: PG-13 movies include the MOST violence at thirteen violent scenes per movie!! Ironic? These few facts seem like they would be proof enough to correlate violent media with an increase in violent behavior right? If not, take a look at Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment video below for some educational entertainment. The Bobo Doll Experiment was performed way back in 1961 by Albert Bandura. His experiment was designed to prove his belief that all human behavior was learned, through social imitation and copying (aka the social learning theory), rather than biologically inherited through genetics. Read more about the experiment by clicking here. 

a little educational entertainment: Bandura's Bobo Doll Video!

From television shows to video games - movies, YouTube videos, music, and even the news - violence is prevalent. Violence is so prevalent it has become a way of life that does not even faze us anymore. This issue is a legitimate concern that has been researched on for over 50 years. I think it is time to set those parental setting codes on the computer, TV/TiVo, all of it!