How the Media Desensitize’s Americans to Violence

Have you ever noticed how unbothered we are when it comes to gruesome displays of violence in the media? In fact, the most popular types of media have dark themes with bloody violence. When we see characters die in an excruciating way many of us can sit and watch it without cringing and even enjoy that aspect as part of the plot. While it may be normal for us, in other countries this degree of exposure to violence feels sickening and is not something the audience can stomach watching. Wednesday’s class discussion with classmates talking about how they love murder mysteries and hearing dark stories goes to show how normal it has become that we enjoy this kind of content in our own free time. 

People in United States are exposed to copious amounts of violence which  become glorified. The amount of violence in TV now is unlike anything in the past and is expected, and there are more guns depicted in PG-13 films. Examples of high violence can be seen in shows and movies such as Squid Game, My Friend Dahmer, or Extremely Wicked and Shockingly Vile. Violence is extremely prevalent through all forms of media, and it desensitizes people starting from an early age. Every person or every household has a device that gives them access to streaming and social media. In fact, for most younger children and teenager’s social media is where most of their time is spent besides sleeping. An average American youth will witness 200,000 violent acts on television before age 18. TV content can be decently violent even when advertised as non-violent. In addition, a large amount of violence can be shown even in kids cartoons where depictions of violence are often written off as humor for the audience to laugh at. You can often notice in some people that many deal with pain or dark topics by laughing. This may be a taught reaction that feels natural because of how much we have been desensitized to violence that we can cope by finding humor. Media violence can desensitize children to the real world and fantasy violence. The more violence is shown through television, the more viewers learn to turn off their emotional response when there is an infliction of pain on people/characters. Because there is so much exposure, there is an apparent lack of empathy shown towards characters suffering through violence.  

Video games is another form of media that depicts violence and, in most games, has the player utilizes weapons to kill other players. Nearly all American teens have played or actively play video games. Even people who don’t enjoy video games or just don’t play by themselves can watch other people play through streaming services such as Twitch. Even if they aren’t participating in the game themselves, they are still exposed to the violence of video games without having to play. Studies show that video games can cause aggression. Dr Grafman, a senior investigator, studied 22 boys between 14-17 where they watched short violent scenes where they would rate the level of aggression depicted. They monitored their brain functions while viewing the videos and found that the activation in the areas of the brain that deal with emotional reactivity was decreased. This study is one of many that proves that people can quickly become desensitized, especially if they have been exposed to violent media since childhood. Following into adolescence and adulthood people will continue to feel fewer emotions over time as they are exposed to various and heavier forms of violence. While violence in media can still be enjoyed, the rate of violence that is produced can soon become alarming and a threat to our ability to properly emphasize with violence in reality.