Media and Violence

It is difficult to prove that violent media causes violence. Sternheimer makes this valid point. After reading Chapter 5, it was difficult to value the Levin article, though poverty, neighborhood and friends are tied to behaviors.

I was struck, however, by the “Bobo doll” experiment results on p 111. Kids who watched adults pummel a doll, also hit the doll. Children mimic behaviors they see. Parents who pattern kind behavior often have children who are kind. Soft-spoken parents often have soft-spoken children. Parents with keen senses of humor, often have children who know how to laugh. Tragically, child abuse is often passed down, generation after generation.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/11766010/.

Another point: practice makes perfect. The way we spend our time determines what we become. As a piano teacher, I know that pianists are created from daily, quality piano practice. What do hours of violent video games produce? What do hours of TV produce? What do hours of reading produce? Increased vocabulary, greater proficiency in writing, a higher IQ.  Common sense tell us that we are what we do.