Blue Owl Brewing
Parents Against Media Violence
RECEIVED Tue., Nov. 3, 2009
Dear Editor,
The Walk Against Media Violence Halloween morning in Austin brought out a little different spin to the normal day's events. The group assembled outside City Hall, gearing up to walk to the Capitol. The march was held to denounce the violence in the media that is influencing our children in a negative way. Speakers at the event included Assistant Police Chief Patti Robinson. The prevailing topic was that violent subjects presented in a casual format leads children to accept violence the same way.
The group Parents Against Media Violence organized the event. The goal, as explained by the group leader, is not to change the media; the focus is to change the minds of the parents of the children who are watching the media. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (Nov. 5, 2001), “American children between ages two and 18 spend an average of six hours and 32 minutes each day using media – television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computers and the Internet.”
Q: Does new interactive media (like video games) affect children more?
A: “Recent surveys depict the abundance of (primarily electronic) media in U.S. homes (Roberts et al., 1999; Woodard, 1998) and the extensive presence of violence within the media landscape (Wilson et al., 1997; 1998). They also show that the proliferation of new media has expanded the opportunities for children to be exposed to media violence at home. Current psychological theory suggests that the interactive nature of many of these new media may affect children’s behavior more powerfully than passive media such as television.”
With statistics given that children watch 44 hours of media per week while they are involved in family conversation only 17 minutes a day. Shocking numbers expressing that it's not the parents' influence directing the children as much as media influence. The group PAMV not only presents the problem; it offers the solution.
The Walk Against Media Violence Halloween morning in Austin brought out a little different spin to the normal day's events. The group assembled outside City Hall, gearing up to walk to the Capitol. The march was held to denounce the violence in the media that is influencing our children in a negative way. Speakers at the event included Assistant Police Chief Patti Robinson. The prevailing topic was that violent subjects presented in a casual format leads children to accept violence the same way.
The group Parents Against Media Violence organized the event. The goal, as explained by the group leader, is not to change the media; the focus is to change the minds of the parents of the children who are watching the media. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (Nov. 5, 2001), “American children between ages two and 18 spend an average of six hours and 32 minutes each day using media – television, commercial or self-recorded video, movies, video games, print, radio, recorded music, computers and the Internet.”
Q: Does new interactive media (like video games) affect children more?
A: “Recent surveys depict the abundance of (primarily electronic) media in U.S. homes (Roberts et al., 1999; Woodard, 1998) and the extensive presence of violence within the media landscape (Wilson et al., 1997; 1998). They also show that the proliferation of new media has expanded the opportunities for children to be exposed to media violence at home. Current psychological theory suggests that the interactive nature of many of these new media may affect children’s behavior more powerfully than passive media such as television.”
With statistics given that children watch 44 hours of media per week while they are involved in family conversation only 17 minutes a day. Shocking numbers expressing that it's not the parents' influence directing the children as much as media influence. The group PAMV not only presents the problem; it offers the solution.
Katrena Southard
