While children's television shows and movies may be thought to promote learning and family values, the results of research speak differently. According to the National Institute on Media and the Family, each hour of children's programming yields 20 to 25 acts of violence, and more than half of programs contain violence while less than 5 percent promote nonviolence. On the shows containing violence, more than half of the offenders showed no remorse, almost half of aggressive incidents were associated with humor, and less than 20 percent of violent acts resulted in long-term consequences, yet death was featured in over half of the programs.
Multiple prominent organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Psychological Association, confirm that violence in the media does affect the behavior state in children. Children are especially susceptible to media violence, as they learn primarily through what is modeled to them and cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality until around age 8. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "The strength of the correlation between media violence and aggressive behavior found on meta-analysis is greater than that of calcium intake and bone mass, lead ingestion and lower IQ, condom nonuse and sexually acquired human immunodeficiency virus infection, or environmental tobacco smoke and lung cancer associations clinicians accept and on which preventive medicine is based without question." Children influenced by media violence are more likely to be aggressive, develop a fear of the world based on over-exaggerated violence, and adopt an attitude of defense to prevent being harmed. According to the Encyclopedia of Death and Dying, research has demonstrated that aggressive behavior and attitudes learned at young ages result in life-long consequences unless specific intervention is implemented.
Violence in the media is portrayed in various forms as entertainment. Direct violent acts influence children, as do subtle messages such as antagonistic behavior, women and blacks being attacked, and killing and glamorization of weapons. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children who play video games are at an increased risk of aggression due to playing an active role as the aggressor in the games. The thrill and excitement of video games, movies and music videos give children an association of pleasure with violence, which can result in desensitization and lack of empathy.
Various media industries have questioned whether research on child and media violence is valuable and factual. Those who have studied the research either conclude that it is reliable or point out areas where people can continue to argue if they choose. Since violence itself is not defined in one way across the board, this allows for a discrepancy in research. Some researchers argue that the connection between child violence and media violence is causal enough to blame media, while others make the conclusion that there are too many factors outside of media to decide. Lastly, there are arguments about exactly how media influences children--whether it is psychological, behavioral or social. Regardless of discrepancies or arguments, according to Media Awareness Network, research since 1956 has identified one trend: Children who watch violent television are more likely to show aggressive behavior.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued media recommendations for both the entertainment industry and caregivers of children. For those creating the television, movie, music and video game programming, the AAP makes several recommendations including: avoid portraying killing as normal, do not focus video games on human targets, make lyrics for music available for parents before purchase, and eliminate hateful portrayals toward women, minorities or other ostracized groups. Parents and caregivers are advised to watch what the children are watching to evaluate the content, select positive programming, talk about conflict when it arises, set limits and reduce television viewing to two hours per day.