A University of Toronto study used neuroimaging techniques to conclude that exposure to violent media images such as those shown on television and in music videos results in damaging effects on the frontal lobes of young brains. Although these effects are most pronounced in individuals with underlying psychological disorders, they have been observed in otherwise healthy individuals. These effects include decreased blood flow and shrinkage of the frontal lobe. The long-term effects of these brain changes are not yet well-understood.
A variety of research sources confirm that increased exposure to violence on television, and particularly music videos, increases the likelihood of schoolyard bullying. This effect was equally pronounced regardless of whether the violence portrayed involved bullying or other forms of violence. Psychologists warn of a chain reaction effect, in which media-inspired bullies turn their victims into adult bullies who tend to abuse their own children later in life.
A study commissioned by Iowa State University has confirmed what many other research studies have indicated--that media violence in general, including violence portrayed on television and in music, increases the incidence of aggressive thoughts and feelings, and that this effect is more pronounced the younger the viewer is. Although this particular avenue of research does not directly indicate that these thoughts and feelings result in increases in aggressive behavior, other researchers have thoroughly documented increases in violent behavior among youth who are exposed to violent media on a daily basis.
Violence on television has been positively correlated with increases in depression and suicide among daily viewers, especially teenage viewers. Psychologists note that in many cases, suicide is perceived by the victim as an act of violence against himself rather than an escape from an unbearable environment. Because of this, a causal link between television violence and suicide can be established even when the violence portrayed is not suicide-related.