I am a parent. I am a physician though not a pediatrician or psychiatrist. However, over the last several years, I have been honored to speak to hundreds of folks in various medical communities and conferences on the topic of violence and media.
Like me, you probably felt heartsick by the school shooting of this Valentine’s Day, but not really surprised. Isn’t that sad? Since the 1990s, the incidence of these rampage (school) shootings has risen. In cowardly attacks like these, a murderer kills as many victims as quickly as possible and often commits suicide. Why are these shootings happening now? Why are they increasing in frequency and severity?
I read a news bulletin noting that lawmakers have debated the role of violent video games and rampage shootings “since the 1990s.” True, FBI profiles of these perpetrators reveal their excessive interest in media violence and first-person shooter video games. On the other hand, the debate about the influence of media violence in the real world has been ongoing for decades. Wait “debate” is the wrong word. In medical and scientific communities, the issue has been settled. Over the last 65 years, hundreds of studies with thousands of patients consistently report the many ways that media violence exposure is harmful for children:
-1950s – Congressional hearings report media violence is probably harmful.
-1960s – National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence finds TV violence “real contributor to real world violence.”