For years politicians, parents, teachers and many people have been against violence in media. The main reason for people feeling this way is because of this violent content getting into the hands of children. Violence has its place in media and shouldn’t be removed entirely like so many people would prefer. I feel that people can handle disturbing violent material at a curtain age, when they reach common sense and when they gain some responsibility for themselves. I also feel that adults should keep the hammer down on children getting their hands on violent entertainment.

The main problem for children getting a hold of violent media is because of advertisements. Everyday advertisements promote the use of violent video games, and the viewing of a violent movie or television show. Now both of these forms do impact people’s thoughts. Video games even get interactive with the viewer. A good example is the Nintendo Wii allowing people to cast motions with a remote control. After saying this I would like to get back to the point of responsibility. When some children reach the age of 15 or 16 they already have this. Hopefully by 17 a young adult would understand responsibility for themselves. If you interact with a video game and press a button or make a movement to stab someone then you should have enough responsibility for yourself to not go out on the streets and go on a killing rampage. Same goes with a motion picture. If you watch a scary movie about killing then a normal person probably doesn’t go all crazy the next day and try to kill their entire school.

Now for the young adults that can’t handle the violence there are obvious rating systems. Almost all forms of media have rating systems which require the consumer to be a curtain age to buy a form of media or to get into something like a movie. These rating are there for a reason and are enforced every day. I know this because the rating laws against selling this material to minors have been enforced on me a few times. An example of this is when I want a rated R (Restricted) movie or a rated M (Mature) video game and I have to have an adult buy it for me. I would always have my mom do this for me when I looked really young. Now at the age of almost 17 I can practically walk in the store and store employees don’t ask any questions when it comes to my age and buying possible violent material.

I now would like to explain how it is a parent’s responsibility ultimately when it comes to violent media getting into the hands of children. My mother thought I was mature enough to own these things so she bought them for me. A parent that cares about their child and doesn’t think their child is ready for violent material shouldn’t buy these things for their children. It comes down to what the parent thinks. Honestly, most parents ignore the ratings and just buy their children what they want. This comes down to a parent’s responsibility and how it’s ultimately their decision. As parents they are in control of what their children eat, drink, and really what they do. I know my parents taught me well so I know media violence doesn’t affect me. Other parents on the other hand, not as much.

Store owners on the other hand are a whole different situation. If store owners don’t ask for I.D. from consumers when buying rated material it is punishable by law. The Videogame Sex and Violence Act of 2002 was passed by Joe Baca, a U.S. Congressmen for California. This is a law that includes a first offense fine of a$1000, second offense fine of $5000 and a third offense of up to 90 days in jail. This once again supports that parents are in control because everywhere you look laws are being enforced.

Many researches have been done on media violence. There is a graph that says Media violence and aggression is the second leading health worry in the United States behind lung cancer. This graph is statistically incorrect because people’s aggression alone without media is the reason for a result in second for health worries. Some people blame the invention of television for violence. This is not true because people had aggression way before televisions came around. It is clearly on the parent’s shoulders. There is a place for media violence in this world but we should also try to avoid violent materials getting into the hands of our youth.