Remote Control

18 Apr 2018

By James Robinson

As this is being read, the television is loading a magazine into someone’s AR-15.

Somebodies’ favorite video game just left them with a thousand-yard stare.

The protagonist in a film just taught a child that bullies can’t mess with you if they’re dead.

News at 11: a parent’s worst nightmare followed by a campy insurance commercial.

The media has managed to sandwich extreme violence between the most mundane parts of life, as we all collectively wonder how it all went so wrong. In the wake of yet another mass shooting incident, I’m left with the nagging question “Why?!” Who should shoulder the blame for the painful images seared into my memory?

The shooter obviously always carries the brunt of my rancor, but what of the gun manufacturers, NRA Lobbyists, less than attentive parents, and crooked arms dealers all acting as pallbearers, carrying yet another tragedy to the forefront of my mind? Does the weight of these actions even slow their stride? Do the distraught, yet optimistic parents I see on television keep them up at night? Perhaps it simply fades into the background with all the other horror stories? The sheer weight and number demanding my brain regard them with the same complacency I do the seven-day forecast that follows these stories. More possibly, though, what’s truly to blame watches me as much as I watch it. Since the 1960’s there have been several studies related to the “media violence effect.” Originally, these studies related to just television, but as of 2018, the influence of the media has expanded to cell phones, tablets, video games, and movies. All of which play primary roles in most of our lives. This impact is at an even greater magnitude on children. People who are entirely new to this world and are still learning about how it works. The screens they view passively guide their behaviors, beliefs, and to a degree, their perception of reality. In a child’s mind, violent images hold as much weight as any physical presence in the real world. It’s immensely difficult to avoid as well. According to Common Sense Media, an online site for vetting media safe programming, 90% of movies, 68% of video games, and 60% of shows contain at least some amount of violence.

Recently, a study was done at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Younger males were exposed to a variety of violent images. The males involved in the study were then given MRI brain scans over a course of a week. The scans displayed a decrease in the activation of prefrontal parts of the brain, or the section of mind pertaining to decision making and self-control. The scan also found an increased activation in the amygdala, or the part of the brain responsible for experiencing emotions. Macquarie University of Australia followed up on this study and discovered that not only are children exposed to violence more inclined to eventual hostile behavior; children exposed to violent images also have brains comparable to those who act out violently. The lowhanging fruit that is this campaign against rifles and the NRA is an endless dance usually ending in some rendition of “thoughts and prayers.” It’s a talking point bandied about by lawmakers and late-night talk show hosts. The gun control starts at home. It requires constant diligence, and while it seems like the most difficult task to monitor everything a child watches, it’s as easy as changing the channel.

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