Wendel Abel
Splashing red blood
Crushed and broken bones
Mutilated, dead bodies
Angry, noisy, mobs
THESE ARE scenes portrayed on television, newspaper headlines or in video games. We are constantly inundated with these graphic, vivid and horrid scenes.
Unfortunately, the media in Jamaica have taken the reporting of violence to excessive and grisly extremes to the extent that violence is promoted and glamorised. This is unfortunate and irresponsible.
What is the impact of these graphic portrayals of crime scenes and media violence?
Studies suggest that exposure to television violence leads to aggressive behaviour. This is potentially damaging to younger children who may have difficulty distinguishing between what is real and what is fantasy. Children model what they see and hear around them. The fact is the greater the exposure to violent television the greater the level in aggressive and antisocial behaviour displayed by children.
The violent exposure habituates and socialises individual into violence. This is especially so when the violence is portrayed as an appropriate method of problem solving. This is a major concern in this country where increasingly we are turning to vigilante killing and jungle justice to deal with the intractable crime problems.
NORMALISING PATTERNS
The gruesome scenes portrayed on a nightly basis on our television screens or in the newspaper headlines only serves to normalise the use of aggression and violence to solve problems. In addition, it desensitises us to the consequences of violence, as we become numbed and hardened to these vicious and ugly scenes.
Research has shown that boys who watched violence on television as kids were more likely to commit serious crimes, use violence to discipline their children and treat their spouse aggressively. This is not limited to television as studies have also shown that children who engage in violent video games are more likely to exhibit aggressive and violent behaviour.
Violent music lyrics have been shown to increase aggressive thoughts and hostile feelings in persons who spend considerable time listening to such music.
Exposure to violence in media also increases the fear levels of persons who are so exposed. It creates fright in children and may lead to sleep disturbances and bad dreams, especially if the children are exposed to these scenes close to bed time. Media portrayal of violence is associated with increased levels of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in adults. The high levels of exposure to violence in our media may serve to make many persons see this country as more violent than it is and create an overestimated sense of one being involved in violence.
STEPS TO STEM EXPOSURE
As a society we are living and rearing our children in a violence-saturated culture. We must take steps to minimise the exposure.
1 - We must call for a decrease in the violent programming on television, cable and in the reports in the print media.
2 - Violence should not be shown as an acceptable way of solving problems. The media must take a more enlightened and responsible approach to the exposures and the messages that are reinforced in this society.
3 - Violence should not be a central theme of children's television.
4 - The media should display a greater sensitivity about portraying violence against vulnerable groups, such as women, children, the mentally ill and minorities in this society.
5 - The time has come for more reasoned regulation of the media in Jamaica.
6 - Parents should monitor and limit the viewing of television by their children and ensure that violent exposures are kept to a minimum.
Dr. Wendel Abel is a consultant psychiatrist and senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
