- The Master.:
- Weeeeeeeell, media can act as an influence on people...but not to the extent to which the theory implies. Hell, nowhere near that. To blame behaviour X purely on some form of media is really inaccurate.
There are some studies that suggest that video games do have an effect on aggression levels. However, there's also a lot of new studies emerging which indicate that video games improve attention levels which in turn could theoretically improve intelligence levels.
With the example given, to say it was influenced by video games ignores three major points: the past behaviour of the boys in question, the home life of the boys in question and the fact that people have been doing hideous crimes since the dawn of time. It could have been a distal factor but it's definitely not a proximal one.
If you want evidence then look at advertising. It plays on fears, anxieties and values which are already instilled in the target. It's why many imply that having Y product will make them more popular which further implies that not having product Y means you're a loser. It won't affect those who really don't care about that but it will have a greater effect on those who are concernned about their social status.
You can't make a person believe they need something or should act in a particular way easily, especially through the media. I'll concede that Milgram indicated that you can push a person to do awful acts but there has to be direct human pressure there. The further the distance the experimenter has away from the participant, the less likely the participant will comply entirely.
Anyway, long story short. I don't believe that the media such a huge influence on our behaviour.
You just restored the knowledge I acquired from doing A-level psychology, thank you!
It's amazing how it can slip away once the exam's over.
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The clincher, for me, in terms of the theory being quite weak, is the fact that violent crime has gone on way before video games were even thought of. Before harnessing electricity was ever thought of. If you ask me, the killers of Jamie Bulger have serious mental issues, probably not having been helped by the fact that their childhood was pretty poor. Media, as you said, could have been a small factor, but nothing more.
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Is it me, or could this go on a different sub-forum? Only, it doesn't seem to me to have much to do with philosophy.