Media Violence and its Impact on Children
A Five-City Study by CFAR January to August 2001
What do you think about horror shows?
"Ghosts are there, dead people get alive again, the ghost`s spirit
enters into the body of good people". "They appear in our
dreams". "It can happen in reality, if it does, what will I do? I am
really scared".
Response to violence:
"Horror and violence does not frighten me. I know this is only
TV".
Knowledge of Real Crimes "Dawood extorts money from everyone, no one is
able to catch him. He and Chota Rajan roam around freely, they are able to
bribe their way out of jail"
Background
Violence dominates real and reel life.
For example:
Since the tragic events of September 11, 2001, there is an overwhelming
emphasis on violent upheavals in news and current affairs. In fiction, conflict
is the centrifugal force in almost every kind of TV show, computer or video
game. Often the most popular films are the most violent.
In the public debate on aggression and violence, media
influences are often cited as the most powerful environmental factors
responsible for increased levels of aggression and violence _ especially among
children and adolescents.
During 2001, Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) undertook a research
project, Media Violence and Its Impact on Children with support from UNICEF,
UNESCO and Ford Foundation. It was a five-city field study conducted
in Delhi, Lucknow, Calcutta, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad with children between the
ages of 6-12 belonging to different socio-economic groups.
The project, the first of its kind in India, is primarily qualitative in nature. It has sought to understand the relationship between the child-viewer and violence on television and other electronic media such as the computer or video games.