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.
Prior research by CFAR and organizations such as
UNICEF and UNESCO have established some important variables in this
regard.ICFAR studies since 1995 have shown high and consistent levels of
violence on TV in all forms of programmes. Its study, The Killing Screen
(1999) found that programmers and advertisers target children with
violence and suspense.
UNICEF¿s 1999 study, Influence of Television on Children, indicated high viewership for horror and suspense shows amongst children. It also voiced the concerns of gatekeepers on the impact of media violence on children.UNESCO¿s Global Study on TV Violence and Children (1998) found that children turn to violence to solve problems and they admire superheroes such as The Terminator.It against this background that the present in-depth, qualitative study was undertaken.