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Mariah Villadores

Professor Dean Leonard

English 1201.509

26 May 2019

Research Proposal: How does violent media affect children development?

As a young mother, I am often scolded by elders when I allow my daughter to watch

violent or scary television shows. The unpopular opinion is that watching violent media will

cause children to learn unwanted behaviors from the shows that they are viewing. My daughter

knows that the shows are fake and staged, so I do not have an issue with her watching them. My

child does not display any violent behavior at the moment. However, my younger siblings often

imitate “bad guys” from marvel movies or characters in scary shows. Because of the difference

noticed in their behaviors, I would like to look further into whether or not there is a direct effect.

I feel that this is a very important topic. It is important because more often than not, new

or young parents like myself, sometimes aren’t given advice relevant to their child and any

behaviors that may arise in direct relation to their child and violent media. Before doing any

research, I think that my topic will help me and others like me actually get a better

understanding, or even a sense of relief as to whether or not what we allow our children to watch

is detrimental to their behavioral advances. I also think that just the simple act of discussing this

topic between others who may have similar inquiries will allow for a better understanding of

others’ perspectives. I believe that there may very well be a possibility that violent media can

have an effect on children’s behavior. My view does not come from whether I believe the violent

media directly affects children’s behavior, but if that along with personality differences in

children can work off of each other in the effect on their behavior. What I already know about
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this topic is that watching a lot of violence in television/media can introduce aggressive

tendencies. Also, from personal observation, I know that children can clearly identify the

difference between fictional and nonfictional violence.

When I start to fully research my topic, I know I should speak to others that may be in

similar situations, and see if they would open up about their personal experiences. As I stated

earlier, I would also like to find out if because of the difference in behaviors whether or not a

direct effect can occur, and if personality has a sizeable role in the affect. I would like to know if

there are support groups or classes to assist with these issues, for those people who may need the

help. I’m confident that solid research can be done on the internet, via news or tabloid articles,

and surprisingly enough: television programs. The questions I’d like to find the answers to are:

How (if at all) does violent media affect children behavior? And does personality play a part? In

closing, I am most interested in knowing if I will see any changes in behavioral or personality

with my own daughter because of what she is allowed to watch.