The media glamorizes violence and crime to appear acceptable amongst the youth. In today's entertainment industry, criminals are portrayed as attractive people and heroes rather than villains. Children tend to favor the hero character in movies and television- who is often doing the most killing (Mwema 6). Most media programs do not distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior. The movie series Scream was the inspiration behind the killing of Gina Castillo by her 16-year-old son and his 15-year-old cousin. The two teenagers admitted to the horrific murder of Castillo and that they did it "because they needed money to fund a murder spree that would reenact the story line of the first two Hollywood Scream movies" (Horror Movies). Children will simply copy characters that make aggressive behavior seem fun or pleasurable. In some cases children have a difficult time understanding the difference between fantasy and real life. In 2004, Michael Hernandez, 14 years old, stabbed his classmate to death and confessed to molding his behavior after the killers in American Psycho and The Silence of the Lambs. The teen reportedly said he associated with the movie murderers and wanted to play out their roles in his real-life plan to become a serial killer (‒Horror Movies"). Evidently, children's perceptions of the world are greatly influenced by media. The entertainment industry fails to show the consequences of violent behavior. As a result, violent characters portrayed in movies and TV programs seldom get punished. When kids are constantly exposed to media that promotes the idea that violence is appropriate or acceptable to solve problems, then they are at a high risk of imitating these behaviors (Groebel 219).
Constant exposure of violent media leads to desensitization of children. Desensitization is defined as reduced emotional reaction to a negative stimulus after frequent exposure to it.
