Media entertainment in the United States is the most popular form of big business directed towards children and young adolescents. Playing a large role in the attraction of media entertainment has been the use of violence on television, video game systems, the music world, and the Internet. However, there has been a growing consensus that the continuum of media violence exposure to our domestic and cultural environment has lead to a radically changed violent society. The international media is the largest host of violent programming which adversely affects the aggressive behavior, the negative emotional and psychological health, and the future lives of children. The presence of media violence promotes negative effects towards younger and older adolescent children in today's society.
First and foremost, viewing violent entertainment will lead to aggressive attitudes, values, and behavior in older and younger children. Today's media has a powerful outstretched influence in developing and shaping a child's behavior. First of all, the use of destructive behavior is becoming ever more prevalent in children. According to Doctor Huesmann, "kids ages six to eleven are very delicate and influenced by the information present around them. Metaphorically, with the 60% of television programs containing at least one reference to violent material, children can be viewed as newly-hatched eggs being nurtured by the mother goose "media entertainment,"" (4). Aggressive attitudes are then created in children who demonstrate destructive behavior largely due to programs and personalities in the media. For instance, the imitation of violence from television shows like the former World Wrestling Federation, the mal-language used in Comedy Central's South Park, and the depiction of music celebrities such as rap stars Eminem and Dr. Dre "influence children to give in to inhibitions and to act out particular examples of the characterized violence,"" (Chatfield 2).
