KOZLOWSKI: How does violent media affect behavior, mental health?
The other day, I visited the Rutgers Cinema to see "We Live in Time." I was excited and ready to watch a comical and romantic movie starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield when the most disturbing commercial spoiled my mood.
Graphic and violent images abruptly filled the blank screen, and I was horrified by the idea of such a movie. Before I even had time to question the film industry's intentions in producing such a movie, the commercial revealed itself as an advertisement for a new PlayStation video game. This scared me even more.
This video game commercial got me thinking about how the actual video game itself could harm users if a mere snippet of its content had me uneasy from the seat of a movie theater.
Reflecting on our own reality that struggles with destruction and war, this violence displayed in video games and other media seems to enforce the idea that war and brutality are normal. These ideas, stimulated by violence in the media, negatively impact mental health, behavioral issues and proclamations of peace on a larger scale.
Video game users are being encouraged to engage in acts of violence and aggression in worlds that simulate the world we live in, which is a large issue. It has already been established that social media is corrupting the younger generations as they are less motivated to engage in healthy activities such as socializing and struggle more with mental health.
The trend of video games has replaced healthy and beneficial play with imitations of violence and battle. From a young age, these practices encourage aggression in children, following them into adulthood.
But does the aggressive behavior and need for violence stop once the computer screen is off?
My answer is no. I think people, especially children, lose empathy and rational thought in the world around them after playing virtually for so long. They begin to associate the practices learned from their game with reality, forgetting that they are dealing with real people and real consequences rather than a simple pastime.
The usage of violence in media glamorizes acts of violence and destruction and normalizes these practices so that people are blinded to the severe danger and tragedy it causes in real life.
In a world that already grapples with peace and war, why encourage the latter in media? Masking war and violence as entertainment creates lasting negative impacts on children as they struggle to differentiate between reality and role-play.
As people continue to interact with violent and gory images on a computer screen, they will fail to recognize situations that require their sympathy in real life. As gore and violence become normalized, they will only ever be able to identify and attribute violence to entertainment that cures their boredom rather than dire situations that require their attention to put an end to it.
As society evolves, technology evolves with it. In saying so, the media that encourages people to interact with gory images and violent simulations advances. Games become more realistic and elevate the interaction demanded of the player, which encourages violence and aggression of their own aside from a video game console.
Even in movies, gore and violence have their own designated genre. The entertainment people find in this type of content is deeply concerning and prompts the question of how this affects their mental health and behavior outside the theater.
Being exposed to so many images of violence disguised as entertainment can stimulate aggressive thoughts and behaviors in addition to negatively impacting mental health. Just as these grotesque images had made me uneasy in the theater, played on a grander scale, media displays of violence could motivate depressive and destructive thoughts.
Producing media that encourages users to interact and engage in war and violence physically influences members of society to lean toward aggressive behaviors rather than contributing to the goal of creating a peaceful world. I feel the propaganda of war through media contradicts this idea of world peace.
As entertaining as video games may be, they are corrupting individuals from their full potential, in addition to endangering their mental health. Instead of stealing cars, using weapons and engaging in destructive behaviors through a video game, activities such as sports, art, music, reading and so much more are fading.
There are so many beneficial and healthy alternatives to violent media that would be more beneficial. As society evolves with new and improved inventions that catch the eyes of newer and existing generations, that does not mean creative and innovative uses of our time have to become outdated.
To feel excitement in the face of violence instead of remorse teaches individuals a dangerously corruptive message.
Alexis Kozlowski is a first-year in the School of Arts and Sciences majoring in English and minoring in film. Kozlowski’s column, “From a Scarlet Heart,” runs on alternate Thursdays.
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