ABSTRACT
Although specific figures depend on our precise operational definition, the reality of media, especially television and film in the United States, Japan, India, and elsewhere, is a highly violent world. Around 60% of American TV programs and 90% of the movies on TV contain some sort of violence (National Television Violence Study, 1997). On U.S. television, there are 14 violent acts per hour on children’s programming (Strasburger & Wilson, 2002), and children’s programming overall has the most violence, much of which is trivialized, glamorized, and sanitized (Wilson, Smith, Potter, Kunkel, Linz, Colvin, & Donnerstein, 2002). Considerable violence even occurs in programming we do not immediately associate with aggression, such as news, music videos, and even commercials aimed at children. Also, the large majority of video games (85%) are violent (Funk, 1993b; Provenzo, 1991).
