"Violence on TV does lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch the programs". (Newton, pg 37) "Over thirty-five years of lab and real life studies show that TV violence is a cause of aggression among children" (Dudley, pg 46), "children who are heavy viewers of television are more aggressive" (Dudley, pg 29) and " watching violence on TV is the single best predictor of violent or aggressive behavior later in life" (Bender, pg 20). After all, aggressive kids who turn into aggressive adults like to watch aggressive television. (Bender, pg 41). With the violent influence as seen on TV causing aggression it is no wonder that children are involved in more and more violent crimes then ever before. For example, "the 1997 murder rate in the U.S. declined to its lowest level in thirty years, but young Americans are killing each other with greater frequency." (cnn.com). "Gun killings in young people increased from five-thousand in 1980 to more then seven-thousand five-hundred in 1997. (cnn.com) One of the worst crimes committed by children were the Columbine high school shootings these shootings "prompted accusations from president Clinton and congress that Hollywood has contributed to the culture of violence". (cnn.com) "Televised mayhem is seen as a leading cause of America's epidemic of violent crime."(Bender, PG 47) .
"Children's aggressiveness has been linked to media violence in several studies by groups that include the AMA (American Medical Association), and the APA (American Physiological Association) and the National Institute of Mental Health."(msnbc.com). Even after the many studies that prove television violence does in fact affect children, television executives responsible for the TV violence claim, television is just portraying the world as it is. Another reason they give for violence not being so bad is that the "bad guy" is always punished for his violent behavior.
