Media is all around us, from commercials, TV shows, billboards, movies, news channels, the internet, and even video games. But what seems to be a continued pattern amongst all of these is violence. Almost every time I turn on the channel there is violence. There is no warning, no nothing. It amazes me how desensitized we have become to it. News channels all across our nation are constantly providing people with daily events and incidents happening that are often times violent. Shootings, mass murderers, terrorism, if you can name it then it's on TV.
The day that 9/11 happened everyone's TVs were on while their eyes were glued to the screen in shock, horror, and fear. The media was exposing this incident even as it was happening. Not only were people experiencing this tragic event first hand, but people all the way across the nation were experiencing the horror right there with them on their screens. Watching the second tower fall down while the news camera was rolling was quite the sight to see as a child. Ever since I had been exposed to that tragic day in history, constantly seeing and hearing about how much damage it had cost to each place that was targeted, I continue to suffer from the images even though I am just turning 20.
Every time I hear or see a plane in the sky I panic. I jump. My heart races. I can't help but close my eyes and cover my ears until I am sure that the plane has passed and I am calm again. Hearing any loud noises coming from outside causes me to immediately think to myself that it must have been a gun shot. It is not until I have annoyed every single one of my roommates, constantly making sure that what I had heard was in fact not anything to worry about, that I feel better. It doesn't matter how many times people have told me that there is nothing to worry about and that worrying about terrorists attacking our country is useless because we cannot control it, I continue to worry.
The point of telling all of this about me is that I was not even there for 9/11. I did not know any of the people who had died, nor did I know any of the heroes who had saved lives that day. I was 5 when the tragedy struck and yet it still had that much of an effect on me. It makes me wonder how many other people are going through what I am going through. Whether it be from 9/11, or another tragedy being publicized, media can have a strong impact on people's emotional well-being.
However, on another side of the spectrum, people can be so exposed to the violence that is consistently popping up in the media that many could even become accustomed to begin thinking that violence is normal in our country or world. It is something that may not seem to be as surprising or harmful as it actually is. Children especially are impacted immensely by what they see. Do you know the old saying: "monkey see monkey do?" Many children often model what they see as the norm, so if violence is constantly being exposed to the public it could even quite literally desensitize violent acts. Plus, numerous video games nowadays are ones that include shooting and killing people. What kind of message does this give to people?
Ultimately, we are going to be exposed to media. Especially with the era that we now live in, in which technology is constantly exposing violence, media is inevitable. However, I think there should be an emphasis on positivity in media as well. People deserve to feel a sense of serenity once in a while, not just anxiety. While I do think that people deserve to know what is going on in the world, which unfortunately does sometimes include violence, I don't believe that it should be our main focus.
