Violent movies or PG-13-rated movies don't trigger violence on children and they won't turn criminals in the future, a new study suggests. Researchers found that although PG-13 movies became violent between 1985 and 2015, the overall rate of violence and murder reportedly fell. The study was published in the Psychiatric Quarterly journal.
Christopher Ferguson, the lead researcher and a professor of psychology at Stetson University in DeLand, Fla, said violent movies don't create any impact on viewers. While children tend to re-enact the scenes they see on movies, he noted their playful re-enactments don't turn into real-life violence - such as assault or violence, the MedicalXpress reported.
However, the study has been criticized by Dan Romer, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Adolescent Communication Institute. He said the findings of the research can't conclude that violent movies don't trigger violence in kids.
Romer said the research team has a simplistic model to show how mass media works and they attempted to show that violent media are salutary rather than harmful. He added that dispassionate analysis is needed than cherry-picking of convenient data.
But, Ferguson said the media becomes an easy target for those who want to claim the moral high ground. In the study, Ferguson and Villanova University psychology professor Patrick Markey reviewed the data on PG-13 movies conducted by other researchers, as well as the data on violent crime from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Crime Victimization Survey.
Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Rich, director of the Center on Media and Child Health at Boston Children's Hospital, also reviewed the findings and said the team tried to simplify a complex issue. He said that even though violence has declined, it doesn't guarantee that people weren't affected by the violence in the media.
Rich said violence media could teach kids the world is really violent, which makes them more fearful rather than becoming aggressive or violent. He said fear and anxiety are more common than violence, so some kids tend to bring weapons in school to use it for protection.
Rich advised parents to use the media as a way to teach their children. For instance, parents can watch such movies with their kids and help them how to respond to their feelings and fears about what they see. He said parents can guide their children to teach what is acceptable and what is not. Kids are still learning and their learning can still be modified and shaped.
