7 Decades of Change — What’s Distressing

Part 7 of 7

If this is the first time you’ve seen this series, check out Part 1 — and this IS the end. Thanks so much for reading!

Violence and brutality

We’ve known or at least suspected that violence in entertainment increased tendencies to violent behaviour, yet the amount of violence available to children in entertainment today is more frequent and graphic.

Since the early 1960s research evidence has been accumulating that suggests that exposure to violence in television, movies, video games, cell phones, and on the internet increases the risk of violent behavior on the viewer’s part just as growing up in an environment filled with real violence increases the risk of them behaving violently. — The Impact of Electronic Media Violence: Scientific Theory and Research

From schools to cyberspace, bullying is rampant and rarely punished with often tragic consequences.

Both bullying victims and those who perpetuate bullying are at a higher risk for suicide. Kids who are involved as both victims and perpetrators of bullying are at the highest risk for suicide (Holt et al, 2015, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, n.d). –Mental Health Commission Bullying Fact Sheet