Media As A Cause Of Crime Notes

Media As A Cause Of Crime

Overview:

·       There has been concern that the media has a negative effect on attitudes, values and behaviour, especially on those most susceptible to influence:

Ø  Young

Ø  Lower classes

Ø  Uneducated

·       1920s-30s – cinema was blamed for corrupting the youth.

·       1950s – horror comics were held responsible for moral decline.

·       1980s – it was ‘video nasties’.

·       Recently – rap lyrics and computer games have been criticises for encouraging violence.

·       The ways in which the media might cause crime and deviance:

Ø  Imitation – by providing deviant role models, resulting in ‘copycat’ behaviour.

Ø  Arousal

Ø  Desensitation

Ø  Transmitting knowledge of criminal techniques

Ø  As a target for crime

Ø  Portraying the police as incompetent

Ø  Glamourising offending

·       Most studies have concluded that an exposure to media violence has a small and limited negative effect on audiences.

·       Schramm et al – for some children under some conditions, some TV is harmful, for others it may be beneficial…