What Next?

I hope that I have proven that violence is a very real issue in the media today and that exposure to this violence can be detrimental to its audience. In fact, as I asserted in a previous post, there is a convincing theory that the viewers of violent content are primed to be violent themselves. This is a very scary notion.

As a follower of Christ, it is my belief that it is important to:

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” Proverbs 4:23

I think this biblical wisdom can be applied to the situation in the media today: we need to be aware of the impact that violent media can affect our own behavior and the behavior of those around us. This knowledge should lead us therefore to “guard” against the repercussions of being exposed to violent material.

I don’t know that we can drastically change the media today, especially because much of the material we view daily online comes from “average Joe’s” on their home computers. I don’t think that an excessive amount of government censorship is necessary either. However, I think that becoming aware yourself and making others aware will make the biggest impact. People should choose to regulate the types of media they negotiate in their day-to-day lives based on their own belief system. It is my hope that what you have learned from this series of blog posts will help you to decide what kind of action you need to take in your own life in order to protect yourself from the harmful effects of exposure to violence in the media.