The adolescent who becomes involved in a violent lifestyle is denied many opportunities that facilitate a healthy maturation into an adult role which would serve to reduce violent offending. The violent juvenile is essentially trapped in a state of perpetual adolescence. The juvenile s exposure to media violence is another area of concern . It is estimated that today s children will be exposed to approximately twenty to twenty five violent acts per hour during a Saturday morning and approximately five violent acts per hour during regular adult programming. Viewing television violence may lead to a change in the child s values and an increase in violent behavior.
Television desensitizes the child to violence in general and to the pain of others.
10 Elliott states that the effects of media violence are negligible if there is protection via adequate monitoring of the youth s behavior, and strong family bonding in concert with the effective teaching of moral values and norms. Without these protections, its effect can be quite strong. A stable home also predicts favorably for successful adaptation. 10 Parental neglect may have a stronger negative effect on youth than physical violence because it affects three times as many juveniles and may be more damaging to their development. The effects of poor family monitoring, aggressive behavior beginning in childhood, early exposure to violence and weak self-control may adversely affect the characteristics of the friends chosen by the adolescent.