Cartoon Violence

Violence on television is not limited to the form of violence that we see on Dexter or Law and Order "cartoon" violence can also affect children cognitively and behaviorally. Cartoon violence also know as "happy" or "sanitized" violence is not limited to animation. It is defined as any performed violence in which consequences to the victim are pushed out of view. Cartoon violence trivializes violence since it may be comedic and the serious repercussions of committing violent acts are ignored.  

Kirsh, S. J. (2006). Cartoon violence and aggression in youth. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 11(6), 547-557. doi: 10.1016/j.avb.2005.10.002

How are Youth Behaviorally Affected by Exposure to Television and Video Game Violence?

The effect of television and video game violence on children's behavior has been a hot button issue. As a student of communication studies my goal is to critically analyze media (in this case video games and violent television) and to discover the effects (If you are more interested in communication studies at The University of Michigan click here  http://www.lsa.umich.edu/comm). Sexual content in media is just as predominant as violence in media yet violent content goes unregulated therefore children can easily be exposed to it. Aggression is a learned behavior and we need to know if children are learning this behavior from unchecked violent content that they may see on television or in video games. Understanding the behavioral effects of violent television and video games on youth is important because if there is a correlation between watching violence on tv and in video games and aggressive behavior then those media should probably be more closely regulated.