What do We Know About Media Violence?

Defining violence and aggression when analyzing media or investigating the potentially resultant aggressive behaviour is still something we haven’t done successfully. Because individual studies interpret these notions differently, the goal posts are constantly moving for anyone trying to get a big picture look at the situation. The difficulty of quantifying aggression and violence in a strict way makes it nearly impossible to accurately answer the question “Does media violence cause people to commit violence?”

Many studies, many conclusions

In 1994, Andrea Martinez at the University of Ottawa conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature on media violence for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). She concluded that the lack of consensus about media effects reflects three “grey areas” or constraints contained in the research itself. These grey areas still apply today.

Firstly, media violence is notoriously hard to define and measure. Some experts who track violence in television programming, such as the late George Gerbner, defined violence as the act (or threat) of injuring or killing someone, independent of the method used or the surrounding context. As such, Gerbner included cartoon violence in his data-set. Others, like University of Laval professors Guy Paquette and Jacques de Guise, specifically excluded cartoon violence from their research because of its comical and unrealistic presentation. How they would view some of the increasingly realistic violence in many of today’s cartoons aimed at teens – like the gruesome injuries suffered by many characters on Rick and Morty and Family Guy – is an open question.

Second, researchers disagree over the type of relationship the data supports. Some argue that exposure to media violence causes aggression. Some say the two are associated, but that there’s no causal connection (that both, for instance, may be caused by some third factor), while others say the data supports the conclusion that there’s no relationship between the two at all.

Third, even those who agree that there’s a connection between media violence and aggression disagree about how one affects the other. For example, some argue that aggressive people are more likely to choose to engage with violent media, while others argue that consuming violent media lowers aggressive behavior, as it acts as a cathartic outlet for pre-existing aggression.[1]

Three decades later, the debate of whether media violence causes violence continues. In 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a policy statement in the online issue of their journal entitled “Virtual Violence,” which found that “exposure to media violence is becoming an inescapable component of children’s lives.” After looking at 400 reports about violent media, the report’s overall conclusion was that “there [is] a significant association between exposure to media violence and aggressive behaviour.” At the same time, the AAP report stressed that “no single risk factor consistently leads a person to act aggressively or violently. Rather, it is the accumulation of risk factors that tends to lead to aggressive or violent behavior.” The report also pointed out that “all violence is aggression, but not all aggression is violence.” While violent media may lead viewers or players to be more aggressive, it may only rarely make enough of a difference to provoke them to commit acts of violence they otherwise wouldn’t have.[2] In 2020, the American Psychological Association (APA) revised their resolution on the impact of violent video games. The APA’s declaration reaffirmed evidence of “the direct association between violent video games and aggressive outcomes,” while also distinguishing between aggression and violence, noting that “insufficient research has examined whether violent video game use causes lethal violence.”[3] The 2020 revision also warned that blaming violent video game use alone for complex social problems involving violence is scientifically unsound and diverts attention away from other factors that interact with or independently influence aggression.

Despite the apparent consensus shown in the AAP and APA’s reports, many studies have found no significant impacts of violent media on concerns such as bullying or antisocial behaviours,[4] aggressive behaviour,[5] reduced cognitive function,[6] depressive symptoms,[7] empathy[8] or violence.[9]

With that in mind, based on a number of recent studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals, there are some things we can say:

What’s the good news?

• Violent video games are not directly linked to incidents like high school shootings.[10]
• Video games are not directly linked to youth crime or aggression.[11]
• Violent video games are not directly linked to sexist attitudes or aggression.[12]
• Violent video games have not led to an increase in violent crime; in fact, violent youth crime has decreased significantly in the years since game playing became a common activity for youth, though there was a small rise between 2020 and 2022.[13]
• Playing strategy video games results in improved logical reasoning, executive function and memory.[14] Playing action video games is associated with increased visual attention and muscle coordination, basic visual sensory processing, selective visual attention and some higher cognitive functions.[15]
• At low to medium levels, time spent playing video games – violent or otherwise – reduces violent behaviour among teens “by keeping them occupied and reducing opportunities and motivation to acquire guns” (however, this effect fades at high levels of playing time).[16]
• Violent media, especially video games, have been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health problems.[17]

What’s the bad news?

• Youth and adults who plan mass shootings do look to media coverage of past shootings for models and, in some cases, are motivated by the notoriety brought by news coverage.[18]
• Violent media often portray violent acts and situations but rarely represent the consequences of violence.[19]
• Violent video games may lead to increased aggression in some young children and youth by normalizing in-game violence through approval and rewards, which is “then translated into the player’s everyday behaviour.”[20]
• Exposure to violent media is associated with short-term executive control impairments, which predicts high levels of impulsive aggression.[21]
• For youth who are already involved in violent subcultures, such as gangs, media such as music and social networks may promote aggression as a social norm and can even incite violent acts.[22]

While much of the available research focuses on impact of video game content, context also matters: studies found that “cooperative gameplay has been shown to both increase prosocial behavior and prime further cooperative behavior, even when the content of the video game was violent.”[23]

Physical aggression

To date, most research on violent media has focused on its relationship with physical aggression – either aggressive attitudes or actually aggressive behaviour. Though this is the area that has attracted the most attention, it is also where researchers have most often found no relationship between media violence and behaviour.

There is also reason to think that violence in media has different effects on different people and may interact with other risk factors. A 2021 study from a German university, assessing 21 studies and looking at 15,836 participants, concluded that playing violent video games is associated with greater levels of aggressive behaviour over time. The research showed some variation in age, with the impact of violent video games on aggressive behaviour slowly increasing throughout childhood, peaking in the 14 to 16-year-old age group, then declining as the participants neared adulthood.[24]

It may also be that because some young people are more interested in violent media than others, a spiral effect occurs in which those who are consume a progressively higher amount of violent media relative to their peers, leading to greater and greater impacts.[25] Perceived social norms – which come in part from media – can also have an influence on the perpetration of violence among teens. Exposure to media violence made teens more likely to act aggressively if there were already high levels of aggression in their peer group; however, they were less likely to act aggressively if they believed their peers disapproved of it.[26]

It’s important to note that even those researchers who have found a relationship between media violence and physical aggression consider it only one of a number of variables that put children at risk of aggressive behaviour. Some of the current academic research on the impact of media violence focuses on identifying the risks and resiliencies (sometimes called protective factors) that can increase or lessen the possibility of youth violence. Research identifies several categories for risks and resiliencies, including individual factors (gender, IQ, mental health), family (parenting styles, family conflict, substance use), social factors (friendship strength, peer involvement or tolerance of illegal behaviours), and community factors (economic opportunity, community participation, social organization).[27],[28],[29] For example, an American study found that parents who placed time and content limits on media use while encouraging media autonomy fostered more open and honest communication about media use with their teens. Balancing teens’ need for autonomy with safe and responsible rules creates an environment where they feel comfortable discussing and critically engaging with their parents about troubling media.[30] More information on this can be found in this section under Critically Engaging with Media Violence. Similarly, the Rights, Equality, and Citizenship Programme of the European Union ‘s report KID_ACTIONS: Multidimensional Methodology and Socio-Technical Requirement identified several other risk factors that may interact with media violence to increase the risk of aggressive behaviour, including “low school performance, low quality of youth-teacher relationships, low quality of children-parents’ relationships, media consumption, substance abuse, traditional bullying victimization, cyberbullying victimization, and traditional bullying perpetration.”[31]

Relational aggression

Many studies have found a relationship between media portrayals of relational aggression – including non-physical relationship violence[32] and “social” forms of bullying like name-calling, ostracism and spreading rumours – and acceptance or engagement in these behaviours.[33] Some researchers have therefor concluded that social aggression has a more powerful influence on behaviour than physical violence.[34]

Relational aggression may also appear more frequently in youth-focused media than physical aggression: researchers have found that nine in 10 of the 50 most popular programs among two to 11-year-olds include it.[35] The influence of violence in pornography on young people’s relationships and “sexual scripts” is a concern, as well. For more detail on this issue, see the article on Pornography.  

As with physical aggression, the relationship between media and behaviour is complex. Some studies have found that girls are more heavily influenced than boys,[36] while research on relational aggression in reality TV found that viewers who think it accurately reflects reality are more affected.[37]

Attitudes towards violence

Violence in media can also influence our views and attitudes. Some studies show that exposure to media violence can make teens feel less concern for people in distress[38] or suffering,[39] though other researchers have found media violence doesn’t reduce empathy.[40] Here, too, the details matter: research has found that representations of female victims of crime that depersonalize them, including “victim blaming, decentring the responsibility of perpetrators, and deploying stigmatizing or sensationalizing language that draws upon harmful gender norms and stereotypes about women’s and girls’ ‘appropriate roles’”[41] make viewers less empathetic towards them and more prone to blaming the victims for what happened to them.[42]

Attitudes can influence behaviour, as well. For example, one study found that playing violent video games made men more confident in their own fighting ability, less likely to see other men as tough and less able to recognize anger on others’ faces.[43] Similarly, research has found that whether or not violent media leads to aggression may depend on how much it fosters moral disengagement in players and viewers.[44]

Media may also affect our views of violence as a desirable or acceptable solution to problems, even if it doesn’t lead directly to aggression. One study found that boys who played violent video games were significantly more likely to have pro-violence attitudes than those who played non-violent games.[45] This is particularly true when it comes to the use of violence by military or police,[46] which might explain why the US military frequently provides resources for Hollywood films in exchange for positive portrayals[47] and the removal of anti-violence messages, such as changing the protagonist of 2008’s Iron Man from a weapons renouncer to an arms dealer with no moral qualms about his work.[48]

Viewing violence on television is associated with higher support for using force to resolve social or political issues.[49] Specifically, crime show viewers are more likely to believe police use force only when necessary, justify and accept breaking the rules,[50] deny that racism is a systemic issue in the justice system and support the death penalty.[51] Conversely, media with antiviolence messaging has been found to reduce intergroup conflict.[52]

Research has consistently confirmed that media representations of crime influence how people perceive it, which can also lead to an exaggerated fear of crime or increased worry about crimes that are less frequent but more newsworthy.[53] Media can also influence how we view specific types of violence. News coverage of domestic violence, for instance, can promote misconceptions about how common it is and encourage excuses for the perpetrator’s behaviour,[54] while news coverage that tends to focus on sensationalized crimes can create a perception that such crimes are more prevalent than they actually are, leading to increased fear.[55] However, as with other media forms, there are important differences between different kinds of news coverage. Local news has the biggest impact on perceptions of crime,[56] while in areas that aren’t served or underserved by local news (called ‘news deserts’), social networks like Nextdoor or Facebook can spread inaccurate information both about crime rates and specific incidents, sometimes even falsely accusing community members of committing crimes.[57] Research has found that participants rated a video of police using force as significantly less trustworthy when it came from social media than when the same video was said to come from a national news segment or if no source was specified.[58]

Some scholars argue that, in the past few decades, violence in media, especially on television, has become more frequent and extreme as well as actively hostile towards compassion. Perhaps the best example of this is the long-running series The Walking Dead, which represents a change from the traditional portrayal of violence in American TV as being committed by ‘good guys’ in the name of maintaining the social order to “a repeated pattern of brutal killings of characters who are moral inspirations”[59] by means of illegitimate, unjustifiable and excessive violence.[60] Violence against characters that have been dehumanized, such as the zombies in The Walking Dead, may encourage moral disengagement.[61] Though some degree of moral disengagement is necessary to enjoy a violent media text,[62] especially one like a video game in which players are performing the violent acts,[63] our moral sense is never entirely disengaged. Seeing or performing violent acts that seem extreme or unjustified can provoke a strong moral reaction.[64]

While othering and dehumanization are the intentional goals of much hate propaganda, portraying enemies as fundamentally inhuman – whether as literal zombies, in fiction, or as metaphorically ‘othered’ monsters in crime coverage – can also unintentionally promote greater moral disengagement, encouraging us to see their killing as morally neutral or even desirable and making us less likely to question the use of force against them.[65] For example, one study on the impact of race in police use of force scenarios found that Black girls were perceived as experiencing the least amount of physical harm when compared to Black boys and White children in the same scenario,[66] indicating possible biases that lead people to perceive Black girls as less vulnerable and less likely to experience harm compared to other groups.

Theories of violent media impact

One theory of how violent media may influence behaviour is priming, which holds that media, especially interactive media like video games, serve as teaching tools that show us which behaviours are punished and which are rewarded. Its impact, then, doesn’t come from a single exposure to a violent media text but from repetition.[67] According to priming theory, being exposed to violent media increases aggressive attitudes and behaviour,[68] while prosocial media promotes empathy and more prosocial behaviour.[69] Some longitudinal studies have found support for this idea: a meta-analysis of almost 20 years of longitudinal research found that playing violent video games “can affect players’ behavioural disposition by increasing the potential for aggressive behavior.”[70] 

Priming effects have been found to be especially strong with images of weapons. Experiments have found that seeing images of guns primed aggressive thoughts, regardless of whether the gun was being used by a criminal, a soldier or a police officer.[71] Similarly, seeing gun violence in media made children more likely to play with and practice firing a (disabled) handgun, though seeing violence committed with a sword did not have the same effect.[72] Other studies have found that just images of guns – even in the context of a sign prohibiting guns – can make people who see them more aggressive.[73]

However, other research has shown that context can be key to the impacts of violent media, with very different effects depending on who is committing it. For example, one study found that while watching heroic characters commit violent acts increased aggression, violent villains didn’t have the same impact.[74] Unfortunately, recent research has found that heroes in films popular with youth commit more violent acts than the villains.[75]

In video games, by contrast, committing violent acts while playing as a heroic character isn’t associated with being more aggressive, but playing as a violent villain or antihero is associated with aggression.[76] Therefore both the specific content (whether the violence is committed by a hero or villain) and the form (whether you’re watching the violence or virtually committing it) influence the impact violent media may have. Similarly, some studies have found that while single-player video games may be related to aggression, violence in multiplayer games is not[77] – suggesting that the effect depends on players perceiving it as a story rather than simply a game.

Both of these theories may be partly true. Even in experiments that found priming effects, context was found to be important. For instance, images of Olympic athletes firing guns during shooting competitions didn’t prime aggressive thoughts in the way that images of police, soldiers or criminals did.[78] Conversely, some studies have found that the key to whether or not seeing media violence leads to aggression is not simply whether the character is heroic or villainous, but whether or not the viewer identifies with them, suggesting that both priming and cultivation are at work.[79]

Similarly, portrayals of relational aggression had different impacts depending on the content – in particular, whether or not the audience liked the character and thought the behaviour was funny[80] – and on elements of the particular medium or genre, such as whether or not the behaviour was followed by “canned laughter” from a laugh track.[81]

Overall, media violence is a highly complex and nuanced issue. There are clear concerns about violent media content and its impact, such as age-appropriateness, saturation, desensitization and creating fear or unease in viewers. However, studies increasingly show that many forms of media that may expose young people to some violent content, like games and movies, also offer positive benefits. There’s no way to completely shut out violent content, ensure that children will never play video games rated for older audiences or to make certain that everyone’s feelings on what is inappropriate content will coincide with industry self-regulation practices. What concerned adults and parents can do is promote critical engagement with the media that young people and children consume, monitor children’s media use and discuss and establish rules at home to let young people understand what is or is not appropriate. More on how to talk about media violence with children can be found in the subsection Critically Engaging with Media Violence. If you are interested in legislation and industry tools that can help you to understand laws or give you a better idea of what to look out for, see our Government and Industry Responses to Media Violence.

[1] Lee, E., Kim, H. S., & Choi, S. (2021). Violent video games and aggression: stimulation or catharsis or both? Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, 24(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0033

[2] AAP Council on Communications and Media, Christakis, D., Hill, D., Ameenuddin, N., Reid Chassiakos, Y., Corss, C.,

Fagbuyi, D., Hutchinson, J., Levine, A., McCarthy, C., Mendelson, R., Moreno, M., & Swanson, W. S. (2016). Virtual Violence. Pediatrics, 138(2), e20161298. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1298

[3] APA Board of Science Affairs, Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, Suls, J., Dess, N., Iguchi, M., Howell, B., Mobley, M., & Widaman, K. (2020). APA Task Force report on violent video games. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/about/policy/violent-video-games.pdf

[4] Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2019). Violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents’ aggressive behaviour: evidence from a registered report. Royal Society Open Science, 6(2), 171474. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.171474

[5] Dowsett, A., & Jackson, M. (2019). The effect of violence and competition within video games on aggression. Computers in Human Behavior, 99, 22–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.05.002

[6] Jadallah, M., Green, C. S., & Zhang, J. (2023). Video game play: any association with preteens’ cognitive ability test performance? Journal of Media Psychology, 35(4), 213–220. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000364

[7] Kühn, S., Kugler, D., Schmalen, K., Weichenberger, M., Witt, C., & Gallinat, J. (2019). Does playing violent video games cause aggression? A longitudinal intervention study. Molecular Psychiatry, 24(8), 1220–1234. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0031-7

[8] Lengersdorff, L., Wagner, I. C., Mittmann, G., Sastre-Yagüe, D., Lüttig, A., Olsson, A., Petrović, P., & Lamm, C. (2023). Neuroimaging and behavioral evidence that violent video games exert no negative effect on human empathy for pain and emotional reactivity to violence. eLife, 12. https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.84951

[9] Suziedelyte, A. (2021). Is it only a game? Video games and violence. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 188, 105–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.05.014

[10] Copenhaver, A. (2021). Violent video games as scapegoat after school shootings in the United States. In Research Anthology on School Shootings, Peer Victimization, and Solutions for Building Safer Educational Institutions (pp. 292–315). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-5360-2.ch013  

[11] Suziedelyte, A. (2021). Is it only a game? Video games and violence. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 188, 105–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.05.014

[12] Kühn, S., Kugler, D., Schmalen, K., Weichenberger, M., Witt, C., & Gallinat, J. (2019). Does playing violent video games cause aggression? A longitudinal intervention study. Molecular Psychiatry, 24(8), 1220–1234. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-018-0031-7

[13] Statista Research Department. (2024, March 11). Youth crime severity index in Canada from 2001 to 2022. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/525647/youth-crime-severity-index-in-canada/

[14] He, H., & Chuan-Yin, C. (2022). The benefits of video games on brain cognitive Function: A Systematic review of Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. Applied Sciences, 12(11), 5561. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12115561

[15] Ibid.

[16] Turel, O. (2020). Videogames and guns in adolescents: Tests of a bipartite theory. Computers in human behavior, 109, 106355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106355

[17] Bocci, F., Ferrari, A., & Sarini, M. (2023). Putting the gaming experience at the center of the Therapy—The Video Game Therapy® approach. Healthcare, 11(12), 1767. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11121767

[18] Silva, J. R., & Greene-Colozzi, E. A. (2019). Fame-seeking mass shooters in America: Severity, characteristics, and media coverage. Aggression and violent behavior, 48, 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.07.005

[19] Martins, N., & Riddle, K. (2021). Reassessing the risks: an updated content analysis of violence on U.S. children’s primetime television. Journal of Children and Media, 16(3), 368–386. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2021.1985548

[20] Greitemeyer, T. (2022). The dark and bright side of video game consumption: Effects of violent and prosocial video games. Current Opinion in Psychology, 46, 101326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101326  

[21] Wallace, J., Boers, E., Ouellet, J., & Conrod, P. J. (2023). A Population-Based analysis of the temporal association of screen time and aggressive behaviors in adolescents. JAACAP Open, 1(4), 284–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaacop.2023.08.002

[22] Densley, J. (2020). Collective violence online: when street gangs use social media. In C. A. Ireland, M. Lewis, A. C. Lopez & J. L. Ireland (Eds.), The handbook of collective violence: current developments and understanding (pp. 305–316). Routledge. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341464059_Collective_Violence_Online_When_Street_Gangs_Use_Social_Media

[23] Erxleben, M. (2021). Play Together: How Watching the Cooperative Play of Violent Video Games Can Positively Influence Dyadic Relationships [MA thesis, Cleveland State University]. https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/etdarchive/1222/

[24] Burkhardt, J. & Lenhard, W. (2021) A Meta-Analysis on the Longitudinal, Age-Dependent Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression. Media Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2021.1980729

[25] Suziedelyte, A. (2021). Is it only a game? Video games and violence. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 188, 105–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.05.014

[26] Bullo, A., & Schulz, P. (2022). Do peer and parental norms influence media content-induced cyber aggression? Computers in Human Behavior, 129, 107136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.107136

[27] Ramsay, D., Steeves, M., Feng, C., & Farag, M. (2021). Protective and risk factors associated with youth attitudes toward violence in Canada. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1–2), NP871–NP895. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260517736275

[28] Anderson, C. A., Suzuki, K., Swing, E. L., Groves, C. L., Gentile, D. A., Prot, S., Lam, B. C. P., Sakamoto, A., Horiuchi, Y., Krahé, B., Jelić, M., Wei, L., Toma, R. A., Warburton, W., Zhang, X. M., Tajima, S., Qian, F., & Petrescu, P. D. (2017). Media violence and other aggression risk factors in seven nations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(7), 986–998. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217703064

[29] Miles-Novelo, A., Groves, C. L., Anderson, K. B., Pimentel, C. E., Escobedo, G. S. B., Plante, C. N., Mariano, T. E., & Anderson, C. A. (2022). Further tests of the media violence–aggression link: Replication and extension of the 7 Nations Project with multiple Latinx samples. Psychology of Popular Media, 11(4), 435–442. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000428

[30] Padilla‐Walker, L. M., Stockdale, L., Son, D., Coyne, S. M., & Stinnett, S. C. (2019). Associations between parental media monitoring style, information management, and prosocial and aggressive behaviors. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 37(1), 180–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407519859653

[31] Marques, R., Tenoshvili, M., Malena, A., Barta, O., Gojkovic, T., Donoso, V., Smit, S., Largher, C., Cesarotti, F., & Piras, E. M. (2021). KID_ACTIONS: Multidimensional Methodology and SocioTechnical Requirements. The Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union. https://www.kidactions.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/KID_ACTIONS_Public-report_Multidimensional-methodology-and-socio-technical-requirements_v.1_Rev-AT-1.pdf

[32] Herrera, C. M. (2022). Examining the relation between media engagement and developmental outcomes in adolescence [PhD dissertation, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey]. https://www-proquest-com.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/dissertations-theses/examining-relation-between-media-engagement/docview/2647720508/se-2

[33] Martins, N. (2020). Effects of Media Use on Social Aggression in Childhood and Adolescence. The International Encyclopedia of Media Psychology, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119011071.iemp0113

[34] Martins, N., & Weaver, A. (2019). The role of media exposure on relational aggression: A meta-analysis. Aggression and violent behavior, 47, 90-99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2019.03.001

[35] Martins, N., & Wilson, B. J. (2012). Mean on the screen: Social aggression in programs popular with children. Journal of Communication, 62(6), 991-1009.

[36] Coyne, S. M., Ehrenreich, S. E., Holmgren, H. G., & Underwood, M. K. (2019). “We're not gonna be friends anymore”: Associations between viewing relational aggression on television and relational aggression in text messaging during adolescence. Aggressive Behavior, 45(3), 319-326. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21821

[37] Swiatkowski, P. (2019). Reality TV, relational aggression, and romance: The effects of reality show viewing on relational aggression and relational quality in romantic relationships [PhD dissertation, University of Arizona]. https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/reality-tv-relational-aggression-romance-effects/docview/2008503118/se-2

[38] Li, J. (2023). The impact of media violence on child and adolescent aggression. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 18, 70–76. https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v18i.10956

[39] Desensitization and violent video games: Mechanisms and evidence. (2022). Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 31(1), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2021.06.005

[40] Devilly, G. J., O’Donohue, R. P., & Brown, K. M. (2023). Personality and frustration predict aggression and anger following violent media. Psychology, Crime & Law, 29(1), 83–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316x.2021.1999949

[41] Fuentes, L., Saxena, A. S., & Bitterly, J. (2022). Mapping the nexus between media reporting of violence against girls: the normalization of violence, and the perpetuation of harmful gender norms and stereotypes. United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-08/Evidence-review-Mapping-the-nexus-between-media-reporting-of-violence-against-girls-en.pdf

[42] Ibid.

[43] Denson, T. F., Dixson, B. J., Tibubos, A. N., Zhang, E., Harmon-Jones, E., & Kasumovic, M. M. (2020). Violent video game play, gender, and trait aggression influence subjective fighting ability, perceptions of men's toughness, and anger facial recognition. Computers in Human Behavior, 104, 106175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106175

[44] Yao, M., Zhou, Y., Li, J., & Gao, X. (2019). Violent video games exposure and aggression: The role of moral disengagement, anger, hostility, and disinhibition. Aggressive Behavior, 45(6), 662–670. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21860

[45] Shao, R., & Wang, Y. (2019). The Relation of Violent video games to adolescent Aggression: An Examination of Moderated Mediation effect. Frontiers in Psychology, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00384

[46] Huang-Isherwood, K. M., & Peña, J. (2021). Testing moral disengagement and proteus effect predictions on feelings of guilt and Self-Empowerment attributed to bearing guns. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695086

[47] Hickey, W. (2023) You Are What Your Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything. Workman.

[48] Cronin, B. (2024) How Did the U.S. Government Force Marvel to Change Iron Man's Plot? Comic Book Resources. https://www.cbr.com/iron-man-us-government-plot-change/

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