Real World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data

On July 28, 1999, a 12-year-old Lionel Tate murdered a 6-year-old Tiffany Eunick when he was left alone while his mother was babysitting her. Tate’s mother had gone to the second floor to sleep leaving Lionel and his victim alone watching TV . According to Tate, he accidentally killed her by showing her some wrestling movements he had learned watching TV which lead to injuries such as “a fractured skull, fractured rib and swollen brain.” Two years later, Tate was sentenced to life imprisonment for first degree murder. This behavior may seem odd because it is not expected from a child; however, this is only one of many cases of aggressive behavior inspired by violent media. We are exposed to violence on TV, the internet and many other sources of information more than we think, “Globally, more than 1.4 billion households now own at least one TV set, representing 79 percent of total households” therefore it is not surprising that a report made by the DOJ (Department of Justice) of the United States stated that “By age 18 an American child will have seen 16,000 simulated murders and 200,000 acts of violence” , still there is evidence that may say otherwise, according to a study titled “Violent Video Games and Real-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data” there is not a significant correlation between violence on media and aggressive behavior .