Can television and/or video games influence behavior?

If you ask me, the media (television and video games) have a MAJOR influence on behavior.  For example, we can examine the difference in societies reactions to something simple: movies.  In the 1973 classic The Exorcist, audiences were horrified by a 13 year old girl swearing and vomiting.  In many recent movies, you can people shooting others in an endless killing spree without even batting an eye.  Our minds view of right and wrong is highly based on what the social norm is.  Surely one person killing hundreds is much more severe than a young girl swearing, but what has happened to cause the prior to be less aggravating?

If you think closely, the answer can be explained in one of two ways:  humanity has changed or society has.  I tend to believe it is the later.  Humans will always be who they are, but it is influences from outside sources that change our spectrum of right and wrong.  This can even be seen in video games.  The simple violence of Mario jumping on a cartoon turtles head has evolved into Grand Theft Auto, a game where you are encouraged to drive around murdering innocent civilians.  I'm personally appalled by this, but who else is?  I'm sure twenty years ago the game would be banned.  And what has this done to the kid playing the game?   I'm sure he won't go out into the street and shoot a grandma in the face, but couldn't you agree that his senses are dulled?  Do the evils in life seem that much more normal to him?  Is the swearing girl now a massacring hero?   Where does this line end and the next one begin?  I could rant on and on, but I will end on the note that anything, be it TV, movies, games, or even advertisements, can influence ones behavior.

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I personally do not believe that students should be forced to learn another language in school.  For some people, such as myself, it is unbelievably hard to comprehend languages not our own.  While we do live in a country with people from all across the globe, the majority of Americans speak English.  While it is an extremist view, being forced to learn another persons language could also be translated to accepting their culture.  While I personally don't think that way, there are racists out there who refuse to accept others as who they are, and forcing them to accept other ethnicity's culture.  Forcing one person to so in my opinion could be construed as forcing someone against their will and breaking their constitutional rights.

While what I already stated is what I believe is true, I also believe this: learning another language should be highly encouraged.  Becoming bilingual can open so many doors for people and help them communicate with so many more.  Not only will it look good for getting into college, but also the job market.  All children should have the opportunity to learn new languages at school as normal.  This being said, I still believe that it should be encouraged, not required.

What or who has had a strong influence on your life?

If anything, I think the people around me have influenced me the most.  Over the years, I have hung out with a lot of different clicks: the Asians, the English poetry gang, the emos, and the computer geeks.  I believe it is because of the people in these groups that I am who I am today.

I'll start off by explaining the group I currently reside in: the computer geeks.  All in all, the group plays games, fixes and compares computers and their parts, and terrorize the town with partying.  It was with this group, though, that I learned a very important lesson.  People are not defined by their clicks.  This sounds cliche, I know, but it couldn't be truer.  The computer group had not only the quarterback, but 9 players from the varsity football team.  We had people from soccer, cheer leading, and even swimming.  Which leads me to my next group, the Asians.  While what I say might sound stereotypical, I base this all on real life.  I hung out with the Asians when we were doing math, ping-pong, or chess.   We sat at lunch together and were the goofiest/loudest group in the cafeteria.  The important thing I learned though was to not care about other peoples image of you.  We would joke that someone is being too ridiculous, but the answer was always "it's okay, I'm Asian".  It is common, but it took me a while to realize it's not because of his heritage alone, but that he doesn't care what others think if he is having fun with his friends.  These two groups are probably the most influential friends I had throughout high school.

As for English poetry geeks and emos, I wasn't influenced much.  The English crowd did teach me that self expression is good for you and you should keep imagination alive, but all the emos did was make me realize how much peoples lives sucked or how hungry they are for attention.  Either way, it was because of the people I met in high school that I am who I am today.

How has your hometown shaped you as a person?

Being shaped by one's hometown is as common as catching the cold.  Just being in the vicinity can change your health or how you are as a person.   Some people may deny it, but I believe that all people are, in some way, directly shaped from where they come from.

I come from the local town of College Station, which all in all contains very liberal views.   People are always different and there isn't much conformity.  People have white hair, black hair, red hair, and blue hair.  Some people wear polo shirts while others wear t-shirts.  There was no head of the school, but rather an army of clicks that controlled their respective areas.  People, for the most part, don't care if one is gay or strait either.  If I were to grow up in a smaller, more commutative type town, I'm sure that my views would be drastically different.  It's probably because of my town that I tend not to take people at face value.  For this, I am truly grateful.

One other thing that this town has helped me with is my view of the world as a whole.   Not only are there people with different ideals, but there are people of all countries and races.  We have the poor, the middle class, and even the filthy rich, all living in one town.  No matter where you go, there is diversity in everything. I believe that this town's individuality has shaped me greatly and will help me in the world ahead.