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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