by Puneeth Sajjan
Dec. 4th 2019
Becauseof my academic interest in neuroscience, or the study of the brain and nervoussystem, I have decided to investigate the current issue about mentalhealth affecting the lives of innocent people within our communities. To bespecific, I was curious about the relationship between psychologically violentmovies and the mental health of the viewer influenced by them. For example,because of the release of Todd Philip’s new movie, Joker, the generalpublic has feared that it will send a wrong message towards anyone susceptibleto the film’s influence. The fearful reactions of people had originated rightafter the Aurora movie theater shooting seven years ago whenever an irrational persondecimated the innocent lives of 12 people. The purpose of this academicresearch is to emphasize the importance of improving mental health as well aspinpointing its negative impact on society if left unchecked. Another reasonwhy this research is necessary is to investigate the hidden clues thatinfluence how violent behavior in both virtual screens and reality can sparkanxiety and uneasiness within our communities.
Previous field research that best demonstrates how violent movies have a psychological effect on human behavior is from a textbook called “Developmental Psychology: Childhood and Adolescence”. In the first chapter, the Belgian boys, otherwise known as the participants of the experiment, were exposed to a series of violent movies within a span of one week. During the experiment, the aggression levels of the Belgian boys were measured in order to assess how they would react against certain violent films. As a result, this experiment suggests that exposure to violent media causes aggressive behavior within boys who were more aggressive prior to the experiment. The reason why is because violent movie scenes may have disturbed their minds by increasing both blood pressure and heart rate. One major flaw within this study is that it should contain different age groups and genders in order to preserve a more open-ended and diverse sample size. With that being said, the question I hope to investigate is this: If Generation Z continues to watch psychological violent movies, then will it have a negative effect on their mental health? According to my hypothesis, I do not believe so because of the presence of external factors, such as childhood bullying and family trauma.
The research was done by conducting online survey questions through many social media platforms, such as Google forms survey, Qualtrics, and Reddit. The demographics consist of every UTD student regardless of gender and ethnicity. However, I was interested in comparing different viewpoints between baby boomers and Generation Z. Within the social media platforms, a piece of background information about the research survey will be provided in order for the participants to be aware of what the topic is about and why it deserves to gain attention. As a result, the participants will have a clear understanding of how their role is significant within the research survey since they play a part in concluding whether or not violent movies play a part in negative human behaviors.
Out of the total of eight participants, seven of them believe that violent movies will not have an impact on the mental health of Gen Z. Only one participant, otherwise known as my father, believes that violent movies do have an effect and recommend alternative movies about science and technology, such as The Aviator and Apollo 13. According to the bar graph, it may be concluded that the majority of people within our generation are not psychologically affected by the violent depictions of characters from the movies. One of the reasons why that may be the case is because of external factors, such as childhood abuse or bullying, that can deteriorate the mind into symptoms of mental illness, including low self-esteem, depression, or even suicidal thoughts. From my own perspective, I do not believe that violent movies cause mental illness within viewers because there has to be a traumatic experience, whether it is bullying, sexual abuse, or domestic violence, that is ingrained in a person’s mind for such a long time span that it causes pain to the mind and body. For example, according to Dr. Andrea Roberts from Harvard Health Publishing, chronic stress from exposure to trauma is associated with rapid aging, as well as heart disease.
Based on the results of my academic research, it can be determined that the majority of the participants who replied “no” are mentally stable and thus experience little or no influence by violent movie characters, such as John Wick, the Joker, and Alex DeLarge. Since the majority of the participants are within the age group ranging from 19 to 23, they demonstrated that they are mature enough to handle such violence depicted within visual media. Their perspective relies on the fact that there are other factors that contribute to negative mental health, such as social media. On the other hand, it can be assumed the rest of the participants who answered “yes” belong to the baby boomers group. The main reason why is because older participants believe that younger individuals are easily influenced by violence and gore depicted in music, films, and video games. What is interesting about the response from a person who said “yes” was that he believes that individuals should gear towards positive movies, such as Apollo 13 and The Aviator. This participant has a viewpoint that people our age should be positively inspired by beneficial movie characters, such as Luke Skywalker or Forrest Gump. Because of the different viewpoints between baby boomers and Gen Z, this indicates that a generational gap is involved in the psychological relationship between mental health and violent movies.
One of the major flaws I found within my research was that the responses were not very detailed due to the small number of sample size. The main reason why is because they may not have enough background knowledge to be comfortable answering the survey question. Another reason would be because they might not be self-assured to speak out about mental health since it is a very controversial and difficult issue to discuss in public. In order to further improve my research for the future, I would suggest playing a non-violent and violent movie for group A (Gen Z) and group B (baby boomers) in a separate room. During the experiment, the participants would wear a wristband device that could detect any changes to their heart rate and skin that indicate different levels of stress. This type of experiment will prove to be more practical as well as authentic for the participants to gain real-life experience of how different genres of movies have an impact on their mental health.
My special thanks to my Professor Dr. Sinckler.
Works Cited:
Dec. 5th 2019
According to reporter Sandee LaMotte from CNN News, this article is about how an increased exposure towards screens from smartphones and tablets has led to a decrease in the development of children (3 to 5 years), such as cognitive, literacy, and language skills. Scientific studies have noted that children excessively viewing television, tablet, or smartphone screens have caused delays in paying attention, thinking clearly, sleeping well, and even eating properly. As a result of this issue, a new study has been conducted in order to examine the white matter of the brain, which contains tracts used to form essential connections between nerve cells and the rest of the nervous system. What this study is trying to show towards people is the lack of development within the white matter can result in slow development within the brain itself. In order to prevent the slowing down of the white matter development, children should be recommended to master a new musical instrument, engage themselves in sports activities, or socialize with family members. In fact, children engaging in human interactions will positively impact their critical thinking and problem-solving skills due to strong neuron connections within the brain.
This interesting news article mainly covers the psychological topic of developmental psychology (ch. 15). One of the main reasons why is because this article focuses on how the psychological development of preschoolers can have a negative impact due to increasing their exposure towards technological screens (such as smartphones, televisions, and iPad tablets). The main aspect of developmental psychology that is discussed within this news article would be that the development of cognitive and social domains is influenced by their development whether it’s positive (socializing with friends or practicing piano) or negative (watching TV for a long period of time). Another great concept from chapter 15 of developmental psychology that’s linked to the news article would be that long-term exposure towards technological screen can be considered as a teratogen towards children. The reason why is because engaging within technology without any neurological activity is an agent that can cause harm towards preschoolers since they are not using their brain muscles to engage themselves in neurological activities, such as basketball, piano, or chess.
This news article coverage is very consistent with what I’ve learned from class and the reason why is because the topic of preschoolers’ cognitive development being negatively impacted by long-term technological exposure is one of the best real-life studies pertaining to developmental psychology. To elaborate, this news study perfectly emphasizes the importance of an environment having both a positive and negative impact on the neurological development of a child. For example, a child who grew up reading books and playing chess for a long period of time will have impressive problem-solving, critical thinking, and literacy skills. On the other hand, if a child grew up in a lower-income environment lacking resources needed for academic success (such as workbooks and flashcards), then he or she will not have a properly-developed development of critical thinking and literacy skills. Another reason why this news article coverage is consistent with what I’ve learned from the class is that children are in an age group where they have the utmost ability to retain so much knowledge when learning new topics, such as a new language or mastering playing the violin. Based on this fact, it’s best noted that children should take the opportunity to engage in activities, such as learning a new foreign language or reading more complex novels, in order to strengthen their neurological development so that they will be better prepared for the future academically.
Pertaining to this news article, there were some questions about this interesting topic that were, unfortunately, not answered. One of them would be that none of the studies have focused on how gender may play a role in children being negatively impacted by long-term exposure to screens. If these studies focused upon specific key points, such as gender, then the sample size would be more specific and diverse to be analyzed upon. The news article could have discussed how children’s’ gender may play a part since it is usually males who are more inclined to be addicted to the internet due to higher participation levels (such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, and Fortnite). The news article should have conducted a scientific study about how gender plays a part in children’s’ neurological development when exposed to screens for a long period of time. This can be accomplished by introducing Group A (males) and Group B (females) towards Object A (novels) and Object B (Xbox 360). The data results would be recorded based on how they would respond to either novels and video games. Based on this hypothetical scientific study, we would better understand how both Group A’s and Group B’s dopamine levels have an impact on their cognitive development (such as decision-making skills) when in an environment where they have the freedom to choose to either read novels (increase literacy skills) or play video games.
Another aspect that this news article did not cover would be that they did not specify what “in-depth clinical trials” they meant. It is best assumed that they mean that there are more specific factors that may impact a child’s brain development, such as childhood exposure to stress, language, or interactions with other people. This news article should have addressed how these key factors can impact, whether it’s positive or negative, their ability to learn and perceive the environment around them. This can be done by presenting a series of personal anecdotes, scientific case studies, and quantitative data.
My special thanks to my Professor Dr.Sasson.
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Mar. 25th 2020
Ever since the Coronavirus outbreak has made its way throughout everywhere on Earth, whether it’s China, Italy or India, there is no doubt that it was a very unexpected event to occur within a new decade. With schools, stores, businesses, and airport shut down, people all over the world are experiencing tension within their mind and body during a period of isolation within their households. If you are undergoing feelings of sadness, tension, or even fatigue, then you are not alone. This is especially common since we are, unfortunately, headed towards an economic recession due to global inactivity. Students who are expected to graduate during the year 2020 are also facing feelings of stress and disappointment because they do not get the opportunity to walk the stage and receive their diplomas despite their hard work and sacrifice.
In order to combat stress and anxiety during melancholy times like now, you must be able to isolate mentally within a safe quiet environment away from noisy distractions from the outside world. When you isolate yourself, take the time necessary to relocate calm thoughts and memories without any sense of worry about future events. Activities such as yoga and meditation have been proven to lower heart disease, increase serotonin levels associated with happiness, and allow you as an individual to gain proper self-control of your mind and body. It is imperative that you do not watch the news if it serves as the main source of anxiety, panic, or stress. You should instead listen to peaceful music, specifically classical music genre since it has a very calming effect on the brain itself. One of the ways that you can still immerse yourself in productivity during this unexpected time of crisis would be watching new TV shows. For an example, I’ve started watching New Amsterdam, an NBC Medical Drama series about a team of medical professionals who are willing to reform the healthcare system in order to allow it to benefit towards every human being instead of profits through their dedication as well as resilience to do what is necessary for humanity. With schools being closed down all around the United States (as well as other foreign nations), this will be a great chance of parents to spend more quality time with their children by teaching them positive values, such as integrity, resilience, courage, and combating a common fear of failure. Even though we are all in isolation, it should not stop you from riding a bike or jogging with your children. For students, I would advise them to use this time wisely for prepping their academic materials in advance instead of wasting time in Tiktok, Instagram, or Fortnite.
Unfortunately, due to the media exaggerating the severity of the pandemic within the United States, many shoppers started to buying loads of food, water, and even toilet paper. Because of this, lower-income individuals are struggling to buy food and water necessary for their well-being. We all have a pivotal role in solving this issue by donating any extra food, water, and basic necessity (toilet paper, first aid kit, or furniture) because it is up to us to end any form of human suffering.
In summation, through the positive values of empathy, resilience, and open-mindedness, we human beings should support each other so that all of us can build up our confidence to combat the harsh effects that COVID-19 has within our society, whether it’s the Stock Market Crash or racial discrimination targeted towards Asian individuals all around the globe. Don’t let negativity spread faster than Coronavirus itself!
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