The Opinions of Russian School Students and Teachers About Media Violence

Abstract

The influence of media violence upon Russian teenagers is rather significant. About half the teenagers were positive about its demonstration: they enjoyed films, television shows, and computer games containing on-screen violence and they admired the characters -- including "bad guys". A third of the teenagers were not sure about their opinion of on-screen violence, although they claimed to not be attracted by it. Just 18% of teenagers discuss and share their opinions with their parents. The influence of Russian schools upon the teenage relationship with on-screen violence is minimal. The findings of our analysis:-- on the whole students are more tolerant than the teachers to screen violence (men outnumber women);-- entertainment is the leading factor attracting audiences to violent scenes in both groups;-- watching violent programs in high spirits is for students three times oftener than for teachers;-- both students and teachers are most likely to watch and discuss violent scenes together with friends;-- students do not like watching violent programs alone;-- 1 out of 5 teachers is eager to watch violent content media with their students, 1 out of 3 teachers is ready to discuss it with the students;-- on the average, 1 in 10 students would like to share this activity with the teacher;-- students talk about violence on the screen twice as much as teachers;-- 3 times more students than teachers reported that their aggressiveness increases after the violence seen on the screen;-- images of the screen violence linger in girls‘/women‘s mind longer than in boys‘/ men‘s;-- about half of the respondents reported that they remember scenes of violence for a long time;-- both the majority of students and teachers tend to believe that screen violence affects the increase of crime in society;-- one third of teachers and students agree that most violent media texts should be banned;-- quarter of teachers and students think it is necessary to prohibit all violence on the screen;-- 5 times more students (vs. teachers) think things should remain like they are now, and 1 in 10 pupils consider that even more violence can be shown.