Reader Response #1: Violent Media is Good for Kids

    Gerard Jones’ Violent Media is Good for Kids is a media studies piece that uses powerful 
testimonies and logic to persuade the reader that violent media liberates children from their fears and dependencies. This passage was engaging and relatable. Jones successfully caused me to think twice about the way I associate media violence and the child development. He explained that regardless of how much violence we are exposed to, “Children will feel rage” (232). Not only do children feel the need to act out as Jones argues, but they need a way to learn how to expose of it and deal with it, otherwise “we shelter them not against violence but against power and selfhood” (233).
    After reading the essay I realized violence for Jones and many other kids was used as the tool for the same kind of escapism I used as a child. I grew up in a daycare center for most of my childhood, so I know what it is like to use your fantasies and imagination as a way to develop social skills and overcome fears. I admit to being a introverted, shy child; but, I was able to overcome that through playing with my friends in imaginary worlds and story lines that did consist of violent themes and characters. Remembering back, I recall yes, there were imaginary guns; yes, we could die in our games; and yes, most of us are all civilized young adults today. When children play games with “good guys” and “bad guys” they are distinguishing the general difference between right and wrong, and what those character traits include. Jones’ essay reminded me to not jump to any hasty conclusions, but to re-think this topic and reflect on how I used to play games as a child.
    Jones’ article used to appeal of logos to persuade the reader of his stance on this argument. H used testimonies such as the story of one little girl and her aggressive play times and another of an older girl who turned to rap music for a form of expression. Both girls were mentally stable and successfully functioning in society. The two stories contrast in content, but help Jones come to the conclusion that “it’s helped hundreds of people for every one it’s hurt” (232). By using these personal stories, Jones makes a valid point in his argument defending the imagination of children and their violent stories.