Common Sense Suggestions for Violence Studies

Common Sense Media has recommendations for how the government studies the relationship between violent media and real-life violence, which it based on an analysis of the existing research into children and media. Common Sense says that the current research into children and teenagers' violent media exposure is out of date and incomplete, including almost no data on online exposure. But it says the research that is available "allows us to think about violent media as a 'risk factor' to violence -- one variable among many that increases the risk of violent behavior among some children."

Common Sense's recommendations for filling in the research "gaps" are:

• Monitoring children's cumulative exposure to violence across multiple forms of media, including movies/video, advertising, music, social media, and other online venues;
• Longitudinal studies that include the most current media -- especially the ultra-violent first-person shooter games, and the latest movies and television shows;
• Studies that both pay attention to and control for the multiple additional risk factors and variables that potentially influence violent behavior, including trait aggression and family violence; and
• Additional and more current studies about children's exposure to violence in the advertisements they see each day on television, while streaming content, and in other new media venues.