Am I at Risk?

Every day, whether we are aware of it or not, we are exposed to media messages. From watching movies, surfing the Internet, to even walking down the street, we are surrounded by a variety of messages. But have you ever stopped and wondered over time what kind of influence these messages have over our daily lives? (Probably not, at least I never have)

I’ve heard people say time and time again that school shootings are the direct result of playing too many violent video games, but I’ve leaned that’s not actually entirely true. There are many factors that influence outward behavior. Everyone has what you can call a set point in the “risk continuum”. It’s a point on a scale from 0 (being at low risk) and 100 (highly at risk for a specific behavior).

There are essentially seven different factors, as a result of long-term conditioning, that determine where your set point is placed on the scale. Most of these factors are derived from your environment and lifestyle. This includes your cognitive abilities, sociological factors, and your exposure to the media. If you were immature, had a rough home life, and was living in media bubble only exposing yourself to a particular negative message over a long period of time you would probably have a high risk point.

Your risk set point for a negative effect is not stationary. There are six factors that affect the movement of a person’s personal set point. These include the severity of the content you are exposing yourself to, your state of mind and how much of yourself you see in a particular character demonstrating the negative traits.

After thinking about this I was forced to assess my own media exposure habits. I am fortunate enough to have grown up in a positive environment that encouraged the development of my strong morals. But, on the other hand, when it comes to my media exposure habits I admit I love scary movies. Does that mean I’m going to blow up the school? NO! But my set point for being at risk of violent or aggressive behavior is higher than if I weren’t to watch them.

Although I’m a sucker for scary movies, I feel my risk of negative behavior is relatively low. I never identify with any of the aggressive characters I am watching. My tight family bond and ability to realize fact from fiction enables me to stay at a low risk level.

In the years to come I would like to cut down my exposure to violent movies and continue on the path to media literacy. The only way we can prevent the possible negative effects of the media is to take a proactive stance. That way we can determine how close we, and the people around us, are to manifesting a negative behavior such as aggressiveness or violence. Click here for more information.