It is commonly known that people tend to adopt the behaviors to which we are exposed more frequently. If an individual is exposed to an aggressive environment, it is likely for them to adapt aggressiveness in their day-to-day behavior. This is also implacable to the things you watch, if you watch films or web series that are violent in nature it may have an impact on your mind. When we watch films in our leisure time films usually contain some violent scenes. these violent scenes directly influence one’s emotional and cognitive development.
The body begins to release stress and fear-related hormones like adrenaline and cortisol when someone watches a violent scene in a movie.This led to an increase in aggressive behavior and emotional distress. On top of that violent movies lead to a decrease in the empathy level in one’s behavior. This article will describe how violent movies impact the minds of viewers negatively and what tips can we follow to overcome if it affects us.
Violent films have been found to have a negative effect on the mental health, leading to:
Increase aggressive behaviour
Research has shown that violent movies have and negative impact on individuals’ minds irrespective of their age. It psychologically impacts if they are adults or children. This effect is more pronounced in adolescents and children as they are in a stage of building up their morals and values. So, violent movies negatively impact their brain to accumulate violence in their behavior.
Increase anxiety level
If someone watches aggressive scenes or clips, they tend to release specific hormones which enhances the fear and stress in one’s body and increase the stress level. It also can make people feel more anxious and fearful of the world around them and ultimately hinders the daily life activities. This is more harmful for children as they will be unable to distinguish between the real and fictional world.
Desensitization to violence
One of the most widely discussed psychological impacts of watching violent films is Desensitization. Repeated exposure to violent clips can lead to less emotional activity. They start responding normally to the day-to-day violent news and incidents. This fades the line between real-world problems. People start thinking in a more aggressive way and think it’s very normal to behave aggressively.
Decrease in concentration
Violence rather be in real life or in movies creates restlessness in one’s life and this restlessness hinders the concentration of an individual. The hormones released during violent film watching impact the brain and restrain one’s to concentrating properly. These negative consequences prevent individuals from performing tasks properly.
Decrease in self-esteem
If an individual is unable to concentrate on work, their anxiety level is up so, it is most likely for them that they do not perform well in their field in the long run which ultimately decreases their self-esteem and self-confidence. This has an adverse effect on the person’s general development, which is bad in the long run.
Imitation
The Copycat Effect refers to the tendency for people to try to replicate movie scenes more frequently. Due to this copycat effect, they self-harm themselves and even the surroundings.
Nightmares and PTSD
When you watch thriller and violent scenes, you may have nightmares and also have a deep post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These are so negative for children They may develop a trauma which deeply impact their childhood experience and, they may have trust issue in people and unable to distinguish real and fiction world.
The psychological impact varies on the number of factors like age, gender, experience, personality etc. Limiting yourself is the one and only tip to overcome its impact. Parents and primary caregiver must should keep an eye on the contents their child watches and how they react after watching certain stuffs. Parental control for children and self-control for adults is important for overcoming this. One should always watch stuffs which helps them to comfort themselves. Watching films in thriller and violent genre may disturb you a lot. If anyone watches violent films or clips so, parents, educators and caregiver must teach them the difference between the real world and the fictional world.
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