Violent media commonly refers to violence in media forms pertaining to television, movies, music, and video games. Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior, desensitization to violence, nightmares, and fear of being harmed. On the basis of a growing and nearly unanimous body of evidence associating media violence with increased aggression in young people, the US Surgeon General issued a special report on the public health effects of media violence in 1972. Ten years later, the National Institute of Mental Health issued a comprehensive review of the research on media violence and its effects, outlining concerns for children's psychological health, 3 as did a report generated by the American Psychological Association in 1993.
