It has a stronger negative effect on children, but exposure to violent media impacts adults as well Studies show that when we watch violent content, the brain doesn’t always separate it from reality. That’s why people can feel fear or stress from something that isn’t really happening. Over time, this has an effect. It makes people less sensitive to real suffering that's desensitization. It also raises aggression, increases risky behavior, and in kids especially it can weaken memory and attention and promotes violent responses.
Physically, our bodies respond to horror the same way they would to a real threat—higher blood pressure, stress hormones, fear, anxiety that can linger even after the movie ends. Horror and violent media don’t just numb us spiritually by normalizing evil, they harm us mentally and physically too. Truth is, nothing good is planted by filling your mind with fear and violence. And if sowing seeds produces a harvest, then what kind of harvest do you think this kind of media brings? You could even call it Satan’s seeds, planted in this generation.
Reality Threshold in the Brain: The brain evaluates incoming sensory signals against a "reality threshold." If a mental image or an external visual signal is vivid enough, the brain may interpret it as real, even if it is imagined or fictional.
Emotional Immersion: When watching highly engaging or realistic media (like horror or reality TV), the brain activates similar regions as if the events were happening in real life, leading to emotional responses as if they were real.
Seeing-is-Believing Heuristic: People often apply a "seeing-is-believing" approach, assuming the content they see is authentic or factual, which makes them susceptible to manipulated or fictionalized media like deepfakes or sensationalized TV.
Difficulty Detecting Fake Content: Research shows that even when aware of fakery, individuals often cannot reliably detect fake or manipulated videos, and are biased toward accepting them as real.
Impact on Children and Vulnerable Groups: Younger viewers or those with certain mental health conditions can be especially vulnerable to mixing fiction and reality, leading to distress, fear, and confusion.
Media Priming: What people watch influences their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors more than they realize because media primes the brain with accessible memories and emotions linked to the content.
According to social cognitive theory and cultivation theory (Bandura, 1986, 2001), repeated exposure to television influences viewers' construction of reality. Heavy viewers may come to see TV portrayals as authentic states of human affairs, which can affect their attitudes, perceptions, and behavior (Margaret Bennett, 2015).
Emotional responses to fiction can be strong, sometimes even stronger than real-life documentary viewing, causing viewers to internalize and react to scenarios as if they were true (Pouliot & Cowen, 2007).
Perceived realism mediates how much influence a viewer gains from media content, including attitudes toward risky behavior and social roles (Ward & Carlson, 2013).
Desensitization: Repeated exposure to violent images can reduce emotional distress and empathy for real-world violence, making viewers less sensitive to aggression and suffering. (Bushman & Huesmann, 2001) (Bushman, Huesmann 2006) (Bushman & Anderson 2009) (Krahe et al. 2011)
See:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4393354/
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ncreased Aggression and Risky Behavior: Viewing violent media is linked to higher levels of aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, especially in children and adolescents. It can impair behavioral inhibition and decision-making, increasing the likelihood of risky actions. (Lillard et al., 2015).
See:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10262287/
Physiological Stress Responses: Violent and horror scenes can provoke elevated blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones, sometimes causing long-term psychological and physiological effects.(Pouliot & Cowen, 2007)
See:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4393354/
Fear and Anxiety: Horror movies in particular trigger fear responses, which can cause nausea, hyperarousal, and lingering anxiety even after viewing.(University of Michigan study, 2016)
See:
https://record.umich.edu/articles/long-term-fright-reactions-extend-beyond-scary-movies-tv-shows/
Cognitive Impact: Continuous exposure to violent media can weaken attention, memory, and executive functions, especially in developing brains of children and adolescents.(Kronenberger et al., 2005)
See:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10262287/
