Frequency and implications of exposure to violent websites on youth behavior

Summary:

As our understanding of associations between media violence and youth violent and aggressive behavior continues to grow, there continues to be a noticeable dearth of research about media violence consumed by young people on the Internet. This presentation uses data from the Growing up with the Media study and Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS and YISS2) to discuss frequency and implications of exposure to violent web sites on youth behavior, specifically addressed:

1. What is the frequency of exposure to violence online?

2.Is this online violence related to violent or aggressive behavior?

Findings:

- 37% report exposure to violence on at least one type of web site in the last year at Year 1 (24% if news sites are excluded); 32% report any exposure in Year 2 (19% if news sites are excluded)

- The 1-year prevalence rates of exposure to death, hate and satanic sites are low: 2-4%

- News-related sites (24%) and cartoon violence sites (21%) are the two most common exposures

The majority of youth who are exposed, do not also report seriously violent behavior or other types of externalizing behaviors. Nonetheless, findings suggest that for some youth, violence online is associated with externalizing behavior offline.