Impact of media literacy education on attitudes towards violence in adolescents’ users of violent computer referring to the game nets of Qom city in 2013

Subject Areas : Media Management

sarallah shojaei ^{1 *} , طاهره دهداری ² , محمد شجاعی ³ , طاهره رحیمی ⁴

1 - کارشناس پژوهش دانشگاه علوم پزشکی قم
2 - دکتری آموزش بهداشت، دانشکده بهداشت، دانشگاه علوم پزشکی ایران، تهران، ایران
3 - عضو هیات علمی گروه ادبیات فارسی،دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه آزاداسلامی واحد قم،قم،ایران
4 - دانشکده بهداشت،دانشگاه علوم پزشکی شهید صدوقی ، یزد،ایران

Received: 1970-01-01 Accepted : 1970-01-01 Published : 2019-08-23

Keywords: violent computer games, attitudes towards violence, adolescent, media literacy education,

Abstract :

Background: Today, the greatest victims of violent and undesirable messages of media are children and youth. One of the ways of immunization against the effects of video-games is media literacy education to this group. Because, media literacy education can be develop critical thinking in its audiences. The present study, consequently, intends to determine efficiency of media literacy learning in lowering violent behaviors evinced by players of violent video games. Materials and methods: In this study, a number of 100 adolescent violent video gamers who referred to Qom game nets were selected by random sampling method. They were asked to fill in questionnaires on their demographical information, and Attitudes Towards Violence then were randomly divided into two groups: intervention group and control group. After arrangement of courses required for media literacy acquisition, educational intervention was undertaken intervention group. To analyze the data SPSS software was used Findings: Results showed that neither groups had significant differences in their average attitude to violence scores in pre-intervention phase. After termination of intervention phase in one month, however, results showed that there is a significant difference in average attitudes towards violence scale in intervention group as to control group (P=0.0001): positive attitudes to violence were diminished in intervention group. Conclusions: Acquisition of media literacy can reduce effects of video games on attitude to violence level of young players. This is essential to lodge basics of media literacy in textbooks and produce preventive programs in this regard.