Exposing kids to movies featuring gun violence can have dangerous consequences‚ a new study warns.
The study - of over 100 children between the ages of eight and 12 - reported that children who found a strategically hidden firearm were far more likely to pull the trigger if they had watched a clip from a movie that showed guns being fired.
Local advocacy group Gun Free South Africa said the dangers mentioned in the study are a reality in our country.
According to the group‚ South Africa saw a significant drop in gun violence in the ten years after the Firearms Control Act was enforced in 2000.
But since 2011 evidence of poor enforcement‚ linked to corruption‚ began surfacing. Gun Free South Africa found that there was a significant increase in children who were shot.
"A recent study indicates that over 30% of children presenting with firearm-related injuries at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in the Western Cape were under the age of five‚" the group stated.
The US study - conducted by researchers from Ohio State and Wittenberg universities - featured 104 children - both boys and girls. Each participant was required to bring another child of a similar age - so that they could be paired off.
Each of the 52 pairs were assigned to watch a 20-minute edited version of one of two PG-rated films - The Rocketeer or National Treasure. Half saw a version where gun violence was edited out and the rest were exposed to scenes in which the characters used firearms.
After watching the movies children were put into a room to play with toys and were captured on video for 20 minutes. A cabinet in the room contained a real‚ disabled‚ gun with a sensor counting trigger pulls.
"Children who viewed a PG-rated movie containing guns‚ played with real guns longer and pulled the trigger more times than did children who viewed the same movie not containing guns‚" researchers concluded in their study‚ published in the Jama Paediatrics Journal.
"The connection shown in this experiment is a compelling start to a broader conversation on the various factors that can increase a child's interest in guns and violence‚ including gun violence in movies."
Adele Kirsten‚ head of Gun Free South Africa‚ said even a safe won't protect curious children who have been exposed to weapons in reality or the movies.
"Children's curiousity and their ability to find the guns is remarkable‚" Kirsten said.
She said children who grow up in a fairly stable environment‚ and in countries where violence is less prevalent‚ do not necessarily become aggressive when exposed to guns.
"But in our context‚ when as a child you are living in a home where you are exposed regularly to violence‚ and being exposed to things like local television news‚ where people are being gunned down‚ and then when you add violent movies into that mix‚ that's the toxic mix‚" Kirsten said.
"Some who are exposed to it may believe they need guns to defend themselves. In that context‚ children may see gun use and violence as the norm and acceptable."
-TimesLIVE
Violent movies can turn kids into killers - study
The study - of over 100 children between the ages of eight and 12 - reported that children who found a strategically hidden firearm were far more likely to pull the trigger if they had watched a clip from a movie that showed guns being fired.
Local advocacy group Gun Free South Africa said the dangers mentioned in the study are a reality in our country.
According to the group‚ South Africa saw a significant drop in gun violence in the ten years after the Firearms Control Act was enforced in 2000.
But since 2011 evidence of poor enforcement‚ linked to corruption‚ began surfacing. Gun Free South Africa found that there was a significant increase in children who were shot.
"A recent study indicates that over 30% of children presenting with firearm-related injuries at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in the Western Cape were under the age of five‚" the group stated.
The US study - conducted by researchers from Ohio State and Wittenberg universities - featured 104 children - both boys and girls. Each participant was required to bring another child of a similar age - so that they could be paired off.
Each of the 52 pairs were assigned to watch a 20-minute edited version of one of two PG-rated films - The Rocketeer or National Treasure. Half saw a version where gun violence was edited out and the rest were exposed to scenes in which the characters used firearms.
After watching the movies children were put into a room to play with toys and were captured on video for 20 minutes. A cabinet in the room contained a real‚ disabled‚ gun with a sensor counting trigger pulls.
"Children who viewed a PG-rated movie containing guns‚ played with real guns longer and pulled the trigger more times than did children who viewed the same movie not containing guns‚" researchers concluded in their study‚ published in the Jama Paediatrics Journal.
"The connection shown in this experiment is a compelling start to a broader conversation on the various factors that can increase a child's interest in guns and violence‚ including gun violence in movies."
Adele Kirsten‚ head of Gun Free South Africa‚ said even a safe won't protect curious children who have been exposed to weapons in reality or the movies.
"Children's curiousity and their ability to find the guns is remarkable‚" Kirsten said.
She said children who grow up in a fairly stable environment‚ and in countries where violence is less prevalent‚ do not necessarily become aggressive when exposed to guns.
"But in our context‚ when as a child you are living in a home where you are exposed regularly to violence‚ and being exposed to things like local television news‚ where people are being gunned down‚ and then when you add violent movies into that mix‚ that's the toxic mix‚" Kirsten said.
"Some who are exposed to it may believe they need guns to defend themselves. In that context‚ children may see gun use and violence as the norm and acceptable."
-TimesLIVE
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