In essence, research on the effect of mass media on an individual’s attitude as well as emotional conditions has a long and continuous history. There have been debated aspects ranging from those that cite mass media as a rather powerful tool for spreading propaganda capable of molding the overall attitudes of a susceptible public to those of the opinion that mass media has minimal influence on the general public. Nonetheless, the level of media freedom that has been realized in the United States and across the world entitles every media house to air events responsibly. The question is whether mass media has the capacity of airing news responsibly and consider the influence those news might have on their viewers. While various people will argue against this notion, it is true that mass media has done a great job to enlighten the public of what is transpiring across the world. However, mass media has been argued to instigate terrorist attacks by broadcasting activities related to the same in the contemporary society. In this light, terrorism has a devastating effect on individuals especially children either directly or indirectly facilitated by media coverage. This paper proposes to discuss how media coverage of terrorist activities has influenced children.
Primarily, it is true that terrorist activities have in a considerable way altered the overall ecology within which the contemporary youth develop. While there is little research on the use of mass media by terrorists, they seek to spread fear and threats to its audience by the use of media. Additionally, technological advancement, as well as new mass media trends, provides a stage for violent activities unlike in history ( Beckmann, Dewenter, & Thomas, 2017) . Due to the level at which youths tend to consume mass media content, they have become exposed to attack-related media. According to recent research which examined terrorist event broadcasted on mass media, the emotional function of children is hugely affected by such coverage ( Beckmann, Dewenter, & Thomas, 2017) . Some of the effects lead to PTSD symptoms, anxiety, sleeps problems, and even behavioral withdrawal. For instance, since the terrorist attack of 2001, televised news regarding terror has increased across the United States. Moreover, the issue about threats of future attacks as well as U.S. potential vulnerability has gain momentum in recent times thanks to the presence of mass media ( Beckmann, Dewenter, & Thomas, 2017) . Given the amount of time youth spend watching televisions, a substantial number of them have become exposed to the rampant ongoing information of threats and alerts.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Statistics indicate that most of the American youth are unlikely to face a terrorist attack. However, given the fact that the current environment is filled with heightened awareness regarding terrorism as well as high vigilance, most young people across the United States are likely to be exposed to “second-hand terrorism” ( Kearns, Betus, & Lemieux, 2018) . In this regard, disproportionate media presentation of the overall possibility of people becoming direct victims of terror attacks often sets the stage for the pervasive threats and insecurity alarms. Second hand terrorism has been of great concern particularly to the youth, given the fact that most of them are in the development stage of creating a sense of security about the world they live in and may have little or no control of what the media broadcast. According to a recent research based on the communication literature, it indicates that televised news has in most cases had a slightly harmful impact on the youth’s overall perceptions regarding threats and vulnerability. In fact, for an average viewer, televised information often distort the overall impressions of the world as being more dangerous as well as threatening than the actual reality ( Beckmann, Dewenter, & Thomas, 2017) . Indeed, further research has suggested that news exposure is mostly linked to the overall perceptions of crimes despite the fact that the level of crimes has been drastically reduced in the societal settings.
The recent attacks that were done in Paris are the latest scenarios in the long list of activities whose coverage on the mass media has affected the thoughts, behaviors, and feelings of many children across the globe ( Graber & Dunaway, 2017) . In essence, footage coverage on wars and bombings have been tipped to instigate traumatic experiences on children thus leading to anxieties as well as sleeping disorders including intense fears for their security. Although it is essential to raise awareness of what is happening across the globe, children are said to absorb this information even though such information may not be explicit and, therefore, affected by the coverage of the entire aftermath of terrorist activities ( Graber & Dunaway, 2017) . The unrestricted access to media coverage that the children of modern society have has facilitated the exposure of the young generation to second-hand terrorism. While terrorist activities have always been documented throughout history, the recent broadcast has painted rather undue attention to these shocking acts across the globe. Consequently, the effect of exposure to terrorist information has affected younger children more than the set of older children ( Graber & Dunaway, 2017) . Recent research indicates that childhood exposure to terrorist acts is likely to increase the rate at which children develop internalizing disorders in their lives afterward. In this light, there is a need for clear steps to regulate the type of contents that children get to consume in the society.
To regulate what children consume about media coverage of terror attacks, research has suggested that adults can be a great resource in helping children process whatever they see on television. Notably, this is because television-viewing is a somewhat social family activity than what many people might think ( Kearns, Betus, & Lemieux, 2018) . Consequently, various associations have offered guidelines that intend to educate the youth about the overall media presentations of the terror acts as well as terrorism possibilities. However, the efficacy of such instructions in the attempt of reducing the anxiety of children might have positive outcomes even though such guidelines have not been examined empirically. One apparent thing that can be done to reduce the overall stress among children is for parents to act as role models of either fear or rather coping ( Kearns, Betus, & Lemieux, 2018) . Another thing that parents can do is offering commentary to make sure that they guide children inferences as well as helping them making sense of what is being portrayed on television. This way, children can be able to understand the relevance of what mass media broadcast on the issue surrounding terrorist attacks.
Furthermore, children are supposed to be educated regarding mass media as well as the overall lack of proportionality inherent in brief televised news pieces. Notably, this can be achieved by introducing somewhat positive as well as hopeful concepts of the global situations that are not addressed in time-constrained news pieces ( Kearns, Betus, & Lemieux, 2018) . By discussing with the youth, the overreliance on dramatic coverage by the media may help children to compare the news that is being covered by the media and what is happening in the real world. Research as however, suggested that the best way of dealing with this situation is by parents responding to children’s anxiety. By responding to the anxiety that children face, parents will be able to guide their children on what should or not be viewed ( Beckmann, Dewenter, & Thomas, 2017) . Despite the media freedom across the globe, mass media industry should take up the responsibility of filtering what they chose to cover and make sure that they air what is appropriate for the public to consume.
In a nutshell, it is clear that media plays a significant role in the aftermath of any disaster, particularly in the contemporary society. Media is responsible for providing the required information making announcements as well as giving instructions regarding services that are available to various families across the globe. However, trauma-related broadcasts are tipped to hurt viewers, especially on children. Although little research regarding this matter has been done, it is up for parents to ensure that they monitor what children get to view. Notably, this is because exposure to terrorism particularly by the media, movies, or even news regarding a certain disaster has been proven to have different implications on individuals something that most children in America suffer from. Children are said to be affected mentally by pervasive terror news that is being broadcast on different media stations across the globe. As a result, it is crucial for safety guidelines to be taken to limit what children get to consume. Additionally, parents should educate their children on this matter in a more positive way to reduce the overall anxiety in children.
References
Beckmann, K. B., Dewenter, R., & Thomas, T. (2017). Can news draw blood? The impact of media coverage on the number and severity of terror attacks. Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy , 23 (1).
Graber, D. A., & Dunaway, J. (2017). Mass media and American politics . Cq Press.
Kearns, E., Betus, A., & Lemieux, A. (2018). Why do some terrorist attacks receive more media attention than others?.
