Violent content

Kids today live in a media culture where they are constantly exposed to violence in movies and television, video games and music. Violence has always played a role in entertainment, but in recent years dramatic changes have taken place. Research shows that media violence has increased in quantity and has also become much more graphic, sexual and sadistic.

The Internet is adding an entirely new dimension to the issue of media violence. Kids are exposed to a continuum of violence on the Internet, ranging from sites with sophomoric cruel humour to disturbing depiction of torture and sadism. Today, children and teens can download violent music lyrics (including lyrics removed from retail versions of songs) and access violent images, video clips and online games, with the click of a mouse.

On the popular Web site 'whowouldyoukill.com,' people can select real-life TV stars and then describe how they would kill them. Murder is also a staple of the Web site ‘newgrounds.com,’ which features crude animated movies of celebrities being degraded and killed. A 2001 MNet survey of students revealed that ‘newgrounds’ was the twelfth most popular site among 11- and 12-year-old boys.

Violent ‘gore’ sites are also popular with kids. Seventy per cent of male secondary students say they visit sites such as ‘gorezone.com’ and ‘rotten.com,’ which feature pictures of accident scenes, torture and mutilation.

Many kids view gore sites as the online equivalent of harmless horror movies. However, the manner in which these sites combine violence with sexual imagery is disturbing. ‘Gorezone’s’ front-page disclaimer describes its images as “sexually oriented and of an erotic nature.” It then warns viewers that they also contain scenes of death, mutilation and dismemberment.

Adults--teachers and parents--need to be more aware of where kids go online and what they’re doing. Seventy per cent of the kids surveyed by MNet say their parents “rarely” or “never” ask them about the sites they visit. That’s problematic given the results of a 1999 AOL survey that found that a majority of parents believe that the Internet is better for their children than television.

Online hate

There are many forms of hate on the Internet, ranging from extreme racist sites to the cruel satire found on many popular kids’ Web sites. Sites such as ‘uglypeople.com’ may seem harmless, but they contribute to a kids’ online culture where cruelty to others is considered acceptable.

Given this culture, it's not a stretch to imagine kids graduating from sites where people are mocked for their personal appearance to sites where minorities and homosexuals are attacked.

White supremacist and hate groups are increasingly turning to the Internet to target young people for recruitment. Hate mongers look for vulnerable youth who can be brought into their community through private chat rooms and e-mail, far away from the public eye.

These groups also use hateful music to entice young people to their cause. When kids surf the Net for music, they can easily come across sites that sell hate music, or even make it available for free.

Some hate sites have areas specifically designed for young children. The kids’ page of the official Ku Klux Klan site offers homework help and advice for talking to your parents about racial superiority, in case they “just don’t get it.” Other sites give the appearance of being legitimate by offering harmless activities and crafts and links to respected kids’ sites.

Hate sites often hide keywords in their pages that can be picked up by search engines. Some of the keywords on one white supremacist site for women are children, toys, art, games and fun. If someone enters one of these words into a keyword search engine, this site will turn up in the results.

The purpose of a hate site isn’t always readily apparent. For example, at first glance, ‘martinlutherking.org’ appears to be a tribute to the American civil rights leader. In fact, it is a hate site created by a white supremacist organization.

Hate groups often cite free speech in defense of their activities. The Web site of the Canadian Association for Free Expression appears to be concerned with civil liberties, yet it promotes the right to discuss racist immigration policies. For inexperienced young people, such information on deceptive hate sites can easily be taken at face value and not fully understood.

Teachers can be instrumental in helping young people learn to think critically about online content:

• Teach students from an early age about media violence. Young people need to learn to respect others and to respond appropriately to violent media. Talk to them about real violence and its consequences, and discourage media that portray killing or pain as entertainment.
  
  
• Educate kids about online hate. Young people will better be able to recognize and avoid hateful content if they are taught the strategies hate mongers use and the history of racism. Help them to identify hateful content and symbols on Web sites; for example, swastikas, derogatory references to race or sexual orientation, and cartoon depiction of various ethnic and racial groups.
  
  
• Direct your students to anti-racism youth Web sites. These include “Artists Against Racism,” “Tolerance.org” and the “Racism.Stop It!” site for the Canadian government’s March 21 Day Against Racism.
  
  
• If you stumble across hateful content on the Internet, report it to the appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP). You can contact your own ISP and ask for help in locating the host of the offensive content. You should also report online hate to your local police department.

Classroom activities and lessons:

• Thinking About Hate
  A lesson for grades 8 to 10 to develop critical thinking skills to authenticate online information and to recognize bias and hatred on the Internet.
  
  
• Challenging Hate
  A lesson for grades 10-12 in which students analyze Web sites of five anti-hate organizations/initiatives and develop their own anti-hate campaigns.
  
  
• Advertising and Male Violence
  This lesson makes students in grades 11 and 12 aware of the ways in which male violence is used and promoted in advertising.
  
  
• Facing TV Violence
  This three part lesson students in grades 1 to 4 explore TV violence: the absence of consequences, the lack of non-violent solutions to conflict and the types of violence. 

 
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