Video games influence young people, television influences older people

A highly interactive medium such as video games could have a bigger effect on younger media users, such as children, than older users. This is because when you are younger your mind soaks up everything it sees. If you are a young kid playing a violent game there is a high chance that the kid could begin to be violent as well. Older people playing violent video games know that, that is not the way they should act in the real world. Television, on the other hand, effects the older users more because they want to know what is going on and they are also watching shows that could make them feel a certain way about something, while younger kids usually do not know what is going on in the world around them. I say this because in the textbook it says that messages through television can reach millions of people at once, which I agree with. People watch television just about everyday. For example, the news is a very effective way to inform people of what is going on in the world and it is watched all over the country. Television could also involve movies, which also are used to communicate things. The textbook states, “During World War I, both the United States and Germany employed film and other media to shape public opinion and generate support for their positions in the war” (pg. 439). This shows that movies and TV shows can be made to change the views of others because of the messages that the directors are attempting to use to persuade views. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgurRgKS9AU