The Effect Of Domestic Violence Films On The Youth: An Excursion Of Media Violence Theories and Persuasion Theories

Several studies have been on the impact of media violence on aggressive and violent behavior. Researches on effect of media violence have proved that heavy exposure in films, videos, televisions and movies can increase the risk of behaving violently. This paper is an escursion  of selected media violence theories -social learning theory, catharsis theory and cultivation theory, and Persuasion theories – Congruity theory, Symmetry theory and Cognitive Balance theory explaining the effect of domestic violence on the Nigerian youths, looking at the possibility of these theories at the short and long term effect of domestic violence on the youths, desensitization, heavy and non-heavy viewers, other factors and the positive effect of viewing these films. The study made do of both the primary and secondary sources in its methodology. The research work found that people has been exposed to so much violence that has negative effects on the society.  Violence is now seen as everyday thing that needed to be curtailed or totally obliterated. The study concludes that few people act out of violence even with what they observed in the media. The media violence might desensitize some people while it might have effect on the others. The study agreed that factors like age, gender, parental and peer influence can also caused violence behaviour on the youths. The paper recommends the depiction of violence in the media and insists that there should be strict monitoring of policies on violence programmes in the media. Parents are also enjoined to be watchful of the kind of films their children view on the media .