Question: Do you think it’s possible that a combination of early life adversity and a frequent/prolonged exposure to high levels of TV show violence (any violence present in the media) could result in desensitisation to violent and aggressive behaviour in real life.

Harry Piper answered on 5 Mar 2021:

Great question! There is certainly evidence showing exposure can result in desensitization to aggressive behavior. However, there is also research (for media exposure at least) that says there is no effect – in fact I recently heard about (what I am happy to call) bad science, where ‘scientists’ begin a research project expecting negative results from exposure (e.g. increased violence) but if the data doesn’t support this (e.g. exposure does not increase aggression) then the whole study is stopped and never reported! So, you have to be careful about how you look at these things! Of course there is also the opposite argument where experience makes people more on edge or triggers adverse memories! Overall I would say it is difficult to say!