A content analysis of violence on turkish primetime television shows

Abstract

Objective: Violence has a great impact on society, as is often the case with television programs. This study aims to assess how the violence is portrayed on television channels that reach a large audience of children, adolescents, and adults in Turkey. Method: This study is a media content analysis (28 television shows and 84 episodes) of the six most popular Turkish primetime television shows aired between November 18, 2019, and December 8, 2019. The violence types have been classified into one of the following five categories: verbal, physical, psychological, social, and economic. Besides, some vulnerable special groups, such as children and healthcare workers, have also been evaluated. Results: Our findings indicate that each show has at least one violent behavior. Contrary to the perception in society, men are exposed to violence more than women (56.6% vs. 27.6%). The number of psychological violence content in television shows (median:16.5) was significantly higher than the number of physical (median:11.0) and verbal (median:13.0) violent content (p<0.05). Conclusion: Our findings have significant consequences as exposure to popular media affect the behaviors and perceptions of the entire society, not just children.. Our study has the potential to shed light on the need to create new content in television shows watched by the Turkish society with educational messages on the risks and consequences of violent behavior.