Children are behaving more aggressively because of violent TV shows and video games, Shane Coleman has said.
Director Ridley Scott has recently warned that, “TV shows about murder and rape are giving people ideas”.
The director said that entertainment is naturally “a little twisted” and too often it is being “abused”.
Mr Ridley called for more “clean stories” and an end to the spate of TV shows about rape and murder.
Violence
On Newstalk Breakfast, presenter Shane Coleman said there is “evidence” that children who watch violence “behave more aggressively day in, day out”.
“Children who identify with the portrayed aggressor in particular, who perceived the violence to be realistic in a program are also likely to be more aggressive,” he said.
“I saw one bit of research on this - children who watch more violence are three to four times more likely to commit a crime in later years.
“Now, I'm assuming there are other factors involved in that as well, but even still, twice as likely to be involved in domestic violence, 17% more likely to be generally violent.”
Worrying
Fellow presenter Ciara Kelly said those figures “worried” her.
“When I read this first of all this morning, I thought, ‘Oh, nonsense’,” she said.
“Genuinely, I do believe I could watch rape and murder and these things he's talking about all day and it would never make me want to go out or and rape and murder.
“But then I was thinking about it, I don't watch much violence on telly because I don't actually like it, and the bits that I do see I generally watch through my fingers.
“So this isn't really my forte.
“I'm not someone who has any kind of a penchant for it anyway, and that might mean something.”
Shane Coleman in the Newstalk studio. Image: Newstalk
