Stokes 1
Violence in video games and the effects it has on minors
It seems like more and more frequently, we hear about some kid shooting a bunch of
innocent people at a school or public place. Families are broken forever and the shooter usually
kills him-self, or goes down in a hail of gunfire; Leaving so many questions to be answered on
why he would ever commit this terrible crime. The parents often say that their child was a good
kid and they cannot imagine them ever killing someone. So many kids nationwide are being
assaulted by a school bully, each story seems to get more and more violent. It is hard to tell if it
is happening more or just finally getting more media attention.
I look around local grocery stores, I see parents all out arguing and fighting with their
kid’s because he or she was told no, so they lash back sometimes physically. It seems to me that
the genuine respect for authority and value of others around you is lost. The “I” phase that most
of us experienced at the ages from 2-6 and hopefully we grew out of it in our early childhood,
seems to be sticking around even longer in today’s youth. These vary same people grow up to be
adults and venture out to our workforce, and now have to try and take orders from a boss that
they more than likely despise. Sometimes they might take it personal and physically strike the
person criticizing their work habits. I believe that our youth is suffering from desensitization and
increased aggression from excessively playing very violent video games. These video games are
teaching kid’s violence, and exposing them to a violent fantasy world far too young.
The popular game that many youth love to play is Grand Theft Auto. In this game you are
a gang banger or mafia man. You go around doing such missions as delivering and protecting
drug shipments. On the freeway running from police to increase your reputation, to even having
Stokes 2
sex with hookers for money than killing them afterwards to get whatever money they had. These
zombie video games send more and more flesh eating things after you, and there are so many
that piles of bodies are everywhere. I am 28 years old and if I play those games for two hours or
more, I end up having nightmares about being chased by zombies. It may seem like just a game
but to a minor they could think that it is a normal way of life. Chris Ferguson who is a
psychology professor at Texas A and M says that “kids are playing games for 13 hours a week
on average, Most of those same kids say that they have no set limit on how long they can
play”(Ferguson). That means that they get to be the boss of their own schedule. I believe this can
start to create a sense of premature independence when it only pertains to the game, making the
parent less of an authority in the child’s mind. These same professors say that it can be directly
linked to children who play excessive violent video games.
According to Rowell Huesmann, a professor of communications and psychology at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor says that “the strength of evidence is on par with data that
says smoking cigarettes causes lung cancer”(Huesmann). Directly after playing violent video
games the child has experienced a rise in blood pressure and increase in heart rate. Often angry
feelings are described by the child making them more prone to aggressive behavior towards
others. A study was done in 2008 in the U.S. They followed 362 third-, fourth and fifth graders.
Also from Japan 1,231 youths from the ages of in over a whole school year, they were then asked
what games they play, and for how many hours at a time. They found that the more violent
content they were exposed to the more likely the individual was later reported to get in a physical
fight. These results show that the more violence the subject played, the more he was to be in a
Stokes 3
fight at school. It not only changes the way they mentally think, but effects how they express
their anger and frustrations.
Dr. Cheryl K. Olsen, who is a co-director at the Center for Mental Health at
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, she says “it’s not the violence per se that’s the
problem, it is the context and goals of the violence”(Olsen). She simply means that they are
getting rewarded with cash for killing cops, and how many heads they can chop off. That is
unhealthy for a child to be exposed too for hours at a time. Dr. David Walsh, who is the
president of the National institute on Media and Family, argues that “the pervasiveness of
violence in media has led to a culture of disrespect in which children get the message that it is
acceptable to treat one another rudely and even aggressively”(Walsh). She means that when your
child role plays on a game where he or she runs around killing people and taking whatever they
want. Could lead to a distorted view of reality; making the child more likely to be disrespectful
towards others.
Obviously there is an issue at hand, and luckily there are ways to monitor and minimize
your child’s exposure. The most effective way is to not purchase such violent games for minors,
until they are of legal age. Minors need time for their brain to continue to develop, that way they
know the difference between right and wrong. Also they clearly know the difference between
reality and fictional reality. Dr. Cheryl Olsen suggest to “move the computer and gaming stuff
out of kid’s rooms and into public spaces in the home, like the living room, so they can keep an
eye on what their child is up to”(Olsen). If the gaming center is in the living room, then you will
pay more attention to how long they play and the contents of the game. Dr. Phil, a respected T.V.
personality and psychologist suggests that parents should ‘play the game with your child. Know
Stokes 4
what your child is being exposed to and how they react to different features in the games” (Phil).
You can play the game and judge if you want to allow your child to be exposed to the content in
the game. If it is too grotesque for you and your 10 year old kid is saying how awesome it is to
kill everyone, then maybe that is a red flag to take the game away.
“Know your child. Different children handle things differently. If your child becomes aggressive or unsettled
after playing violent video games, don't buy such games, regardless of the child's age. Likewise, if your child
likes playing games with characters that look like her or him, purchase games with characters that fit the bill”
(Phil).
The main excuse many parents say is that they had no idea of what the game was about.
They are usually shocked when they find out that what kind of “Ultra-Violent game” their kid
has been playing for hours at a time. The people that think this research is riddled with flaws and
holes, so they do not take the results seriously. Almost every other game that comes out is about
war or zombies taking over earth. Neglecting to explain to your kids that it is wrong to harm
others and be disrespectful, could lead to that child becoming callous towards others. We learned
that when we failed to teach people to respect other races, we had many hateful cruel acts against
each other. In many cases it was because of lack of knowledge and learning it in the home from
our parents.
We must keep a cautious watch because all children need to be guided or it can lead to
must bigger issues. Parents also argue that these games would not be made if they damaged kids.
The game companies do not personally know who the games are going to be sold too. They use a
rating system but buying kids mature rated games has become the norm for most parents. A lot
of parents are under the impression that it happens to others but would never affect their child.
We know that kids are very impressionable, they believe almost everything they here and see so
Stokes 5
why allow them to be exposed to such violence at a young age. Allowing someone far too young
to be exposed to extreme things can scar many for life. The child may think you are the worst
parent in the world because everyone else owns the game but them, but as a parent it is your right
to monitor what types of games are acceptable.
The video game industry continues to grow more and more. Technology allows for game
play at home or on the go. We can see that these games are not going away anytime soon so now
is the perfect time to take action. We can only change one kid at a time but if more and more
parents catch on then we are making a huge difference. It is in all of our best interest to be
concerned about what our future leaders are exposed to. Talk to your kids about their favorite
games, be mindful and set limits to how much they can play that game. When they get a new
game, play it with them even if you hate video games. It is the only way you can know exactly
what they are playing and what the contents are. We have all heard that, failing to plan is
planning to fail, be accountable of what games you allow your kids to buy. You protect them
against harm from others, don’t let them hurt themselves with overly violent games.