Video games proven to make kids violent

 Video games proven to make kids violent

By: Briana Keo-Williams and Mallory Hoffbeck

All over the world, every day, kids as young as eight years old log onto a violent video game of choice. either on a console or on the internet. Why? You may ask for many reasons such as being curious, fun, or just doing what all the other kids are doing. But should we encourage them?

”Playing violent video games probably will not turn your child into a psychopathic killer, but I would want to know how the child treats his or her parents, how they treat their siblings, and how much compassion they have.”

- Brad Bushman, social psychologist, The Ohio State University

         In an interview with Julia Kavalieros, she said that young children shouldn’t be playing video games because “It could change their attitude and view on life and has a bad influence.” Sean Vandyke supported violence in video games by saying “No, it [playing violent games] lets out your steam and anger.”

Many people think that violent video games are a good way for kids to unleash their anger on characters in the game, instead of on people around them. It’s true that these games can relax some kids, but others act just the opposite. In a classroom poll over 95% of students said that they were actually for violent video games and 5% had no interest in the topic.

It’s not just boys who play these games, more and more these days girls are signing up and joining, some girls just want to prove they can do anything a boy can. Constantly, a new internet video pops up with kids lining up at gamestop (or any other video game shop) to bring it home the newest game. Many parents are happy to provide payment for their children's video games, and some have the child pay for it with allowance money. Kids do learn responsibility from money saving, but are these games really a way to teach them to make good choices?  “ I believe it makes them prone to violence. It doesn’t make them act violent, it exposes them and desensitizes them.” says Walter Williams, a Stoller Middle School parent.

Even without parent consent kids still seem to get their hands on them. Some by their friends, some by their older siblings. There are also free ones available on the internet. It’s easy these days for a young child to go onto the internet, lie about their age, and gain access to video games that may contain violence or adult content.

There are some positive effects of video games, such as improving  a player's hand eye coordination. However, studies have shown that there are many negative results of playing them such as:

○     They make kids tend to be more aggressive.

○     They make kids more prone to confrontation with their teachers.

○     Kids may engage in fights with their fellow students.

○     They can teach kids that violence is okay, which can make them think it’s fine to be rough with their siblings.

Even if children aren’t being influenced to be violent, studies have shown that too much screen time makes children irritable, easily annoyed or emotionally numb. One hour of violent video games won’t turn you into an evil mastermind, and even if you play it excessively you won’t take over the world, but they still influence kids in many wrong ways. Some of them include bad social skills, lowered grades in school, and reading less. The more serious consequences of children playing violent video games are decreased exercise and aggressive actions and thoughts. Kids also want to spend time with their friends and family. These of course are only effects of excessive playing of these violent video games. Most children who play them don’t experience anything like these effects.

There are many websites like which provide suggestions for parents whose kids play violent video games such as the following:

○     Checking the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) ratings to learn about the game’s content.

○     Selecting appropriate games—both in content and level of development.

○     Playing video games with their children to experience the game’s content.

○     Setting clear rules about game content and playing time, both in and outside of your home.

○     Strongly warning children about potential serious dangers of Internet contacts and relationships while playing games online.

○     Talking with other parents about your family’s video game rules.

○     Remembering that you are a role model for your children – including video games you play as an adult.

It may seem like everybody is against violent video games, but a great deal of people(mostly students) support them. Stoller students such as Sergio Mendez, Kristina Mokolla,Bailey Profit, and Sean Vandyke said they were for children playing them. “It doesn’t make them violent” says Kristina Mokalla, “It’s just a game.” Bailey Profit said that she plays violent video games, but she wouldn’t let her younger brother play them because he’s too young. “They’re fun. But my brother is crazy because of them.” She means that her brother is influenced highly by video games.

The video games we have today aren’t all violent and gory. There are many educational games that feature learning. They may be fun, but screen time in general(TV, computer, video games, phones) are not an ideal pastime for young children. Games in the future may be more violent than ones today, or they may not be. As graphics get more advanced, more people get interested in them. Hopefully children in the future will be less interested in video games and go read a book.

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