Video Games? Creative Fun or Violent

Video games have become one of the most popular sources of entertainment among children and youth in the United States. One study shows that 70 percent of children have a video game player in their home and 33 percent have one in their bedroom. The problem with these video games are that they are not like the PacMac, Asteroids, and Frogger games with simple graphics from when the majority of these children’s parents were growing up. Video Games have become much more realistic and violent. What is even worse is that many of these games are available to children and young teens with out the parents understanding what the game is about.

Some of the worse offenders of the violent nature of these games are what are know as first person shooter games, or “First Shooter.” These games are seen from the prespective of the person playing it and they are usually armed with a weapon. Another recent craze in “First Shooter” games are based on the player being a driver. The series of Grand Theft Auto games are one example. In these games players are rewarded for stealing cars, assaulting police officers, beating and shooting people. Another car game is Carmageddon where the player is rewarded for running over pedestrians. When one completes all levels of the game and have achived the highest score possible, one would have had to kill over 33,000 people.

Some argue that playing these games are not harmful to our children at all. I beg to different. The first shooter game comes from the same idea that police departments and military forces use to teach people to shoot at people without a second thought. In 2003 the two boys who were shooting at trucks on Interstate 40 in Tennessee where acting out what they had done earlier when they where playing Grand Theft Auto 3.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, media violence can lead to aggressive behavior in children. Over 1,000 studies confirm this link. Two studies that appeared in the April 2000 issue of the American Psychological Association's (APA) Journal of Personality and Social Psychology concluded that violent video games may be more harmful than violent television and movies because they are interactive, very engrossing and require the player to identify with the aggressor. The studies found that playing violent video games can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life. A review of the scientific literature in Psychological Science in 2001 showed a consistent pattern of results in 35 studies of video games: exposure to violent games increased aggressive thoughts in children and adults, as well as aggressive feelings, physiological arousal and aggressive behavior.

"Mature"-rated games (for persons 17 or older) are now the fastest growing segment of the video game industry (Knight-Ridder Newspapers, 1/5/03). About one-third of video games now purchased are rated "M," the marketing firm NPD Funworld reports. About 40 percent of those who play "M"-rated games are under 18, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

This is not to say that there are no good video games for children and youth. There are many great titles out there with the ratings for children and youth. Some feature their favorite Disney and cartoon characters, new twists on old favorites such as those from Nintendo and others feature problem solving.

There are three main ratings of games, “E” for everyone, “T” for teens, and “M” for mature. The rating system covers things such as blood and gore, gambling, nudity, level of violence and drugs. The system does not take into account demeaning women or minorities, nor is any such indicator on the packaging required.

There are many resources out there to help you determine which games are suitable for your children or youth. Some of those resources are:


NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON MEDIA AND THE FAMILY


AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

Violent Video Games can Increase Aggession

Harmful Effects of Violent Video Games