Violent Video Games and Their Effect on Children

1467 Words6 Pages
Violent Video Games and Their Effect On Children In 1999, the shootings at Columbine High School seemed to spark the debate about many things wrong with our youth but one thing in particular was violent video games. Parents claimed that these violent video games were a catalyst for the violent actions that these young men committed that day. According to Sean P. Neubert of Rochester Institute of Technology, a person who is biologically predisposed to aggression will be more strongly influenced by violent scenes and thus will have a greater risk for carrying out destructive actions. For example someone with Antisocial personality disorder has a greater risk of going out and shooting someone after playing hours of Grand Theft Auto or a game of a similar nature.[1] Also, Barlett, Branch, Rodeheffer, and Harris, (2009) found that a violent video game produced greater elevations in heart rate, hostility, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive behavior compared with a nonviolent video game. [2] Playing violent video games leads to heightened aggressive behavior in children. A large-scale study in the United States found that 88% of youth aged 8 to 18 years play video games.[3] Research shows that children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend 40 or more hours a week using some form of media. Whether it is computers or video game consoles, 10 percent of children aged 2 to 18 play console and computer games more than 1 hour a day. In 8 to 13-year-old boys, the average is more than 7.5 hours per week. If video game playing begins as a child, the chances of the hobby carrying over into adulthood grow exponentially. These games can include a variety of types and genres, but violent video games seem to be the

More about Violent Video Games and Their Effect on Children

Open Document