Violent video games.

In recent years, there has been more of a concern with violent behavior in children and adolescents. Although the rate of serious violent crime committed by juveniles has declined, there have been more school shootings and murders brought to our attention in the media.  Because of this, the public has tried to find a cause for these shootings, putting blame on gun control laws when in fact, they need to blame the person with their mental health and gaming habits.

Adam Lanza, the shooter in the Sandy Hook tragedy, blacked out his room so that when he played Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on a regular basis, he would feel more involved in the game while trying to get a high body count. Adam Lanza constantly sought out higher-sensation experiences with violence until the real thing was the only way to satisfy his needs. Yes, very little is understood about this phenomenon of school shootings and what causes them to happen.  Psychology, sociology and neurology all contribute to the homicidal mindset and help us come to understand these tragedies. When looking into shooter’s lives, we can see that they were in fact playing these violent games.

I am aware that there are a large number of children who play different types of violent games and go on leading perfectly normal lives. Some use it as a stress reliever and enjoy it as their leisure activity. When children play positive, uplifting games, their behavior improves.

Although there is not a direct correlation between violent videogame play and committing the actual violent crimes, it is clear that a child can become more aggressive through this source of media. When adolescents play violent video games, especially at a young age, they are receiving a form of operant conditioning. 

Recent studies have shown that the relationship between violent videogames and aggression is stronger for individuals who are characteristically aggressive to begin with.  The type of aggression that is being triggered is that of physical aggression, which is more common in boys than girls. That being said, boys are also more prone to increase their aggression by playing video games than by watching TV.

In relation to the negative effects violent videogames has on behavior, those who play may struggle with maintaining normative feelings and capabilities. Adolescents seeking higher-sensation experiences are more likely to play violent video games that contain specific acts of violence (e.g., weapon use).  Research suggests that sensation seeking may also be related to risky behavior at a very young age. Who are we conditioning our children to become?