Video Game Violene and by Bethany Neeb

The issue of whether violence in various video games actually translates to their consumer’s behavior has been an ongoing topic, especially regarding children. There is no question that video games have become increasingly popular among all ages. The subject matter of some video games, however, has transformed from innocent Pac-Man to graphic and overly violent scenarios such as killing cops. It is the latter that has been in question after multiple aggressive and violent acts committed by children and teenagers, ranging from physical fights to school shootings. The connection between violent acts and violent video games is supported by evidence based on child and adolescent behavioral and cognitive patterns. Due to children’s susceptibility to imitation, as well as their desensitization to violence and intake of mixed messages in today’s society, violent video games have a tendency to elicit aggressive and violent behavior in children and therefore should be monitored and limited among child participation.

Most people have seen or known a child, who tends to rough house with his friends and family. The child might jump on their parents when they are sitting on the sofa, they might kick and punch their friends while playing, or they might pretend to hold a gun and make noises as if they were shooting at someone. Unless the child has received some kind of special physical training, it is usually safe to assume that they have picked up these violent moves from something they have seen. While the media in general is a common source to blame, there is a new, more specific factor that provides points or a winning score when players succeed in performing these violent acts. Video games have evolved into aggressive killing, war, and theft competitions, and it is no coincidence that children and adolescents have picked up some of the same acts of violence that they have perfected while playing these video games. This “monkey see and monkey do” pattern stems from a young person’s susceptibility to imitation (Wood, “The Effects of Violent Video Games on Children”). This is the same phenomenon that causes young girls to apply their older sister or mom’s makeup or stumble around in their mother’s high heels after watching the elder female do the same thing. Marco Iacoboni explains this pattern in his article, Imitation, Empathy, and Mirror Neurons. The article discusses how imitation is automatic in humans and that when it is looked at through psychological models, imitation that results from a connection between perception and action come from mirror neurons (Iacoboni 15). The article supports the claim that children are more likely to imitate what they see in the games on television, by providing the psychological evidence behind the human tendency to imitate. Iacoboni defines mirror neurons as, “neurons with motor properties in premotor and posterior parietal cortex that fire not only during action execution, but also while observing somebody else performing the same or a similar action” (7). One journalist explained the effect of imitation in terms of resulting behavior saying:

“During the games, children will solve conflicts in a violent manner. This is different from just seeing a violent movie, the child is actually initiating and responding to violence with their own actions. These actions might bleed into their daily interaction with peers or authority figures. Their brains are being trained to use violence to solve problems rather than words.” (Wood, “The Effects of Violent Games on Children”)

In application to this issue, in general, all humans are prone to imitation from video games based on their mirror neurons that come into play while they are both playing the game themselves, or watching another character in the game.

Referring back to the above example of a child who rough-houses with their peers and siblings, the child does learn the aggressive moves from games they may have played, but they were not born without the filter for violent actions. The increasingly prevalent actions result from continued playing of violent games. It is well known that desensitization is a recurring result of continual exposure to a stimulus. Aside from this serious issue of violence, people frequently use desensitization in positive aspects of life like overcoming a fear of spiders or heights. Desensitization is a common form of therapy for phobias, as they expose the affected person to their fear in increasing amounts until they hardly notice or experience fear. In an even more casual example, people experience desensitization without even noticing sometimes, such as the adjustment that takes place when a person moves into a warmer or cooler environment. Other psychological examples are seen in the normality of fighting to soldiers, doctors’ tolerance for blood, and teenagers’ acceptance of profanity. With the constant blood, fighting, and killing in video games, the player slowly stops noticing any of the gore or violence. While a parent or friend may watch the game for a short time and cringe at the realistic looking scenes, it is shocking how a child does not think twice about it. This gradual tolerance translates into real life, making the child or adolescent automatically answer to daily, accidental types of contact with violence. Evra explains this psychological tendency:

“Long-term effects of exposure to violent media result primarily from the development, rehearsal, and eventual automatization of aggressive knowledge structures such as perceptual schemata (Was this bump accidental or intentional?), social expectations (Are other people expected to be cooperative or vengeful?), and behavioral scripts (insult retaliation).” (Evra 204)

Other experts in the field point out that while desensitization is not always a bad thing, as it helps people overcome tragedies, children are very vulnerable in this area (Kutner and Olson 104). Kutner and Olson suggest that after repeated instances of a child watching violent images in a video game and learning how to perfect different fight moves, the child may not be able to hold back violent tendencies among their peers (104). It is known that children are especially susceptible to any stimuli during the critical period of their childhood, when outside influences have the greatest effect. However, studies have shown that young adults are affected the same way after constant exposure to a stimulus. One study conducted had young children watch a clip of a violent western film and then monitor other young children playing. As the second set of children began to get aggressive with each other, the children who watched the clip did not seem alarmed by the fighting (Signorielli 43). The same effect was shown in another study discussed by Signorielli, where young males watched a series of “slasher” films for a week and rated them less and less violent as the week went on (43). Violent video games are not beneficial to children and adolescents in any manner, but constant participation in the games produces the potentially tragic and dangerous result of tolerance to violence.

Today’s society is full of anti-war and peace campaigns, as well as non-violence movements everywhere. Parents raise their children to get along with their siblings and ask nicely for things instead of kick and push a friend. In schools, teachers rightly report and punish students who turn to violence when resolving conflicts with their peers. However, children and teens get a completely different message from the media, especially video games. Not only do violent scenes glorify fighting and make the aggressor seem tough, but in video games, the child receives points and superiority in the game for their shooting, fighting, and other skills in criminal activity. This extra interactive aspect makes violent video games all the more exciting to children. It is no wonder children and teenagers are drawn to these competitive and brutal games with the allure that the media portrays video games and television violence in. At the very least, children are confused by the mixed messages they receive in school and at home as opposed to what they see on TV.

Aside from the psychological and cognitive research that shows the effects of violent video games on children and adolescents, there are multiple real-life, grave, and tragic examples of the connection as well. Nany Knickerbocker discusses a striking story when in 1997; a Kentucky student took a gun to school and shot eight of his classmates. The especially frightening part of the story is that with just eight shots, the boy hit three people in the chest and five people in the head (Knickerbocker, “BCTF Supports Campaign Against Video Game Violence”). After looking into the case due to the strange accuracy of the shots, investigators found that, “He had never used a real gun but he had logged more than 10,000 hours on a first-person shooter video game. That particular game gives bonus points for head shots.” (Knickerbocker, “BCTF Supports Campaign Against Video Game Violence”). One of the most well-known school shootings also stemmed from video games. When Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot over thirty students at Columbine High School, a terrifying connection to video games was found in the killers’ diary (“Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References”). Harris and Klebold reference two shooting video games, Doom and Duke Nukem 3D repeatedly and even include a sketch of the game Doom on one of the pages (“Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References”). Harris wrote, “It'll be like the LA riots, the Oklahoma bombing, WWII, Vietnam, Duke and Doom all mixed together. ... I want to leave a lasting impression on the world.” (“Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References”). Another reference to the games that Harris included in the diary says:

“...everyone should be put to a test. an Ultimate Doom test. see who (unreadable) an environment using only smarts and military skills... Put them in a Doom world, no authority, no refuge, no BS copout excuses. If you can't figure out the area of a triangle or what (unreadable) means, you die! If you can't take down a demon w/a chainsaw or a hell prince w/a shotgun, you die!" (“Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References”)

From these two quotes alone, it is evident the type of effect violent video games, where the competition is killing, can have on young people. If any video game controls somebody’s life enough to influence a violent act, especially a school shooting, the content of the game should be reviewed. If the extent to which the video games took over the two boys’ lives was not convincing in the above excerpts from their diary, this third quote by Harris, describing a characteristic that makes him different, settles any debate:

“My love for a computer game called Doom. Doom is such a big part of my life and no one I know can recreate environments in Doom as good as me. I know almost anything there is to know about that game, so I believe that separates me from the rest of the world... Doom is so burned into my head my thoughts usually have something to do with the game... the fact is I love that game and if others tell me, "hey it's just a game" I say "hey, I don't care." (“Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References”)

More popular and recent video games that contain similar content are Grand Theft Auto and Halo, both rated M, for ages seventeen and up. Kutner and Olson review the content of these and several other games with different ratings to show exactly what “scenarios” kids are playing in. While Halo contains “blood, gore, and violence,” Grand Theft Auto (the more popular game) displays and overwhelming show of “blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, strong sexual content, and use of drugs” (Kutner and Olson 91). Even more references are made to violent video games in today’s society in crime-solving television shows such as “Law and Order.” These are just a few examples of how this issue of video game violence has come into play in real life.

Many people believe that there are positive effects to playing video games such as, “introducing children to information and computer technology, providing practice in following instructions, some practice in logic, problem solving, and fine motor coordination” (Evra 202). It is important for children to learn how to use and be familiar with computer equipment, as they will have to use it through their schooling and into their adulthood. Some may even cling to a study that was done at the University of Rochester, which found that “individuals who played games like Grand Theft Auto regularly showed better visual skills” (Evra 202). However, an interesting statistic shows that video game violence is the second most influential risk factor out of the fourteen listed, for violent behavior, falling short just of gang membership as of 2001. (Anderson, Gentile, and Buckley 143) Therefore, when other video games rated E for all ages, as well as educational computer games exist, there is no reason why children should receive technological experience from playing overly violent games like Grand Theft Auto, especially when the deadly consequences have been shown.

It is no mystery that video games have become one of the most popular crazes among children, teens, and even adults. What some people might be neglecting, however, is that some of these games can have a very negative impact on their players. From violent thoughts and tendencies, to planning and following through with school shootings, games that contain killing, fighting, and other aggressive competitions can affect people of all ages. Games with excessive graphic content should be limited to older populations and absolutely not allowed for young children.


Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A., Katherine E. Buckley, and Douglas A. Gentile. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy. New York: Oxford University Press, USA, 2006. Print.

Evra, Judith Van. Television and Child Development (Lea's Communication Series). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. 197-208. Print.

Iacoboni, Marco. "Imitation, Empathy, and Mirror Neurons." Annual Review of Psychology 60.1 (2009): 653-670. Academic Search Premier. Web.

Knickerbocker, Nany. "BCTF Supports Campaign Against Video-Game Violence." British Columbia Teachers' Federation. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.

Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Print.

Signorielli, Nancy. Violence in the Media: A Reference Handbook (Contemporary World Issues). Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2005. 29-54. Print.
Wood, Kristin . "The Effects of Violent Games on Children | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.
"gamepolitics: Columbine Diaries Contain Video Game References." Game Politics. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2010.