Video Games & Violence in Kids

There is much debate over the effects of violent video games on children.

With the improvement of computer capabilities and graphics, the popularity of video games, often violent in content, continues to skyrocket. Concerns that ever-increasingly realistic graphics and sound in violent games may contribute to increased aggression in children who play are also rising.

Benefits

Video games can promote coordination and learning.

The American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry points out both positive and negative effects of the time children spend playing video games. Benefits include improved coordination and fine motor skills and increased learning and problem solving skills.

Drawbacks

Children who often play violent video games demonstrate more aggression over time.

Research supports the idea that children become more aggressive over time when exposed to violent video games consistently. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, children may fight with peers, be more likely to confront teachers, show declining school performance and become more aggressive overall.

Physiology

The stimulation of playing violent video games can cause changes in brain function.

Players of violent video games have been tested and found to have accelerated heart rates. They may also experience perspiring palms and a feeling of anxiety, according to Science News for Kids. This is the "fight or flight" response that comes from the activation of the amygdala in the brain. This is a reaction that can be visibly observed as a change in brain activity on an MRI.

Causes

Imitation and desensitization account for the increased tendency toward aggression in players of violent video games.

There seem to be two primary reasons for the cumulative effect of violent video games on aggression. The first, says Science News for Kids, is the tendency that children naturally demonstrate to imitate things that they see repeatedly. The second is the desensitizing effect that repetition creates. Violent acts that children see or perform routinely in video games tend to lose their initial shock value, according to the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry.

References

• American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry: Facts for Families: Children and Video Games: Playing with Violence
• Science News for Kids: The Violent Side of Video Games
• Palo Alto Medical Association: The Impact of Video Games on Children