There have been many studies into video game violence and children and whether there is a relationship between the two. There are some thoughts that this is true but there are other cases why the violent nature has been there before the use of the video games.
The reasons why video game violence and children are linked
There are many different types of video games, from shooting in historic wars to fighting to the death. Many of these are claimed to cause the violent nature in children; the theory is that children see this in games and believe that it is suitable and acceptable behavior.
There have been studies at Indiana University School of Medicine, which has looked into the brain scans of those children who played the violent types of games.
In the studies it showed that there was more of an emotional arousal, which also linked to the self-control levels in children being lowered. This is the way that the two may be linked.
Do video game violence and kids mix?
The question is whether the violence in the video games really does affect the rate of violence in a child.
While there is a correlation when looking at brain scans, there are possibly chances that other factors related into this and relate into children who do go out and copy what is seen in a game.
There are also links to the level of anger that a child feels naturally and how much self-control those children have. Those who do well at controlling the level of anger naturally are not as likely to go out and cause harm to someone else – just because the levels of self-control lower, that does not mean they disappear completely. Those who have mental disorders or high level of anger naturally that is not controlled are more likely to go out and cause damage or harm.
It is not always video games
While video game violence and children do not mix, there are also links to the violence in movies and TV shows. This is something that also needs to be taken into consideration. Just like with video games, those who watch violent movies and TV programs will find levels of emotional arousal increase and the self-control decreases. Therefore, it is not just video games that cause harm.
How to prevent video games causing a problem
Parents will still need to keep an eye on what their children are playing. There is a reason why movies, TV shows and video games all have an age limit on them. This is due to the level of violence and other factors in the video games. These need to be looked at and honored to help prevent the games having a negative effect on children.
In truth, there are some links to video game violence and children acting out but these are often linked to many other factors. These factors need to be considered before the game is completely taken away from a child.
