Video Games Cause Violence

Not Child’s Play

Teen and young adult video gaming is becoming more popular as high-tech has streamlined so that interactive games can appear on all screen devices. Since gaming is available 24 hours a day, high exposure can lead to obsessive playing and engagement. The growing controversial claim that violence is learned leaves us needing to know where this brutality is being taught or observed so that we can re-teach gaming enthusiasts, to reduce their escalated thoughts, which can lead to barbaric actions. Teens and young adults are more likely to act out in violence when obsessively playing video games that are violent in nature.

One reason for the obsessive behaviors in gaming is that the player is in search of shock value; once the initial shock of violence is accepted, the gamer generally looks for games that out-do the previous violence they have become desensitized to by compulsively playing. The term “violence” has become muted and no longer carries much weight. Teens no longer flinch or cover their eyes when brutality comes on the screen. They hunger for more anger and more outrageous action. https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/03/the-25-most-violent-video-games/ Young people are displaying more and more violence as a result of the latest obsessions with gaming.

The DC Comics of Batman and Robin throwing “Pow!” punches is not considered enough excitement for gamers. What gamers look for is an adrenaline rush with machine gunning, multiple stabbings, maulings, chainsawing and dismemberment. In most cases, parents are not aware of the extreme nature of the violence. Gamers who thirst for twisted gaming and horrific bloodshed can easily find the next, more brutal and fatal attack - just for the fun of it. In an urgent need to look more closely at the way gaming is directly connected to mass shootings in school, President Trump states that “the level of violence on video games is really shaping young people’s thoughts” https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/25/health/video-games-and-violence/index.html:    The more time teens and young adults are exposed to violence while gaming, the more likely they are to act out in a violent response. With gaming on the rise, communication in young people is at an all-time low.

In a study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Brigham Young University’s faculty mentor, Laura Walker, “connects young adults’ use of video games to poorer relationships with friends and family”, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090123075000.htm based on collected data from students around the country. There was a correlation found between the high hours of gaming and the decline of quality relationships. Walker believes that “it may be that young adults remove themselves from important social settings to play video games” and that students who are uncomfortable socializing are seeking alternate activities. One thing is for sure: gaming plays an essential role in the trust, support, quality and affection young people share with friends and family. Young people are learning violent behaviors from their time spent playing video games.

Beyond disruptive and violent behaviors comes a greater concern for pediatricians and adolescent physicians. Teens and youth are more likely to suffer from depression and compulsive disorders with extreme gaming. These reports are difficult to prove, however, because of the complexity in testing children in laboratories. With the difficulty in conducting experiments in a laboratory, researcher Brad J. Bushman states that “one can never know for sure whether playing video games causes violent criminal behavior, because it is unethical for researchers to allow participants to engage in violent criminal behavior in their laboratory experiments".  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/do-violent-video-games-lead-to-criminal-behavior/

Bushman, a professor at Ohio State University, has worked extensively on violent gaming and the links to aggression. He is pushing for stronger ratings. Additionally, the American Psychological Association (APA) has “adopted a resolution encouraging the Entertainment Software Rating Board to refine its video game rating system "to reflect the levels and characteristics of violence in games, in addition to the current global ratings" and for developers to design games that are appropriate to users' age and psychological development”.  It is clear that gaming is taking its toll on young people’s judgment and leads to violent tendencies.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Jay Hull https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/10/01/violent-video-games-tie-physical-aggression-confirmed-study/1486188002/ finds that “it is clear that violent video game play is associated with subsequently increases in physical aggression”.  Volumes of research shows that teen violence is directly related to the obsessive involvement with video gaming.   

A major concern for doctors is the formation of the teenage brain and how it perceives information. High exposure to violent video games can actually change the way the brain works. In fact, high-tech brain scans suggest that there are structural differences in the brains of teens that have been diagnosed with disruptive behavior disorders, or DBD”. Vincent Mathews, MD, Professor of Radiology and Chief of Neuroradiology at Indiana University reveals that teens "act out aggressively against animals, destroy property, or have fights with other teens," more often with high exposure to violent video gaming.

He tells WebMD that tracking brain activity in these disruptive teens revealed that violent video games changed the patterns of brain activity in ways that "were especially troubling," but even normal teens "have brain function changes associated with violent video games". Mathews considers “high users” of video games to be those teens who play games for hours a day. Teens found to be aggressive had less ability to control “emotions, impulses, and attention”.  

https://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20021202/violent-video-games-affect-teenage-brain#1 Mathews’ research, he says, “marks the first time that we were able to demonstrate different brain activation patterns that are triggered by these video games". Without optimal brain growth and brain activity, teens are subject to misunderstanding the violent games they are playing. Long exposure to violence can impact behaviors to friends, family and society.

In the tragedy where Adam Lanza (at age 20) killed 26 people at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, many investigators worked to gain a deeper understanding behind the killings. It wasn’t until Michael Murdy of the Connecticut State Police Department took the time to study Lanza’s GPS that the puzzle would come together. Murdy found a GPS at Lanza’s house, “and its records showed that the gunman had driven to the same spot nine times in April, May and June 2012, arriving around midnight each time and staying for hours”. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-video-games-inspire-violent-behavior/  Murdy decided to investigate the location further and to try to understand more about Lanza. The GPS led Murdy to movie theater where employees recognized the photo of Lanza. They claimed he never saw a movie, but “he came to the lobby to play an arcade game, the same one, over and over again, sometimes for eight to 10 hours a night. Witnesses said he would whip himself into a frenzy, and on occasion the theater manager had to unplug the game to get him to leave”.  When the police went to Lanza’s house for further investigation, they found first-shooter action games: “Call of Duty, Dead or Alive, Grand Theft Auto”, some of the most violent games available.