The Washington Outsider


Dealing with the link between video game violence and children's behavior

Previously published on January 28, 2008

In the past decade since the Columbine massacre of 1999, this nation has continued to see shootings by young adults and teens, which in turn, has generated fears that violent video games share some of the responsibility for these tragedies. Furthermore, parents are concerned that violent video games negatively affect their children. After all, psychological research has shown links to violent behavior and playing violent video games, albeit, the link is casual.


This means there is no direct connection showing playing violent video games causes violence. On the other hand, it has been shown that playing violent video games does increase aggression and influences aggressive cognitions, such as, aggressive thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Furthermore, it increases internal aggression and psychological arousal while it also decreases pro-social behavior, such as helping behavior.

Starting from a legal perspective, it is important to note that violent video games are a form of media, which is likely viewed as an artist expression by their creators; thus, they are entitled to certain rights under the protection of the First Amendment. On the other hand, even though children, who play the video games, have First Amendment rights, much like the adults who create them, the courts have ruled that those rights can be limited, at times, in order to protect children from harm.

Because video games can be obtained from retail stores, some legislation has banned the sales of violent video games to persons under the age of eighteen; however, this legislation has tended to be vague as to what constitutes as violence in a video game and only applies to the few counties across the Country that have been able to pass such legislation. Moreover, the greatest failure of this legislation is that video games are not only available through retail stores as they are also available from the Internet and other children. 

Furthermore, security protections, which prevent children from accessing games, will not work because such security measures are generally broken fairly easily while there are already plenty of violent video games available. This means national bans are required to prevent the entrance of specific violent video games into the Country.

On the other hand, such a ban would not only affect children but adults as well. Fortunately, for the sake of our broader rights, the courts require very special circumstances before they accept limitations on the rights of adults. Like any law that restricts freedoms, a ban must be narrowly tailored and applied in such a way that it restricts the minimum number of rights necessary to accomplish its goal of protecting children from the violence in video games.

The difficulty with passing violent video game legislation, which can hold up to Constitutional challenges, is that the legislation must demonstrate a particular violent video game is more detrimental than most other sources of violence found in a child's life as violence is historically and culturally ingrained into our society. After all, just because video games are the new guy, doesn't mean we can pick on them as movies, television, and books all contain images of violent behavior. 

Frankly, parents and advocate groups complain about violence in today's media, but if someone takes a look at old cartoons like Woody Wood Pecker or Bugs Bunny, they would see constant and completely senseless acts of violence almost every second of the show. Furthermore, the news and real life experiences bombard many children with real life examples of violence. Americans must serious question the validity of banning all violence in video game as the world is overburdened with far more vivid and harmful examples of violence.

From psychology, society understands that behavior is determined by multiple sources, meaning more than one influence causes behavior. Therefore, law requires evidence, which demonstrates violent video games play a significant and direct role in causing violent criminal behavior in a more detrimental way than other sources of violent images. Research demonstrates that all violent media and real world violence influence violent behavior; however, legislation cannot successful or legally attack all sources of violence. 

Although there has been a great deal of research in determining there is a link between violent behavior and violent media, the research does not provide a means of determining which lines of products are more detrimental. For violent video games, this means research needs to pay closer attention to the characteristics of video games, i.e. the format, type of game, presence of a storyline, etc., so legislators can create laws which specifically target violent video games that are more likely to be more detrimental to children than real world violence and other reasonably sources of violent media.

Albeit this debate is slowly progressing, it does little to comfort a parent who is watching their child play a violent video game only to discover any attempt to arouse the child from a media induced trance not only causes the character to die but results in the throwing of the controller and a violent barrage of verbal abuse. Some researchers suggest the solution for combating the effects of violent video games is parental intervention, which is pretty much the most worthless advice to give for children, who are most likely to commit a violent crime, as the lack of quality parental involvement and abuse by the parents are two aspects that truly raise a child's risk of committing a violent crime.

On the other hand, this is good news for most parents because it means the chances of a video game turning their child into a murderer is slim. A child's overall behavior is a result of the parents shaping that behavior over the child's entire childhood. Moreover, it is true that the short term behavior of individual is often greatly influenced by peers, but children will do as their parents train them to do in the long term. If a child's behavior turns violent while playing a video game, then it is the duty of the parent to take away that video game and not give it back, under any circumstance, until they learn not to behave violently.


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        • Responding to the "Blip"
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      • Is Engaging Parents in Their Children's Education a Major Factor in Turning Around Low-performing Schools?
      • Should Grants Be Awarded to School Districts that Try Innovative Methods to Improve Student Achievement?
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      • On Reading the US Constitution
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      • On the DOJ Justifying the “targeted Killings” of US Citizens
      • Corporations Do Not Have the Same Rights as US Citizens >
        • Corporate America Pleads the First
      • Discussing the Constitutionality of Per Capita Taxes
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      • Should Religious Student Clubs Be Allowed in Public Schools?
      • Should the Government Control Talk Radio to Make it More "balanced"?
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        • Are We Losing Our Second Amendment Rights
      • Eminent Domain Used Against Banks
      • Should a Woman Have the Right to Choose Abortion? >
        • Should Fathers Be Able to Opt Out of Parenthood?
      • Should Smoking Be Allowed in Public Places?
      • Is Teen Driving a Right or a Privilege?
      • Should US Companies Be Required to Provide Equal Pay to Women and Men?
      • Is eighteen too young to vote?
      • First Amendment Rights: The Priviledge of The Press
      • Do Mandatory Seat Belt Laws Violate Individual Rights?
      • Should cell phone use be banned while driving?
      • Dealing with the link between video game violence and children's behavior
      • Should police have to submit to routine drug and alcohol testing?
      • Public schools should not impose mandatory drug testing on students
      • Are High Taxes on Cigarettes Proper?
      • Should pharmacists be required to violate their religious beliefs and dispense the "Morning After Pill?"
      • Should school counselors uphold patient privacy or report students who become unstable?
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    • Ongoing Issues >
      • Red Dawn in Ukraine: Understanding the Actions of Russia >
        • On Russia’s Coercion of Ukraine
        • The Russian Annexation of Crimea in the Eyes of the World
        • Putin Has Overplayed His Hand With Crimea
        • Ukraine in Terms of Resovereignization
        • Avoiding a Conflict Between America and Russia Over Ukraine
        • What Drives the World’s Interest in Russia’s Actions in Ukraine
      • China’s Aggressive Pursuit of Interests Demands a Global Response
      • Iran Makes a Deal: A Start to a Long-term Diplomatic Effort to Denuclearize Iran >
        • On the Future of a Nuclear Negotiations with Iran
      • America's Sphere of Influence: Retaking South-East Asia >
        • Power in Asia: Looking at the Power Shift in Japan
        • The China Paradox: Why America is Worried About China
      • Assessing US Support of Israel >
        • Tread Softly Israel for a Heavy Step May Be Your Undoing
      • Understanding the Dysfunctional Nature of the US-Pakistani Relationship
      • Recognizing the True Threat Behind the Current Unrest in the Middle East >
        • Reacting to the Escalating Crackdown in Syria
      • Assessing the Threat of North Korea >
        • Answering North Korea's Call for Food Aid: Breaking the Vicious Cycle Forced Upon Us by a Warring Nation
        • Dealing with the Restarting of the Korean War
        • North Korea Attacks South Korea
      • Dealing with the Ill-effects of Climate Change
      • Racial Inequality and Oppression Do Truly Exist in Today's Society
      • Should energy independence be a high priority in the US?
      • An overview of world wide Human Rights violations
      • Nuclear Threat from Pakistan
      • Return of The Cold War?
    • World >
      • Coverage of FIFA World Cup is a Chance to Focus on Poverty >
        • The FIFA World Cup Offers Benefits for More Than Brazilian Soccer Fans
        • FIFA Can Bring Brazilians Together as a Nation
      • Being Prepared for Any Potential Dangers at the FIFA World Cup Games
      • Treading Softly on the Politicizing of the 2014 Sochi Olympics Over Gay Rights
      • Why NATO Operations in Libya Lack a Well-defined Mission
      • China Hijacks the Web
      • Lessons from the Great Japanese Earthquake of 2011
      • A Modernizing Cuba Offers an Opportunity for Capitalists
      • The Seeds of Democracy Take Root in the Middle East
      • The Rebirth of Democracy in Tunisia
      • What May Come from the Hurt Revolution in Libya
      • Responding to the Violence of Qaddafi and Other Besieged Leaders
      • Embracing the Rise of a Democratic Egypt
      • Protests in Afghanistan Turn Deadly for Coalition Forces and UN Personnel
      • Haiti: Another Failing Humanitarian Investment
      • What Karzai Can Learn from Calderon
      • START II: A Necessary, Easy Success that Nearly Failed
      • Why Does the U.S. Government Support Independence for the Breakaway Serb Territory of Kosovo but Oppose Independence for the Breakaway Georgian Territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
      • Iraq's Electric Issues: When Human Wants Trump Economic Sense
      • The International Community Reacts to Wikileaks: We May Be Moving Toward a Third World War in Cyberspace
      • On Climate Gate
      • Assessing Obama's Afghanistan War strategy
      • 2009 Iranian Presidential Election: The Fallout
      • Resolving Sri Lankan Conflict through Free Media
      • What are the Global Consequences of Russia's Invasion of Georgia
      • The War in Iraq: an assessment of President Bush's surge strategy
      • Drug War: Actions of Venezuela, Columbia, Ecuador in terms of Resovereignization
      • Is the Iraq Refugee Crisis America's Responsibility?
      • US support for a united Kosovo, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia: why?
      • Should the US withdraw from Iraq?
      • Setting a Timetable for Troop Withdrawal from Iraq is a Terrible Mistake
      • War on Terrorism is needed
    • Law and Order >
      • Rape in the US Military
      • Ethics of Force-feeding Guantanamo Bay Detainees
      • Reacting to the Aftermath of the Tucson Massacre
    • Economy >
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      • Is the Economy Built for a Job's Recovery?
      • Gutting Healthcare Reform of the Individual Mandate
      • Arizona Budget Cuts Lead to Lethal Healthcare Rationing:
      • Shameful Collection Practices of American Banks
      • The Fed Reveals it Actually Undertook an International Bailout
      • Thoughts on French Budgetary Reforms
      • Seniors Start Businesses
      • The Case for Slimming Down the US Military to Make it Better
      • Looking at the Obama Administration's New Approach to Economic Policy
      • Should the Government Regulate the Credit Card Industry?
      • The Big Three's Big Chance
      • The Unhealthy Tone of the Healthcare Reform Debate
      • Should the federal government offer a bailout for home owners?
      • Environmentalists: Do They Do More Good Than More Harm?
      • Responding to Scott Walker's Contribution to the War on Unions
    • US Government >
      • America Needs to Focus on the Impending Fiscal Crisis
      • Reacting to the Bush Era-tax Cut Extension Deal
      • Quitting the Obama Revolution: The Fickle Nature of American Politics
      • John Boehner's Circus
      • Is the Fed Putting Itself in Jeopardy?
      • Wikileaks Goes After the US State Department
      • Discussing the Political Environment Surrounding the 2011 Budget Debate
      • What the Democrats Can Do to Ensure a GOP Year in 2012
      • What the 2010 Midterm Actually Said
      • Congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper
      • Democrats Minus Nancy Pelosi Equals Opportunity
      • Terrorists Go Postal: The Terrorism Threat Reexamined
      • Victory in the 2008 Election: Reaction to Barack Obama'a Win >
        • Expectations for Barack Obama
      • President Obama's first one hundred days
      • John McCain's Negative Campaign
      • Reasons People did not Elect John Mccain
      • History judges the George W. Bush Administration
      • Should the next US President focus on domestic issues?
      • President Bush, should he resign or be impeached
      • Should the Ban on Government Sponsored Assassinations be Repealed
    • Off Topic >
      • A Face of America’s Greatest Generation
      • A Story About a Man Who Made the World a Better Place
      • Making the World a Better Place
      • The Bipolar Ethical Nature of Google
      • Learning Computer Plays Jeopardy
      • Verifying Medicine is the Real Thing
      • Taking a Practical Step Forward in Optical Computing Using Slow Light
      • Scientists Take a Closer Look at How Lithium Batteries Work
      • Remarking on the First Blizzard of the 2010-2011 Winter Season
      • Driving in the Snow: Acceleration is the Key
      • How People in Northwest PA Are Coping with the Increasing Cost of Oil
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