The Impact of Video Game Violence on a Young Mind

Many students today remember playing video games like Mario Kart and Pokemon as kids. During their adolescent years, they may have switched to playing a game that was more aggressive like one of the games from the popular franchise Call of Duty. Video games have become deeply integrated into our culture today. Whether it is a smartphone-based application or a console-based video game kids, teens, and even adults seem to put many hours each week playing these games. The scientific community has investigated the impact of video games, especially violent video games, which tend to be a lot more involving than violent movies or TV shows. The evidence found in these studies has been fairly alarming.

Laura Stockdale at Loyola University Chicago conducts research to examine the impact of violent video games on children. Her research shows a positive correlation between children's exposure to violent video games and aggressive tendencies later in life. One of her studies involved her subjects reacting to her assistant after exposure to either a neutral clip or a clip with aggressive themes. She found that the individuals who saw the more aggressive clip were more likely to act negatively towards the assistant. Another study conducted by scientists from Iowa State University found similar results. 

Working with over 3000 boys and girls, the scientists discovered that children who played violent video games were more likely to show aggressive behavior and have violent tendencies. When asked if it was acceptable to strike a peer if that peer said something negative about them, the children who played more violent video game were more likely to say yes. Brain imaging studies have hinted that exposure to violent video games causes a temporary change in the brain. After a week of daily gaming, volunteers in a 2011 study showed less activity in the brain regions connected to emotions, attention, and inhibition of impulses compared to the control group. 

These two studies are part of hundreds of related studies that indicate that exposure to violent media leads to more aggressive behavior. While more work will help define exactly why violent video games tend to affect us in such a strong manner, the current work shows that limiting kids' exposure to violent video games can lead to a decrease in aggressive behavior and violent tendencies later in life. 

Sources:

 

Park, Alice. "Violent Video Games: They May Make Kids Think in More Aggressive Ways." Time. Time, 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://time.com/34075/how-violent-video-games-change-kids-attitudes-about-aggression/>.