Do gory games influence children to act violently?
Video games are a great way to entertain a child. From princesses to wizards and avatars, there are so many different games and systems to choose from everywhere around the world. Kids can explore their creativity and imagination through video games, but can they inspire violent behavior?
The main argument is that games that have blood, gore, and violence could possibly have a significant impact on a young child or adolescent. They could go to school and display that same aggression and hurt other children or themselves. They could grow up thinking that type of behavior is appropriate and change the way they act. Sophomore Ryan Zakarr is obsessed with gaming. He said, “You have to realize that these games are just fake; fake world and fake guns…nothing is real.”
However, this debate has been debunked due to its insufficient evidence on the correlation between fictional violence and real-world violence. According to USNews.com, “Indeed, as the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals declared: ‘The state has not produced substantial evidence that … violent video games cause psychological or neurological harm to minors.’” Therefore, science proves that games do not pose a threat on a minor’s brain. Most kids can understand the difference of imaginary and reality and if they do not, a trusted adult can guide them.
Parents have the ability to restrict and block certain games from their kids using parental controls. Retailers display ratings to help separate mature content from the rest. If parents are present when purchasing the game then the risk of their child playing any mature rated content decreases. Sophomore Edward Ntabo stated, “Fictional violence only has an impact if you let it cloud your judgment. My mother is fine with everything I play because she knows that it does not influence me.”
