Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior

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How does playing violent video games or watching too much violence on TV at an early age affect a child's behavior?

I've seen opposing opinions on this subject. I personally believe that if the child is emotionally stable, and he/she is told by the parent that what they are witnessing is not real, the make-believe violence should not indelibly affect his behavior.

However, some psychologists feel that even watching violent cartoons interferes with the child's way of learning constructive ways of dealing with anger.

Any comment from our esteemed moderator, and other PEx members?

[Ira]

This is one issue that probably won't get resolved in the near future. :)

I personally think it does. Children learn by example and by repetition. The younger the child is, the less he can understand the more abstract concepts like what is morally right or wrong, or making good or bad judgements. It also desensitizes children to the impact of violence, and it becomes acceptable, and worse, "cool". It takes a lot of physical and mental development before a child can understand right from wrong, and this occurs usually past 10 years old. No matter how much a parent nags the child about the correct behavior, they can not grasp it yet. Two recent studies published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (vol. 8 no. 4) shows that video games increase aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in actual life.

[ebtg]

I agree with Ira on the point that this wouldn't be resolved in the near future.

In my opinion, the responsibility of guiding children falls on the parents. I never believed in censorship, and neither did my parents (so you can imagine that amount of pornography we have at home). I'd like to think, however, that I turned out to be a normal kid, albeit more open to sex and violence discussions.

The problem is we presuppose that people, including children, are idiots who ape what they see. While I don't think this is true with mature children, this could happen with much younger ones. And THIS is the point where parents should come in. No, they shouldn't censor. They should be equipped with the proper tools to explain to the child what is moral and immoral, according to society's standard--even if it is in a sordid state.

What happens when we censor things? We simply SHUT OUT, or blind ourselves to reality. We know that sex is there. We know that violence is there. The problem is where most people would choose to candy-coat the issue, I choose to accept its existence and learn to deal with it properly.

[Reflection]

I do not have the experience to argue this issue one way or the other, but here are some of my thoughts.

Kids will get exposed to these materials outside his home sooner or later. Would it not be better if he has already been guided by his parents before hand?

Most kids are always curious about the "forbidden fruit" and it will make them try harder to find out what is being kept away from them.

Dr. Ira makes a good point about the maturity level of the child and his ability to separate good from bad.