Chloe Chu

Video games and TV scenes play in the mind of a young boy, influencing his actions and decision-making. When children are still young, they are developing their own behavioral scripts based on what they see around them. So, when the shows that they watch or games that they play continuously depict violence, they begin to learn that this behavior is okay, and that this is how they should act.

In the current age of technology, children’s early exposure to the internet has become increasingly normalized. It is seen as a harmless way to keep the kids entertained, when really it is teaching them bad habits that they will continue to carry through to adulthood.

That is not to say that the internet is inherently good or bad, or that it is the sole contributor to future aggressive behaviors. However, when kids see the characters in their favorite video games or movies acting in certain ways, they begin to internalize those behaviors.

Since the video game industry first got its start in the mid-20th century on bulky research computers, it has expanded to levels unimaginable for engineers of the time. Computer games grew into arcade games, until finally they became separate consoles.

However, video games did not become a true American staple until the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985.

Now, the Pew Research Center reports that 85% of U.S. teenagers say that they play video games. The video game industry is practically raising America’s youth. And what is it teaching them?

According to a study on the impact of electronic media violence published in the National Library of Medicine, 94% of games rated by the video game industry as appropriate for teens are described as containing violence.

And the problem isn’t just limited to video games. Over 60% of television programs contain some violence, and about 40% of those contain heavy violence.

Patterns of people being exposed to media violence at an early age are clear. On any given day, 52% of children ages 8 to 18 years play a video game, according to the study. The media is indirectly telling kids that fighting is okay, aggression is normal, violence is the answer.

Various studies have connected exposure to media violence to children’s own aggressive behaviors, both short and long term.

While they are still young, children follow a three-step process for internalizing the things they see online: Priming, arousal, and mimicry. 

Essentially, they begin to link the behaviors they see in mass media with emotions or concepts, and then whenever kids experience these emotions, they misattribute them to whatever they saw on screen. Additionally, children have an innate tendency to mimic the behaviors they see around them.

This means that when they see violence on screen, they develop more violent tendencies themselves.

In the long run, kids exhibit observational and enactive learning. This means that they develop their script of how to act based on what surrounds them. They are conditioned that way; when their video game characters are actively participating in some form of violence, they begin to see violence as a means to achieve their desired goal.

Perhaps worse than that, kids become desensitized to the violence. When kids are continuously exposed to violent mass media or video games, their negative emotions in response to seeing violent or gory scenes decrease in intensity, meaning that they can think about these things without any negative feelings.

The American Academy of Pediatrics found that most experimental-based studies have concluded that exposure to violence in mass media decreases prosocial behavior, or helping others, and empathy.

In other words, violent media is decreasing human connection. And as this generation grows up, they’ll carry their beliefs and behaviors with them, until connection is a thing of the past.

When it comes to social media, there is already discussion and awareness about this threat. Parents don’t want their teenagers to be online too much for fear of this happening. 

Yet they willingly hand their younger kids a video game controller or a TV remote, not realizing that this comes with its own danger.

Parents need to step up and pay attention to the content their kids are engaging in, before society completely normalizes aggression and violence, and fighting and killing become the standard.

This editorial reflects the views of the Editorial Board and was written by Lia Frazita. The Editorial Board voted 7 in agreement, 5 somewhat in agreement, and 6 refrained from voting.