More than 90% of games that are rated E for everyone above the age of 10 include violence throughout it. With the amount of young children that are playing these video games we may be putting them at risk. A surprising 56% of 25 people that were surveyed at Curie Highschool believe that violent video games should be less accessible to the youth. Many of those who responded have personal experience with this and have witnessed themself and others around them be changed because of these games. Many who play violent video games at such a young age are being affected mentally with thought and behavior. Although violent video games are not directly tied to extreme violence nevertheless it should not be as accessible to the youth because it does have negative effects on the players that influence a young audience's brain and way of life before they are developed such as mentality being influenced behavior being worsened and social skills being ruined .

Violent video games have numerous effects of the youth and how they will mature. For example there are numerous ways that these games can affect the mentality of someone young. “There was a link reported between heavy violent video game exposure and decreased practice of empathy, immature moral reasoning skills, moral disengagement. In reviewing existing studies, the authors found that violent video games can lead to negative behaviors, such as pathological lying, manipulative behavior, lack of impulse control, irresponsibility, and immediate reward seeking.(Video Games Effects)” This quote directly shows that people that play violent video games at a heavy rate are going to have a different mentality when it comes to exposure to violence. Things such as decreased empathy, having immature moral reasoning, moral disengagement and more are essential skills especially for those who are young. Hindering the natural growth of the brain with media that will alter their brain in a negative way is something we should not endorse. Another way that these video games affect the youth is explained by; “What we found is for people who were exposed to a lot of violent video games, their brains did not respond to the violent images," Bushman said. "They were numb, if you will." (Vedantam)” As shown by Vedantam we know that those who are exposed to an abundance of violent video games will not produce a negative response to violent images. This essentially means that those who intake this media are becoming more numb to violence. For young children this is something that we don't want, by making them numb to violence at an age where positive development is crucial, making violence seem like a normal situation is something that will forever impact that child. Limitation needs to be set because the youth is being affected in their mentality which is a crucial factor for healthy development.

Another factor of healthy development that is affected by violent video games is behavior. Developing healthy habits for behavior is crucial for children since it is a vital part of maturing and will carry into adult life as a necessity. One way that violent video games can negatively affect behavior is shown here;”The research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and heightened aggressive behavior, aggressive cognitions, and aggressive affect and reduced pro-social behavior, empathy, and sensitivity to aggression. (Bhutta)” As explained by this quote from Bhutta we see that having exposure to violent video games can increase the amount of violent behavior a person demonstrates. By limiting these games to a young audience we can ensure that the youth will develop to a point that this form of media has a smaller effect on them. Things like reduced empathy and aggressive behavior are things that will not be tolerated by most, so by ensuring that the youth will not act like this is a very important thing to do. Another way that these violent video games can influence behavior is “There is growing research on the effects of video games on children. Studies of children exposed to violence have shown that they can become immune or numb to violence, imitate the violence they see and show more aggressive behavior with greater exposure to violence. Studies have also shown that the more realistic and repeated the exposure to violence, the greater the impact on children. (VIDEO GAMES YOUR CHILD PLAYS)” Based on these studies that are shown in the quotation prove that not only do children become more numb to violence when they are exposed to it through violent video games but also begin to imitate the violence shown. This is why we need to limit these games, not only do children become numb to the violence around them because of the video games shown to them. But they will also begin to mirror the behavior, with a world as violent as ours we need to try and make the next generation much less violent. These video games are taking us in the wrong direction. However not all of the problems that these games cause are revolved around the brain.

One example of a harmful impact that these games cause besides the brain is with social skills. Peoples social skills can be horribly affected by violent video games, “here was a link reported between heavy violent video game exposure and decreased practice of empathy, immature moral reasoning skills, moral disengagement. In reviewing existing studies, the authors found that violent video games can lead to negative behaviors, such as pathological lying, manipulative behavior, lack of impulse control, irresponsibility, and immediate reward seeking. (Video Games Effects)” Because of exposure to violent video games, social skills can be influenced in a negative way. Things such as immature moral reasoning and even pathological lying and manipulative behavior, having this being embedded into the social skills of the youth will realistically ruin them in the future. By removing access to these violent games or even reducing it, we can hopefully ensure that these attributes are not attached to the youth. Having them develop for a long while without interruption is very important, because the earlier the negative influence happens then it will realistically stick with them until they force themselves to change. Social skills can be influenced even if they are not directly playing the games. “Results revealed that playing violent video games was associated with increased aggression in the player. Furthermore, there was a positive association between the level of participants’ reported aggression and how often their friends play violent video games. In particular, individuals who do not play violent video games reported to be more aggressive if their friends play violent video games (compared with individuals with friends who do not play violent video games) (Violent video games on the players social network)” This evidence shows that many are being influenced by violent video games even though they are not playing them. All of the issues that come with playing violent video games can still be attained even if you do not play these games yourself. All you need is a peer to be influenced by it and then it spreads similar to an illness. We could completely eliminate this if we have more control on the access the youth has on violent video games. This shows that even though not every young child plays violent video games enough to be influenced, those who do not play are still at risk from the violence that can be mirrored from it.

Violent video games need to be limited in accessibility for the youth. These games have negative influence that can affect the youth in a way that will stick with them for a long while. These violent games not only affect the youths brain by affecting mentality and behavior, but also through interaction with others by affecting social skills. These games must be limited due to the severity of the consequences that will occur if these games stay as available as they are now. The youth is always learning from what is shown to them, there is no need to expose them to violence and risk them picking up behavioral issues and causing trouble for others. The world is already a very violence filled place, we should do our part by limiting these games availability both online and in store. The severity of the violence could be toned down, for example having a setting that will remove gore. There also should be mandatory limits to the length of time those under the age of 13 can play these games. Proper development is the priority and there are plenty of other genres of video games out there for them to play.

Works Cited

Bhutta, Fatima. “Impact of Violent Video Games on Youth.” TechEngage, 18 October 2018, https://techengage.com/impact-of-violent-video-games-on-youth/. Accessed 10 March 2022.

“The Impact of Violent Video Games on the Player's Social Network — ISRA.” International Society for Research on Aggression, 9 May 2018, https://www.israsociety.com/blog/the-impact-of-violent-video-games-on-the-players-social-network. Accessed 10 March 2022.

Vedantam, Shankar, and Brad Bushman. “Dispute: How Violent Video Games Affect Kids.” NPR, 7 July 2011, https://www.npr.org/2011/07/07/137660609/its-a-duel-how-do-violent-video-games-affect-kids. Accessed 10 March 2022.

“Violent Video Games Effects on Teens - BNI Treatment Center.” BNI Treatment Centers, 3 June 2020, https://bnitreatment.com/violent-video-games-effects-on-teens/. Accessed 10 March 2022.