Texas parents work hard to protect their children from negative influences. People have debated for decades on whether violent video games are acceptable. Many want to know if they make kids more likely to behave aggressively and commit violent crimes. The link to violent crimes is unclear. However, studies have shown that violent video games teach children to react aggressively to certain stimuli.
Violent video game reactions
It’s important to note that most researchers on this subject agree that it’s unlikely for a child with no other risk factors for violent behavior to go on to commit violent crimes just because they played a video game.
What studies did find is that regularly playing violent video games increased aggressive reactions. For example, if another child bumped into them, the child was more likely to react in an aggressive manner.
Researchers contributed these results to the way players react while playing a video game. If they are playing a first-person shooter game, it’s their job to quickly react aggressively to take down any threats. Over time, this trains them to react similarly in the real world.
Similar studies focused on kindness. These have shown that watching television programs that illustrate kind acts led to more kind behavior in children.
How much
These studies do not create a clear guidebook for parents. They do not make clear exactly how much time spent around violent media may impact a child’s behavior. This is largely because other factors in a child’s life will impact their behavior and the likelihood they will go on to commit violent crimes.
This research does suggest that limiting violent media is likely useful in raising more patient and kind children. Ultimately, the limits are still something parents must decide for themselves.