Many years ago children indulged in the simplest forms of entertainment. They derived fun and excitement by playing with such things as jump ropes, bicycles, and swing sets. Now, as time and technology have advanced, our children have quickly been engulfed by new forms of entertainment. Instead of board games and kickball, video games are now the primary source of entertainment for the highly impressionable children of today. .
Since shortly after the introduction of video games, there has been debate over the violent nature of some of these games and the influence they have on their players who are mainly children. Some argue that video games may have an influence on a child's aggression, but some believe that these games offer players the mechanism to release aggressive tendencies. All seven U.S. and Canadian studies described in Television and Violent Crime, however, proved that exposure to violence increases the rate of physical aggression (Centerwall 306). The study also found that the period when people are most susceptible to external influences is during preadolescent childhood, and exposure after that period does not have any influence on their behavior (Centerwall 306). Because children are our future, and they are very impressionable, it is my opinion that video games containing any form of violent behavior be available to only those people 18 and over. .
Through playing video games, children learn certain behaviors and adopt some of their values and morals. Some say that exposure to violent video games can be more concern than exposure to violence on television because the games take advantage of many of the principles of learning; things like identification, practice and repetition, and reward and reinforcement ("Mothering" 2). Identification with the aggressor increases the likelihood that children will imitate behavior. In violent video games, the player must identify with one violent character and perform violent acts through their eyes ("Mothering" 2).