Links to Violent Behaviour Raise Concerns

In the section “Links to Violent Behaviour Raise Concerns” (Subrahmanyam et al 2000),* the authors describe various effects of playing violent computer games on children’s behaviour.

According to the authors, the most favourite children’s computer games contain competition and aggression, and the amount of these properties has gone up with new games. However, parents do not forbid playing the violent games, because they are not fully informed about the names of the favourite violent games.

The authors point out that numerous studies have shown that children watching violent television programs and films become aggressive and hostile. In this way, they will probably behave aggressively and hostilely when they play violent computer games. Also, the authors highlight the fact that although children may only play violent games for a short time, they are affected aggressively, and they may exhibit anti-social behaviour. The time which is spent playing violent games is not as important as a preference for playing violent games. Moreover, they will feel less caring about others if they are exposed to continuous violence and aggression. The authors conclude by emphasising that children who prefer playing violent games will display more aggressive behaviour than children who do not prefer violent games.

Reference
* Subrahmanyam, K., Kraut, R.E., Greenfield, P.M., and Gross, E.F. 2000, 'Children and Computer Technology', The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and Development, The Future of Children, <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/subrahmanyam00-Compute&kids.pdf>.