Computer game violence

It has been suggested by many that the interactive nature of computer games helps to desensitize the juvenile attitude to violence. The youngster if fully and totally immersed in the game, and can take actions and bring about a death, with blood spraying everywhere. In contrast, watching T.V or a movie is a passive experience, in which the child can do nothing to alter the outcome.

Studies by psychologists such as Douglas Gentile, PhD, and Craig Anderson, PhD, agree with this last point. They indicate that it is likely that violence in computer games have an even stronger effect on children's aggression than T.V. because (1) the games are highly engaging and interactive, (2) the games reward violent behavior, and because (3) children repeat these behaviors over and over as they play. Psychologists know that each of these help learning - active involvement improves learning, rewards increase learning, and repeating something over and over increases learning.

The great majority of computer games are violence related. One of the greatest problems here is that murder and violence performed by the hero of the game are practically never punished, and often even rewarded. This creates a feeling in children that violence is right, and some kids simply adopt violent behavior because they see nothing wrong about it. The interactive element of the point-and-shoot computer/video games lets children practice their shooting skills, which eventually become reflexes.

Computer game violence is a issue for parent that needs to be addressed. It is ineffective to ban children from playing such games, however controlling their use using software such as Chronoger can be of great help. This software enables you to choose when your children can play on computer games and for how many hours a day, thus reducing the day by day exposure they get to such violence.