Violent Video Games and Your Child

The United States Supreme Court, by vote of 7-2, games that can be purchased at San Rafael stores such as or .

The high court upheld rulings by U.S. District Judge Ronald Whyte of San Jose in 2007 and the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in San Francisco in 2009 that struck down the law. The court majority said the games are protected by the First Amendment right of free speech.

Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, "Like protected books, plays and movies that preceded them, video games communicate ideas -- and even social messages. That suffices to confer First Amendment protection.”

Anyone who plays video games or whose children play video games can confirm the increase in violent gaming. From Halo to Call of Duty and Vice City, kids are simulating war and gang violence. Even Harry Potter games have kids fighting Deatheaters and other scary figments of imagination.

The real question remains, does this gaming have a real effect on youth violence? Some say no, as seen in an article titled Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked, written by MIT professor Henry Jenkins.

“According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure," Jenkins said in his report, "...no research has found that video games are a primary factor or that violent video game play could turn an otherwise normal person into a killer....62 percent of the console market and 66 percent of the PC market is age 18 or older.”

On the other side, a study published in March 2010 issue of the Psychological Bulletin, an American Psychological Association journal reports that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive thoughts and behavior, and decreased empathy and prosocial behavior in youths: “These are not huge effects -- not on the order of joining a gang vs. not joining a gang,....but these effects are also not trivial in size...And it's a risk factor that's easy for an individual parent to deal with -- at least, easier than changing most other known risk factors for aggression and violence, such as poverty or one's genetic structure.”

Ultimately, it seems that gaming does have some adverse effects but can be easily contained and/or offset by conscious parenting. Violent video games will NOT turn your child into a cold-blooded killer and trying to prevent a child from buying a video game isn’t going to create more involved parents.

It is similar to any aspect of raising a family, be aware of what’s going on in your house, attempt to engage in interesting conversation and simply limit the amount of time spent in front of the TV, computer, etc. The Supreme Court showed that it is  not the responsibility of the government to play Big Brother in regards to media influences and the youth of the United States.