If your kid is into violent video games, you may have concerns that it could lead to their behaving in an aggressive manner in real life. There is a good chance that you are not the only parents who are concerned about this subject.
Around ninety per cent of adolescents engage in video gaming, and more than eighty-five per cent of all video games on the market contain violent content.
There are a number of reasons that can trigger aggressive behaviour in children, including violent video games, but they aren’t the only ones. Find out how you can control the amount of time your child spends playing video games, as well as the indicators that can suggest your child has a problem with video game addiction.
Could My Child Become Violent Because of Violent Video Games?
Yes is the short and simple answer to that question. Researchers have established a correlation between playing violent video games and aggressive behaviour in children and adolescents of a certain age.
Some examples of aggressive behaviour are as follows:
- Threats
- Insults
- Pushing
- Hitting
- Biting
- Hair pulling
Any behaviour that is intentionally intended to hurt another person is considered aggressive. Although not every violent behaviour is aggressive, aggressive behaviour always includes elements of violence. There hasn’t been much investigation on whether or not playing violent video games actually leads to real-life violence.
Researchers have shown that playing violent video games can make people of all ages feel less empathy and warmth towards others. To have empathy means to be able to put oneself in the position of another person and understand what they are going through. This indicates that there is no one who is totally immune to the impacts of playing violent video games.
The extended response to the topic of whether playing violent video games can lead to real-world aggression is that the issue is somewhat more nuanced.
The link between aggressive and gaming conduct is complex, according to the findings of several studies, and depends on a number of different circumstances. There are also a variety of other factors that could contribute to aggressive conduct.
Reasons Why Kids Act Out Aggressively?
There are two primary factors that can lead to a youngster displaying aggressive behaviour: the child’s surroundings and the child’s inherent characteristics.
Playtime Spent
According to the findings of one study, teenagers who spend more time participating in activities such as playing violent video games may become more aggressive and are more prone to engage into physical altercations.
If you want to put it another way, if your child is playing a violent video game at a mate’s place once a week instead of playing it every day for extended lengths of time, they have become less likely to act aggressively than if they play it every day for extended amounts of time.
Media violence
Children are also subjected to violent television shows and films. This form of assault can impact the psychological well-being of late adolescents, defined as those aged 17 to 21.
Teens may find that they feel fewer feelings and less sympathy for the roles that are played in the films after watching a significant amount of violent content in the film. The findings of this study provide credence to the hypothesis that frequent exposure to graphic depictions of violence in the media can desensitise young people to actual acts of violence.
Behaviour that has been Learned
Seeing the actions of others is a common way for us to acquire new skills. Children are more prone to act aggressively themselves if they hang around with other children their age who also act aggressively.
They are also more prone to act aggressively if their parents or guardians were violent against them when they were younger.
Personal Qualities of Each Individual
It is more likely for a child to experience anger while playing a violent video game if the child has a history of being an angry person in general. According to the findings of one study, the majority of adolescents did not report experiencing any change in their level of rage either before or after playing a video game that is violent.
In point of fact, playing reduced the amount of fury in some adolescents, whereas only a tiny percentage reported feeling more angry as a result of their play.
Also, children who suffer from depression are much more likely to engage in aggressive behaviour. It is possible for children and adolescents to give off the impression that they are irritable when, in reality, they are suffering from depression or another psychological problem.
On the other hand, irritation often comes hand in hand with aggressive behaviour.
Why Do We Get Hooked on Video Games?
The effects of video games on the brain are comparable to those of drinking, using drugs, and gambling. This is due to the fact that playing video games can activate the brain’s reward system, which in turn causes emotions of pleasure.
As a consequence of this, a person may find that they are motivated to keep on playing so that they can continue to feel that pleasure.
Addiction is characterised by the tendency to conflate experiencing pleasure with being happy. Happiness refers to a state of long-term contentment with one’s life, while pleasure refers to a momentary gratification of a need.
According to the findings of one study, individuals who were hooked to video games believed that playing the games provided them enjoyment, even though the games just satiated their want to play.
Having a clinical diagnosis of depression increases your chances of acquiring an addiction as well. There is an approximate correlation of 32 per cent between major depressive illness and substance use disorder in patients.
A similar possibility exists in relation to becoming addicted to playing video games.