Violent television, video games a public health threat

Video gaming is still being touted as one major factor on violence amongst children, and yet another research has concluded that violent television programming and video games present a “powerful public health threat”. Check out the research in the full article.

Despite the BBFC’s admittance that there is very little evidence that links violent tendencies to video games, another research funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stated that there is indeed a significant connection between aggression and gaming.

The study by L. Rowell Huesmann, published recently on the Journal of Adolescent Health, claims to show that “exposure to virtual violence increases the risk that both children and adults will behave aggressively”. Huesmann explains that children in the U.S. spend about three to four hours daily just watching television, and that almost half of the shows contain violence.

He also added that gaming consoles, which are commonly used in 83 percent of households with children, feature games that mostly have violent content. “Our lives are saturated by the mass media, and for better or worse, violent media are having a particularly detrimental effect on the well-being of children,” he said.