The Effects of Media Violence on Children
  by Jim Esposito, M.A. LCMHC, NCC

Will a steady "diet" of the violently graphic video game "Grand theft Auto" create a future "gang banger"? While our science lacks the precision to put too fine a point on this the controversy surrounding the potentially detrimental effects of children's exposure to violent video games and media in general, neuroscience has begun to catch up to the debate. We are in a better position to more confidently draw important conclusions and make recommendations that will protect the mental and emotional well being of our children. Especially those children with more vulnerable genetics and environment.

Back in the early 1990's an Italian team of neuroscientists discovered a special type of brain cells called "mirror" neurons (brain cells). They discovered that the similar "mirror" brain cells fired whether someone was doing a certain act or just observing it. For example, if I were watching someone pet a dog, similar brain circuitry would fire that would if I were actually petting the dog. What was critical about this discovery was a foundational principle of neuroscience, i.e., a stimulus is a stimulus, whether we observe it or perform it. Most children by the age of five know the difference between real life and a cartoon on TV, and much of the time, in the debate on the influence of media violence on children, the point is raised about the worry of blurring the distinctions between reality and fantasy as a harmful consequence of such exposure. In some sense, this is not the essential issue, because even with our knowledge that something we see in a video game is only virtual and not real does not prevent or protect us from its impact as a stimulus on our brain. Again, a stimulus is a stimulus. More recent neuroscientific research demonstrates that media depictions of various scenes trigger the same hormonal and brain activation as the real thing. Whether we observe something on an electronic screen or experience it in real life, our brains are shaped and wired similarly by the experience.

While this is true of all human brains, it is especially the case for the more vulnerable younger children's brain that is undergoing development and construction in a time of particular malleability. Research shows that the teenage brain is more susceptible to structural damage by drug or alcohol abuse than an adult brain. Media can be viewed as a different type of "substance", as its effects are no less physical.

The moral here is, let's make a difference for our children in the critical period of their life when we can make the most difference. Certainly, this is not meant to be a sweeping rejection of all video and computer games. Some can be educational and safe fun and even the more questionable variety may be fine in reasonable "doses". However, if your child is spending much of his waking life immersed in violent and vulgar imagery, his brain and behaviors will be similarly shaped.

Some consideration for parents:

  • Children should have limited amount of time exposure to media.
  • Parents should express clear expectations around Internet use, as well as monitor its use.
  • Computers, video games and TVs should never be in a child's room to indulge without supervision.
  • It is very important that parents understand the somewhat arbitrary and arcane media rating system. However, it is not enough just to understand the rating system of video games, movies and music. It's also important to know their equivalence to one another, all of which doesn't preclude the need to preview what your child is watching or listening to.
  • Talk to your children about what you might find concerning or objectionable so as to mediate and process what otherwise would be an unmodified and potentially harmful influence.
  • If your child's behavior and/or language is especially violent you want to be particularly concerned and regulating about all potential influences that may be fueling his anger, including video games, CD's. etc.

The hope is that scientific evidence would prompt parents to elevate their concern and increase their involvement in their children's media practices and regard this with similar seriousness that they would regard drugs and alcohol abuse.