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In 1998, a typical kid saw about 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence on television before she even got to middle school. That was long before kids could watch YouTube videos on tablets, play shooter-game apps on their smartphones or engage in virtual war video games whenever and wherever. Kids are being exposed to more violence?and experiencing it in more immersive ways?than ever before and, according to a new statement released by the American Academy of Pediatrics, it?s likely to lead to more aggressive behaviours.
The policy statement titled ?Virtual Violence? points to hundreds of studies that have collectively found associations between violence in the media and anger and aggression.
It stresses that children under the age of six need to be protected from portrayals of violence? even if it?s depicted in cartoon format, younger kids still have trouble distinguishing fantasy from reality. But children of any age can be affected by violent content. In fact, what?s particularly troubling to the lead author, Dimitri Christakis, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children?s Research Institute, is how much more real and engaging modern portrayals of violence are. ?We know from decades of previous research looking at passive screen violence that the more realistic the portrayal is, the greater effect it has on children. In the case of video games, where it?s an interactive experience, the effects seem to be s...