Ever since the “good ol’ days” of the Atari 2600 and the Nintendo Entertainment System until now, a question has lingered over the heads of parents everywhere: Should young children be allowed to play violent video games? In recent years, video games have become much more graphic than in years past, and according to procon.org, over half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence. These vicious games are also becoming increasingly easier for children to obtain through means of online app stores.

  With so much negativity already present in the media today, kids should not be exposed to more of this through playing these games.

  Violent video games reward more for killing through an overly gorey medium. In fact, in games like Call of Duty: Black Ops players are rewarded a 1.4 times point multiplier if they shoot an enemy in the head. Furthermore, players are encouraged with phrases like “Boom Headshot!”.  At this age, children are very impressionable and awarding them for committing excessive acts of brutality could influence them to do this in the future.

  These video games can also change childrens’ view on the value of human life. For example, in the game Mortal Kombat a player’s sole objective is to fight other players to the death, often in the goriest way possible. If children are constantly shown that this is an okay thing to do, their view on life in general could diminish, causing them to view other people (and maybe themselves) as soulless bodies just waiting to be murdered.

 Some who disagree might say that these games give children a way to let out their anger and deep emotions. However, this can also be done by letting a child perform martial arts, join a sports team or simply letting a child play outside. Through this method, children are not taught that killing is good, but are taught teamwork and other positive characteristics.

  To prevent children from playing violent video games, moms and dads should utilize parental controls on devices. Most devices like the upcoming Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One have a wide range of parental control options. Some games even have built in features that allow partents to turn off the apperance of blood and gore. Parents can also use apps like “Norton Family” for computers and “NetNanny” for Android phones. A little parental supervision from time to time wouldn’t hurt either.

  Children should not be exposed to excessive violence, and they should definitely not be allowed to virtually induce it either.