The Mental and Emotional Differences Between Violent and Non-violent Adolescents

                There is a growing debate on whether or not violent video games cause violence in young people. Proponents of video games say that there is no harm to children playing these games, while opponents claim that the games cause children to act more aggressively, and behave in a more violent fashion. The state of California even went so far as to pass legislation that restricted the sale of violent video games. This legislation was trumped by the Supreme Court, because it was a gross infringement of the First Amendment, the right to free speech (there’s a shocker, California infringing on people’s rights). However, while the media continues to trumpet warnings about the effects of violence in video games, they overlook one of the key details in this problem: the kids themselves. If a person were to search for psych evaluations of violent adolescents, they wouldn’t find a single thing, except more self-righteous media preaching. This paper will outline research the writer himself did, as well as the results.

                For the research, the writer studied 20 students attending a local high school, all of whom fell into an age limit (15-18 years old). Of these students, five were males who regularly played violent video games (Group 1), five were males who did not play violent video games (Group 2), five were females who played violent video games (Group 3), and the last five were females who did not play violent video games (Group 4). The writer studied the students (with their consent, of course) over a week-long period, making note of their behavior and habits. The writer also studied the lives of the students, making note of all of the information made available to him.

                The results were as such: In Group 1, all five of the students showed signs of aggression (verbal threats, insults, obscenities directed at other students, ect.) However, only one of the students in Group 1 actually showed signs of violence. In Group 2, all of the students again showed signs of aggression, but there were three violent members of Group 2. Three of Group 3’s students showed signs of aggression, but none were actually violent. Lastly, Group 4 showed more aggression, with all five of the students exhibiting aggressive behaviors, but only two of these students were violent.