Parents need to ensure that their children know that video games are solely for entertainment purposes only. Video games are rated so parents can know how violent they are. Violence is a behavior that is taught. Children should be taught at home, the difference between fantasy and reality. As long as parents stress to their children the difference between right and wrong, children will know that the violence in the video games isn’t real.
The government shouldn’t regulate video games. The government should have no control over what games are released. Video games, whether violent or not, should be restricted by parents. The video game industry voluntarily rates itself making it easier for parents to judge whether they feel a game is appropriate. There is neither research nor evidence that proved a connection between violent video games and aggressive behaviors. People are looking for something to place blame on for the violence taking place at the hands of youths.
It is estimated that 145 million Americans play this sort of game on a daily basis, and based on this estimate there should be more violent people. It is also estimated that more than 80% of best selling video games contain violent content. Second to the movie industry, video games are in rapid development with billions of dollars made. With numbers this high, there should be millions of more acts of violence taking place at the hands of our youth.
I am a single parent and my daughter is at the age where she loves games. She doesn’t care for violent games but she is exposed to violence on television. I have instilled in my child a profound difference between right and wrong. She understands the difference between right and wrong. I have made sure that she knows that what she sees on televisions as well as video games are not real, and she has a grip on reality. As a parent it is solely my responsibility to make sure my daughter has a lucid grip on reality, and she also knows that no one is responsible for her actions but her.
In conclusion, violence is a behavior that is taught. Parents are responsible for censorship of what their children are exposed to. The government shouldn’t regulate what video games are released. The video gaming industry is the only industry that voluntarily rates their products. People are looking for someone to blame their children’s violent behavior on and they don’t need to look any further than the mirror.