In 2001, twenty-four-year-old Thierry Jaradin murdered fifteen-year-old Alison Cambier. He stabbed her thirty times using kitchen knives dressed in a Ghostface costume from the famous horror movie “Scream.”
For most people though, watching a lot of horror movies only leads to a higher tolerance for violence, not carrying out the actions in these movies themselves like copycat killers.
While people won’t view a person being abused or harassed on the street as “normal,” watching these types of movies can desensitize a person to violence in other types of media like the news.
In a similar way, war movies always seem to romanticize war, though it’s not because of the outright violence like what horror movies often do, but because of the storylines and characters. As the audience, people connect to the heroes and drama of it all, because the gore and violence of it aren’t often emphasized in these films.
While watching aggressive and violent movies can lead to less empathy, video games are the bigger culprit when it comes to a loss of compassion for the suffering of others, especially as it is arguably an even more common space for teenagers to see and even participate in some form of violence. Gaming provides an active participation in these aggressive behaviors, instead of being a bystander. Events in recent years show that there is some correlation between mass shootings and playing violent video games.
“Personally, I don’t think [kids should be allowed to watch] these types of horror movies. I grew up watching them though because my mom really likes them, too, but the youngest [they should watch] is probably middle school age… It’s not good to be exposed to such violent things at such a young age. And there’s always a risk of traumatizing the kid… Actually, because I watched horror movies at a young age, I’ve had nightmares before. They’re not too serious, but sometimes I’ll be taking a shower, and I’ll get paranoid… But as I got older, I’m not affected by it much.”
Zoe Mok
In 2013, fifteen-year-old Nehemiah Griego killed his parents and three younger siblings in their home in South Valley, New Mexico. He even intended to murder more people and then die while battling the police. While there could have been many other factors that led him to this decision of murder, one of them could be playing the notoriously violent video game Call of Duty, as the police stated he only showed emotion when talking about video games he loved.
Playing these types of games can lead to people, especially children and teenagers, turning to violence as a means to solve problems. Children should not be allowed to play violent video games as they are the most likely to be influenced by their surroundings because they’re still developing their moral compass. And while teenagers are similarly vulnerable, it is impossible to shield them from everything. Instead, they should be allowed to play these types of games, albeit with limitations.
Even adults with a developed moral compass and more understanding about the world around them should play in moderation. When a person plays these games excessively, they can find it exceedingly difficult to make a distinction between reality and the virtual world they are playing in. This fuzziness results in an overall desensitization of violence and possibly even some increased aggression in the real world.
“For most of these competitive violent video games, the problem isn’t the violence itself, it’s the community around them. They tend to be more mature and slightly toxic… because it’s adults playing the game. So that might be something that [children’s] parents don’t want them to be exposed to. As for the violent part… it just depends on what the parents are okay with. I don’t really see a problem with it, but I get things like war and that kind of thing can be distressing.”
Lucas Berliner
However, studies that support the claim that video games cause increased aggression and decreased empathy fail to account for outside factors like mental health and family issues. This begs the questions: are people who are already exposed to violence in real life more likely to play violent games? Is playing violent video games truly the cause for aggressive behaviors? While studies are yet to be completed about these, cases like the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting could support this claim.
Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed twenty-six people in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Growing up, he was diagnosed with a host of mental illnesses including Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and more. Not only that, but he grew up in a gun-enthusiastic family, which often leads to the normalization of violence. His family may have contributed to his obsession with mass shootings and interest in violent video games that ultimately led him to the homicides he committed.
Overall, the multi-billion dollar industries of horror and war movies and violent video games can have negative effects on their viewers and players, like desensitizing violence in the real world, contributing to a lack of empathy and in extreme forms, leading to major aggressive behaviors.
