Violence in Television and Video Games

     As I was reading the Goldstein War and Gender chapter I thought to myself, my mother must have read this. There are sections in the chapter dedicated to how exposing children to violence in television and video games leads to more aggressive behavior. My mother, who is opposed to violence in general, would not let us watch television shows she deemed violent such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, and Transformers (which was actually stated in the reading as having an attempted murder on average every 30 seconds!) We also did not have any game systems in the house until my brother was twelve and I, sixteen. And because we didn't grow up in a household where violent television and games were allowed, we don't enjoy them; the Wii and Playstation 2 sit in the corner untouched most of the time.
      I can understand now why my mother didn't condone violence in these materials but when I was growing up it seemed unfair. Why? Because most other kids my age were enjoying this violence, to them it was fun. It seems semi-disturbing when you think about it that young children are getting immense entertainment from shooting people in the head and watching them die. And why shouldn't they? The price is only thirty dollars, and completely consequence free. When your character shoots someone they disappear, when you get shot your character simply reloads a few seconds later. You aren't in any real danger. Glamorizing war in this manner can not only increase violent behavior but leaves children without a connection between war and it's negative qualities. It desensitizes them to real conflicts going on in the war. They associate war with what they see on the screen with a controller in their hands instead of a violent conflict that affects the lives of many people.