Aimee Morlatt Period 6 March 24, 2014 There has been an ongoing debate for many years about the correlation between real-life violence and violent video games. Studies have shown that there is at least some relationship between the two. Some people claim that violent video games do not cause violence. A recent study concluded that violent video games can have a calming effect. Dr. Ferguson, a child phycologist, also uses the excuse that all children have played video games at least once in their lives. Dr. Ferguson and his colleague Dr. Olson, two researchers on this topic, found that there was no increase in crime between high-risk teens and violent video games. Regardless of doctors' claims, violent video games are known to cause violence due to the amount of screen time, the violent fantasies associated with them, and the educational skills they involve. As children grow, so does the amount of time they spend in front of a video game screen. A 2000 study by Dr. Woodard and Natalia Gridina reported that “between the ages of 2 and 5, children play twenty-eight minutes a day” (Woodard and Gridina, 2000, Media Violence and Children). A more recent study, carried out in 2002 by renowned phycologists Dr. Gentile and Dr. Walsh, found that "between the ages of 2 and 7, children play 43 minutes per day" (Gentile and Walsh, 2002, Media Violence and Children). While Dr. Buchman and Nurse Funk reported that by the time youngsters reach fourth grade, girls play about four and a half hours per week and boys about seven hours per week. All this play time reduces sensitivity to violence. This effect is also called the “bystander effect” because people desensitized to violence are generally less sympathetic toward it. Another effect is the “victim effect”. This effect can also be in...... middle of paper ......ent fantasies after playing, and the educational skills incorporated in violent video games prove this connection. Screen time increases with age and continually exposes children to violence, causing one of the three effects discussed above. Violent fantasies make children more likely to act out of provocation. Finally, the educational capabilities of violent games are even used in non-violent educational video games. All these facts prove that violent video games do indeed cause violence. As United States Senators, you must take it upon yourself to enforce stricter policies regarding video game ratings. A valid ID should be required when purchasing violent video games and the tax should be increased. Raising the tax only on violent video games will reduce the number of young people who buy and play violent video games..