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The Negative Effects of Violent Video Games on Youth

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The negative effects of violent video games on children and teenagers
Since the advent of coin operated arcade games, video games have come a long way and spread to the homes of many children and teenagers, in both developed and developing countries (Bryant & Vorderer, 2006). On one hand, the fierce competitions among the gaming giants such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft can be blamed for this phenomenon; while on the other hand, the internet alone is responsible for placing a universe full of games at arms reach of anyone with a computer and a decent internet connection. However, many games are not suitable for certain age groups. These include games which contain material that is explicit in either the lyrics of its songs, its bloody and gory action scenes, or even scenes that are considered borderline pornographic (in the game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the main character can enter strip clubs and receive lap dances) (Allofgta, 2008). Usually, many of the games containing significant amounts of violence are designed for mature audiences; nevertheless, their popularity among teenagers and children, who ironically constitute the largest contributors to the profits reaped from these games, is always on the rise. In Lebanon and many other countries in the middle east, no video game rating system or law exists, which allows children and teenagers to buy any game they want. Consequently, as Vorderer and Bryant explain (2006), "young video game players may be exposed to substantially more violent content than ever before" (p. 73).
Video games containing excessive violence have always been the blame of many university shootings and massacres. On the 11th of March 2009, Tim Kretshmer in camouflage, hijacked a car, and then took out his 9mm baretta unleashing a shooting rampage, killing 15 of his classmates in his school in Wennenden, Germany. This scenario is eerily

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