Violent Video Games and Increased Criminality Among Adolescents: An Introspection

Abstract

Recently, electronic games, home computers, and the Internet have assumed an important place in our lives. The steep increase in reliance on computers for education during the COVID pandemic has made most adolescents vulnerable to other threats in virtual media. One of the dangers present in virtual media is online violent video games, as noted by M. Saravanan (2018). Adolescents typically use this genre of video games without any oversight. The lack of a rating system according to age, readily availability, and ease of purchase in the virtual space has made it easier for adolescents to gain access to these kinds of violent video games. Other reasons include the computer illiteracy of parents, who are unable to understand the side effects of these games. The high usage of violent video games, along with various other factors, has made adolescents highly aggressive (Sharma, Marimuthu 2011). Gender, along with age, economic status, and high screen time, is a significant factor that increases aggression among players, who are primarily adolescents (Sudha R 2012). Unquestionably, increased video gaming has led to changes in the adolescent age group's perception of reality and violent behavior. This paper attempts to understand more about the rise in aggression among adolescents due to video gaming and its undeniable effects on their psyche. This paper studies the inadequacies of our national and international legal system in handling online gaming crimes. We also discuss rational strategies to address the widespread use of violent video games, which fuel adolescent aggression and online addiction.