Often parents claim that there are significant barriers keeping them from accurately monitoring the games their children are playing, and they are correct.Video games are no longer just about fitting squares and other shapes together, stomping on magical talking mushrooms or eating pellets and produce while running from ghosts. In many cases today, video games not only feature realistic violence, but encourage and reward it. And while violence has existed in the media for centuries, concerns about the way players of video games actively interact with and influence the medium put a new spin on issues surrounding the kind of effects exposure to such violence have on the individual.

Since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre, people have been citing video game violence as a catalyst for real life violence. Before the shooting, the young men responsible for slaying 12 classmates and a teacher played the groundbreaking game Doom. Similar allegations have surfaced about the Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui. However, general assumptions cannot be made from these two incidents. Plus, research about the effects of violence in the media has been conducted for decades. The best thing we can do is look at the facts.

The body of literature available now suggests that there are both short and long term effects of exposure to video game violence. Because of the lack of longitudinal studies (after all, video games have been available for mass consumption for only a handful of decades, and the realistic ultra-violence of concern for even less) there is still a large gap in knowledge about long term effects. But taking all evidence into account, it's hard to deny that in at least the short term, video game violence, as well as violence present in any other media, can increase aggression.

Unfortunately, more research will be required before reaching any definitive conclusions about the full impact of violent video game exposure. So what can we do now to make sure that, at the least, children and young adults are not consuming too much?

Any government ban on violent video games would be problematic, as rogue game developers are creating games and distributing them for free over the Internet (for instance, Super Columbine Massacre RPG). The only alternative then is to limit the access of video games to children, those most susceptible to questionable content, and the key to that is more parental guidance and involvement. That's where things get sticky.

We know censorship doesn't work – it's never worked.Often parents claim that there are significant barriers keeping them from accurately monitoring the games their children are playing, and they are correct. The biggest problem with disseminating information about video game content to parents is the broken video game rating system. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) gives every video game a rating, which can range from “Early Childhood” to “Adults Only.” This provides a significant level of detail that was not available to parents before the board's establishment in 1994.

The problem, however, is in the process. Before a game is released, developers must answer a detailed questionnaire and submit only DVDs or videos showing all “pertinent content” (including “locked” content that is only accessible after the gamer performs specific actions) to the reviewers. Those reviewers, however, as well as other members of the ESRB, are not required to play a game before assigning the rating. This gap in information has been recognized even in the halls of Congress, where Sen. Sam Brownback (R - Kan.) introduced the Truth in Video Game Rating Act. The bill would require the ESRB to have complete access to all game content prior to its release along with a suitable time to further explore the game hands on. But Brownback's bill may be years from becoming law, and with such obvious flaws in the ESRB rating system, it is up to parents to take an active step in the meantime.

Fortunately, there is a wealth of information available on the Internet that parents can use to learn about the content of the video games their children play. Web sites such as Metacritic.com, Gamepro.com, and Gamespot.com give detailed reviews of video games, including what kind of tasks and violence the game contains. Also, companies like Nintendo even have sections of their Web sites that provide similar information.

Let's not inappropriately stifle game developers by scaring them with threats of boycotts or unnecessary censorship when other methods of control already exist. We know censorship doesn't work – it's never worked. Former Second Lady Tipper Gore and her PMRC did not succeed with the music industry –  take a listen to what's on the radio and in music videos these days if you have any doubts. But if we are able to fix the problems with the ESRB and better educate parents, we could limit the potential detrimental effects of video game violence on the nation's youth.
[ESRB, Gaming Today, eFluxMedia, Reuters, San Jose Mercury News, Wikipedia, APA Online, Metacritic, Gamepro, Gamespot]