Every week, we hear about mass shootings at the hand of a violent, enraged gunman. Violence and shootings affect hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people every year. Today, news footage is cluttered with reports and images of people that have suffered at the hands of violence.  After the fact, we find out that many mass killers such as Adam Lanza, Anders Berivik, and Evan Ramsey, were addicted to violent video games.

Excessive screen time is common today. Smartphones, televisions, and computers are often used as babysitters for children, even infants. Too much screen time, especially when children are exposed to violence in video games, television and movies (games with 17+ ratings and rated R movies), can change the way their brains respond. They can make children that were once smart and socially engaged, into children that are withdrawn and aggressive. For children and youth that struggle with technology or gaming addiction, screens turn into their drug of choice.  A recent article out of the UK interviews a mother of a 12 year old son who has become what she calls, a “monster” – she says she feels like she is living with a drug addict.

Video game addiction is a topic that is becoming more and more talked about. People all over the world are experiencing the effects of gaming and technology addiction, but for individuals in certain Asian countries, gaming addiction is more common. In fact, South Korea takes gaming so seriously that legislators of the Democratic Party of Korea are considering a game addiction law that would regulate video games as addictive substances, similar to alcohol or drugs. 

I was recently in an airport waiting in a very hectic area that was crowded with people that were a bit frenzied. A young couple with a son in a stroller waited with us. The child was visibly exhausted, irritable, and was crying intermittently. After a time, he got more and more vocal with a scream that pierced the ears of those of us that waited around him. His parents were trying to find a way to soothe him by telling him to hush, but there was no quieting him.