, 2000). Specifically, the fact that video games portray extremely violent actions without a human cost can lessen a person's natural response (including empathy) in addition to promoting reckless conduct in real life.

It is not necessarily that teenagers consciously believe they can "do" what they see in the games the way children sometimes come to believe that they can fly. But they may absorb unconscious images that inhibit their ability to anticipate real-life consequences of certain choices and behaviors (Wilson, Smith, Potter, et al., 2002). According to the Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children presented to the Congressional Public Health Summit July 26, 2000 by several very prominent pediatricians and child psychologists:

"At this time, well over 1000 studies - including reports from the Surgeon

General's office, the National Institute of Mental Health, and numerous studies conducted by leading figures within our medical and public...
[ View Full Essay]