Citing a report on their harmful effects on minors, state Senator Leland Yee, D-San Francisco/San Mateo, is urging parents and grandparents to avoid buying violent video games for children this holiday season.
The Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics released the results of a study this month that showed that adolescents who play violent video games might become increasingly aggressive over time, according to Yee's office.
Researchers found that among three groups of children between nine and 18 years old in the United States and Japan, those who regularly played the violent games were more likely to get into physical fights.
The study is one of the first to follow changes in gamers' aggressive behavior over time, and the first study to show that the effects are seen across cultures, according to Yee's office.
Yee's 2005 law to prohibit the sale of violent video games to minors is currently being litigated, while a bill authored by Yee in 2004, which has gone into effect, requires video game retailers to post signs informing consumers regarding the use of the video game rating system for age-appropriateness.
"87 percent of children between 8 and 17 years of age play video or computer games and about 60 percent list their favorite games as rated M for Mature, which are games designed for adults," Yee said in a prepared statement.
"It is vitally important that parents and grandparents consider the content in video games before making holiday purchases," Yee said.
