The recent trend of parents forbidding their young children from playing violent video games is sending shock waves throughout the pediatric community. “We must act now, or it will be too late in a few years” says child psychologist Dr. Richard Strickland in an interview with The Daily Disc. He explains: “Violent video games serve an important function in the development of a healthy self-centered and violent personality. My colleagues and I are seeing an alarming surge in children showing empathy and compassion for their fellow humans. These children are not being prepared for the real world at all.”

According to standard models of child psychology, violent video games are an integral parts of teaching children the values of total selfishness, impulsiveness and cruelty.

“First of all, a violent game will teach a child the proper ‘How’ of aggression. How do I handle a gun? What body parts do I need to aim at? What tools can I use when there are no weapons available? In child psychology we call this “competence”. Children aren’t born with this knowledge. They need to be able to explore violence in a safe environment first, and video games offer the perfect space for children to hone their murder skills.”

But as Dr. Strickland stresses, violent video games serve also serve a far more important function that that:

“Video games don’t just teach children the “How” of violence, but also the “Why”. In a video game, other characters are just lifeless husks without any emotions or inherent dignity. They can be exploited, hurt or killed for personal gain or even just for fun. This teaches children to take advantage of the weakness of others and to always put their own interests first. If children don’t learn this lesson by age 8 or so, the damage may be irreversible. These children will struggle with delusions of empathy or compassion for the rest of their lives. I shudder to imagine what an entire generation of children raised without violent video-games would look like.”

“If an entire generation of young citizens starts treating their fellow humans with compassion, the shock to our economic system might be fatal.” Dr. Strickland cautions: “Violent sociopaths are needed everywhere. When people talk about sociopaths, they often think about soldiers, police officers, prison guards, slaughterhouse workers and preschool teachers. But you also need sociopaths in many other occupations, with a huge societal impact. If everyone started treating each other with love, kindness and generosity, you might one day wake up in a world without banks, prisons, schools or government. And noone could possibly want that.”

According to Dr. Strickland, children’s access is not just a private issue, but one that impacts an entire society. He suggests that violent video-games should become a compulsory subject in schools, and that children should be given access to so-called “Violence Vouchers” that they can trade for violent games of their choice. He says “Children naturally know what is good for them, and choose to play the games that will empower them to become their most selfish and cruel self.”

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