The Black Death of the 21st Century

The Black Death of the 21^st century is violence committed by and on children. While its precise etiology remains elusive, its social manifestations are legion. Our children are exposed to ever increasing media coverage of violence—after all, “what bleeds, leads.” And, for much of the 20^th century dramatized violence consistently served as the raison d'etre of the film/video industry. Today, however, we face a more virulent form of this social bubonic plague—interactive simulated violence. Today, our children “on mission” in Grand Theft Auto^© earn money for murder. Today, our children can hire a prostitute in True Crime—Streets of LA,^© and earn extra points for killing her and pocketing the money paid for her services. Today is different.

In the past violence committed by and on children was accepted as sort of a social version of the “cost of doing business.” It seems our society has reverted to a new, albeit camouflaged, version of “boys will be boys.” In doing so, a whole variety of violent activities have become part and parcel of life in United States children. Our need to protect freedom of speech has protected manifestly violent depictions of human conflict—ostensibly protected for adults to view, and non-adults not to view. Today, however, children routinely view PG-13 and R-rated movies on cable and in theaters. Today children have easy access to 17+M video games. Today is different.

Justifications for such violent depiction and participation float on the air of catharsis—if people are permitted to view violent dramatizations, then whatever urges to commit actual violence will dissipate. If children are allowed to simulate violence, then their proclivity to perpetrate real violence will be diffused, if not satiated. Interestingly, some research supports this position; and, of course, not everyone who plays violent video games becomes a budding Ted Bundy.

Still other research has been unable to show direct, or even oblique, connections between depicted or participatory simulated violence. Today, however, some people's violent acts are facilitated by such depictions and participation; still others are unaffected, and still others' violence appears repressed. Today, research is unacceptably inconclusive. Today is not different.

The College of Public Health and the School of Mass Communications at the University of South Florida are committed to ascertaining the relationships between depicted & simulated participatory violence and violent acts. If the precise etiology of violence committed by children and to children is not understood, and understood soon, then the 21^st century will be known not for its flowering technology, but for its roots of violent destruction. Do we seek to understand how playing games of murder affect our children—or do we look the other way?

Today is the day for seeking, not turning away. Today can be different.