The recent school shooting incident in Tacloban City, Leyte left families grieving for three lost young lives. It also shook the nation, opening the discussion for possible causes of such violence.
When one of the teen suspects was discovered to be a player of a violent video game called GoreBox, many were quick to blame it as the cause for the real-life aggression. When the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality chaired by Senator Risa Hontiveros launched an inquiry regarding the Tacloban City school shooting, GoreBox developer Felix Filip was invited to join the hearing. Filip, however, declined to attend.
Senator Bam Aquino is seeking several measures to limit minors’ access to video games. Stating that video games have become a “convenient scapegoat” for violence, he wanted them to have an age restriction to limit minors’ access to mature video games, as well as requiring game developers and video game stores to have a more active role in keeping children safe while playing.
For Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian, it is time to broaden the function of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) to include video and online games. Gatchalian, who was pushing for social media ban for minors, now also wants to include access to video games rated “Adults Only” by the MTRCB.
Meanwhile, President Bongbong Marcos through Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that he is open to banning violent online games in the country with a legislation.
As we await the findings of the Senate inquiry and what legislation will come out of it, let us first look at the published research that aimed to answer whether violence in video games actually makes its players, specifically the youth, violent.
In a 2024 study conducted by Psychology students from Cor Jesu College in Digos City, Davao del Sur titled Violent Video Games on Aggression and Self-control of Student Gamers, Andrey Nalds Amoroso et. al. found that contrary to common perception that playing violent video games makes a person violent in real life, exposure to these kinds of games may actually be “associated with lower levels of aggression and higher self-control among student gamers.”
The study suggested that through playing violent video games, individuals have a controlled environment to release their pent-up aggression without endangering other people or themselves.
The same was revealed in the research done by Michael D. Llabore, Jr. et. al. on junior and senior high school students of Quezon City in 2023 titled Effects of Digital Gaming in the Mental Health and Behavioral Status Among Adolescents. According to the study, violent digital games help adolescents “deal with negative emotions, release anger, or alleviate stress.” In fact, their research showed that violent digital games have positive effects as they serve as a coping mechanism for anxiety and depression and as a social outlet to address loneliness to form a semblance of social connection. It also gives adolescents a sense of control and achievement.
On the other hand, there was a manifestation of anger through frustration when a gaming session was interrupted.
Abroad, a number of research done over an extended period (also known as longitudinal studies) focused on the effects of violent video games among the youth. One such study was the 2019 study of Christopher J. Ferguson and C.K. John Wang in Singapore titled Aggressive Games are Not a Risk Factor for Future Aggression in Youth: A Longitudinal Study done in the course of two years.
Their study found no causal link between aggressive behavior and exposure to aggressive video games. It said that for a clinically significant aggression to manifest due to violent video game exposure, “it would require more hours of M-rated game play than exist in a day.”
A positive family environment plays an important role in protecting minors, the research found, which was why it recommended developing public policies that strengthen family ties instead of targeting video games.
Quoting the research, “Aggressive video games playing does not appear to be a risk factor for future youth aggression at all and certainly should not be compared to the influence of broken homes.”
While there was a longitudinal study in 2008 done in Japan and the United States that concluded exposure to violent video games contribute to real life aggressive behavior, the study faced scientific critiques regarding its methodology, particularly how it defined “aggression,” which was more self-reported behaviors and peer ratings rather than clinical violence. Critics also found the effect size of the study to be too small to have a significant real-world impact, as well as the researches following this were not able to replicate its results.
So, while it is easy to put blame of teen aggression on violent video games, what happened in Tacloban City should be a wake up call to parents and guardians — how well do you actually know what is happening in your child’s life? What are you doing as a parent or guardian to help your child address the issues they are facing? Are you supporting your child enough to raise them into a morally and emotionally healthy and resilient individual?
And for the government, it is the time to look at the available support for children in crisis — is it enough? Is it accessible? Are the people providing help actually equipped to help children in need?
Aggression among adolescents is a multi-faceted phenomenon. Exposure to violent content may be a contributing factor but it is definitely not the only reason. Understanding the root causes of violent behavior is essential if we hope to prevent future tragedies.
Everything starts at home, but lasting solutions require the strong support from the school, community, and the government.