Violence in gaming.

The onslaught of violence in new media has been relentless. Violence permeates through every core of media from television series to video games

As television series are more passive in nature, it is not as harmful as video games. Video games actively involve its users and with their lifelike graphics, users are more likely to identify and experience the violent character realistically.

People are more likely to behave aggressively themselves when they identify with a violent character (e.g., Konijn et al., 2007)

Because of these lifelike imageries, many players are unable to differentiate what is real and what is not. The line between virtual life and reality is blurred and this has resulted in many heinous crimes committed.

Firstperson shooter "Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2" allowing players to kill hundreds of innocents in an airport an act of terrorism

Seventeen-year-old Daniel Petric murdered his mother and injured his father after they refused to let him play Halo 3. The way he murdered his mother was shocking. Petric walked into his parents’ room and said “Would you close your eyes? I have a surprise for you,” before shooting his father between the eyes. 

This eerie line sounds like it came straight out of a horror movie.

Links:

"The Influence of Media on Youth" ; 
http://www.psychologicalscience.org/pdf/pspi/pspi43.pdf

"The Effects of violent video games. Do they affect our behaviour?" ; 
http://ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html