Kids killing kids. We hear about it all too often. It happens in schools; it happens in the streets; it happens at the workplace. In today’s world, something has transpired in which “settling a score” or grabbing the limelight translates into young people arming themselves, and using them against people their own age. This tragic happening has been scrutinized again and again, but we are not anywhere near close to an answer.

Truth be told, childhood disagreements are as common as snow in Maine in the wintertime, and have been for centuries. Indeed in my father’s day, or so he tells me, a boy could earn respect by using his fists. Today, disgruntled youths opt for a method much more fatal, using weapons that are-whether they intend it or not-meant for death. The Journal of the American Medical Association notes that in the mid-1990s the murder rate among young people was 71 percent higher than a decade earlier.

To be sure, we live in a culture of violence. It surrounds us, in our movies, television shows, on our news media broadcasts. The act of killing is glamorized even to the extent that it has been portrayed in music lyrics. And we eat it up.

Eminem, for his graphic description of a murder of his wife and other manly, murderous songs, became one of the best known and most popular artists.

From an objective viewpoint, it is an interesting sociological issue. What is driving this dynamic? Is it a natural human interest, or fascination rather, in the morbid, or in death; one that results in a greater expression of violence when the exposure to such influences are increased? Or is it that we are persuaded and molded by our social surroundings, meaning that when we hear, read or see accounts, real or fictional of assault and murder, some of us are more likely to take part in similar activities?

One thing is certain, and that is that the incidents of unspeakable acts committed by children and adolescents have skyrocketed alongside the rise in violent media directed toward that demographic. According to a 2003 study done by the American Psychological Association, the amount of television a child watches is directly linked to aggression and criminality as an adult.

In addition, since 1983, video game violence has exponentially increased almost year for year, which is not as harmless as once thought. A series of studies targeting college aged individuals showed that even short-term playing of violent video games can make it more likely that the player will react in the real world with hostility or aggression. Says Dr. Karen E. Dill, “Video games offer direct rewards for acts of violence. Thus the player learns that violence is the desired response to conflict situations.”

Obviously video games and other media affect different kids differently, and a plethora of factors combine to produce behavior, and it is far too simplistic to suggest that one thing is the sole cause for a certain behavior. However, these results show that this violent media may not be the “innocent fun” that some claim.

As a 21-year-old college student, I have grown up surrounded by video games. Some of what I have seen is truly horrifying, and has made me wonder just what we are exposing children to these days, and what are the actual consequences?

Recently, Hilary Clinton, the favorite for the Democratic presidential nominee, took one of my pals’ favorite games, “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas,” to task. The object, as I have been able to gather, is to steal as many cars as one can, while along the way getting in gun fights with policemen and being violent toward anything in the way.

However, Mrs. Clinton felt the bonus feature that if unlocked, allows a player to have sex on screen went too far. Other features of new versions of Grand Theft Auto include the ability to earn “life” points by sleeping with a prostitute, a scene which is graphically portrayed for teens who, until recently, could legally buy the game. Additionally, some versions of Grand Theft Auto make it possible for a player to shoot the prostitute, or beat her to death with a bat, in order to steal back the money paid for the act. Under pressure from Clinton and various media groups, Grand Theft Auto’s parent company Rockstar Games finally acquiesced last week and changed the rating of the most popular game of 2004 to “adults only” so that children could no longer purchase it.

Grand Theft Auto is but one game in a vast sea of tasteless and terrifically violent games that are played by thousands of youths. Another favorite in my apartment was entitled Counterstrike, in which a player can fantasize about being a terrorist, and if he succeeds, along with other teammates, in blowing up strategic bombs, he wins.

It is time to take a good look at what we call entertainment in this nation. Personally, I do not believe that mere exposure directly causes a disgruntled child to carry a gun or knife to school, but this increasing desensitization and even adoration of violence helps to build a world in which killing and sexual torture become commonplace for America’s youth. And that makes those situations in the real world all the more likely.

M. Ansel Rocque is a freelance writer from Augusta. He will be attending the University of Maryland to pursue graduate studies in the fall.