School violence and society examined by local author

ALAMOSA — School violence and the effects of violent video games and media is the subject of a book by a local author. Marianna King is in the final round of editing the book before publication which is expected early next year.

King explained that the book, School Violence/Crisis and Opportunity, has taken her four years of research and writing to complete. It covers the history of school violence and the "rise of patriarchy" in the world. During her research, she was able to narrow down the year when school violence started and how that related to the increase in violent video games on the market. She said the more exposure teenagers and young adults are too violent video games (a $37 million industry worldwide), the more likely they are to be aggressive and show tendencies toward school violence.

Another problem is that society is a male-dominated culture, according to King.

Finally, she cited sayings like “the offense department,” “killing time,” “I killed it” and “killer instincts” as common phrases people use. All of which reinforces a violent culture, according to King.

Violence is a subliminal message which has been used for years, including from early cartoons.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified “gaming” as a mental disorder. Globally the WHO says 0.5 to 1 percent of humans are addicted to violent games while in the United States that is 8 to 10 percent, according to King.

King’s conclusion is that there needs to be more media awareness and what effect violent video games have on young adults. She also said that society needs to get away from a male-dominated pro-war attitude and return to a society where men and women are on equal footing.

Media literacy is a must, she said. In Europe, Canada and Australia education on the effects of violent media is taught and in South Korea, there are detox centers to help addicts break the habit of playing such games.

King is an educator and will be making a presentation to the local BOCES and school superintendents later this month.