RAPID ADVANCES IN microchip technology have led to the development of a popular form of entertainment that would have been difficult to imagine only a few decades ago: realistic, interactive games that are played out on computer and TV screens. Today fans of these games can test their skill and their nerve in a variety of settings, from the football field to the battlefield. As with violence in movies, television shows, and popular songs, violence in interactive media is a source of increasing concern for researchers, social critics, and advocates for children.

Interactive media refers to computer and other electronic systems in which a person manipulates electronic images on a screen using a joystick, controller, or keyboard. His or her actions and responses determine what happens next on the screen. People use interactive media whenever they play computer or video...