It may be a distinction without a difference but I think there is a distinction between active and passive media. We have been treated to an ever more graphic depiction of violence etc. by the movies and television. Part of this is rooted in technology to wit it is easier to depict the violence we are discussing. But that isn't the only factor, demand also plays a roll. It resembles the game of "Tic-Tac-Toe", once you discover that a certain opening move spells the end of the game you move on to bigger challenges. In the case of movies/TV when the sounds of unbridled lovemaking begin to demise the thrill we move on to a visual of the bed clothes moving and then the bed clothes absent and so forth. The depiction of death has had a similar evolution from a gunshot and a falling victim to blood and guts scattered everywhere. I think the passive portion frequently turns people into pure observers. Some of us can simply watch a crime take place and do nothing about it. How many times have you heard about some crime where countless observers didn't even call 911. That's my feeling on the passive element.
As for the active portion we started with a thing called "Pong" I believe. Basically tennis played against a flawless opponent, the computer. Then someone came up with a space game and the hardware engineers rose to the occasion and built a better computer. Make no mistake, software, namely games, is what drives the hardware development. At any rate, the evolution of software has been toward more realism, more violence and more "First Person" gaming. The trill factor discussed above is present in the game world also. The gamers demand more and more of everything and at some point the hardened gamer can't get the thrill form a first person shooting game or anything else. Now if that individual has even a slight character flaw the games can make it more and more pronounced until said gamer has to experience the real thing.
All this has taken place during a feminist era. When I was born shortly after WWII it was customary for Mom to stay home and care for the kids while Dad went to salt mine and put food on the table. Families began wanting a few more things and Mom going to work allowed that to happen. Pretty soon there was no Mom or Dad to be with the kids during non-school hours. The love they once would have gotten had evaporated. I think parents began to feel guilty and tried to replace the love with "Things". Those things, or the lack of supervision and love they are supposed to replace, have been the downfall of our youth.
I'm an old man who grew up with constant reminders that I was responsible for what I did. I would never move to outlaw things just because a small portion of the society chose to misuse them. Now that includes firearms, video games and anything else you can imagine. In my opinion all that is necessary is to return to the idea that an individual is responsible for his or her actions. It isn't society, it isn't a teacher, it isn't a bully, a parent, a TV show, a movie or a video game. It is an individual responsibility and when the legal system finally realizes that, we may actually see some improvements.
My dad once told me, "When the U.S. stopped punishing criminals and started rehabilitating criminals", was the day the country started heading right down the crapper. I tend to agree, If you can do the crime, you can do the time and not in some country club.
Sorry, that got a bit longer than I initially intended.
Cheers
GIMP