Mary,
While it may not appear to "phase" them, in fact it affects them very, very much. There is a growing amount of research that shows children and young adults respond in different and sometimes shocking ways to trauma. At Columbine a neighboring school cheered when they found out about the shooting. Older children have a lack of sympathy and have high percents of attachment (being closely affiliated with other people) problems. Even research on eye movement seems to indicate that children's eyes move at a more rapid rate than previous adults.
In WWII it took much training to get the young soldiers to overcome the natural inclination to not kill another. Now, we have "games" where children shoot each other with paint balls. They can shoot and kill others in video games. This has led to a desensitization where students shoot each other on a monthly basis inside schools (most of these school shootings you don't hear about.) Cities like Philadelphia have daily killings among their youth. Unwittingly our children have subjected themselves to
a powerful desensitization that affects more than most of us are willing to admit.
Many of the students I talk to believe that because they do not have "anger" problems or "obvious" sins, that subjecting themselves to these games, movies, etc. has no affect on them. They do not realize how attitudes, outlooks and perspectives do change. However, as playing and viewing such material becomes the norm, both parent and child will begin to loose sight of the importance of protecting our youth. Just as the battle for health and proper eating has been "lost" in Western Europe and in the US, (12 year olds are more than 7 pounds heavier than their parents and growing) so the battle for a healthy perspective on live and living may be soon "lost" for the majority of our precious children.
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