Nowadays, despite people zealously "protecting" children from exposure to violence, more and more kids are getting exposed anyway. The hard fact is this: the youth are getting their fix of violence from different media - especially movies as well as video games - and they like it.

A new study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, tried to find out how popular or widespread violent video games are among American children. A research team from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital and Michigan State University surveyed a total of 1,254 students hailing from Pennsylvania and South Carolina, ages ranging from 12-14 years old.

The results of the study will probably make Jack Thompson weep. Most of the boys, as well as girls, have played ESRB-rated Mature games, with the boys mostly playing Grand Theft Auto and Halo. Girls also played Grand Theft Auto, with the game even coming in as the second most played game by girls.

About 60 percent of the children studied agreed with the statement "I play electronic games because there's nothing else to do." While over half of the boys who participated in the study agreed that "I play electronic games because I like guns and weapons."

While parents and other authorities who claim that they intend only the best for the children, it should be noted that apart from video games, there are other sources of violence that can be found almost anywhere. The latest Die Hard movie, for instance, is rated PG-13 and yet, it's chock-full of violent scenes.

So what do you think? Should the authorities lighten up on video games?