(Sometimes we have ended up hurting each other but with play fighting that's typically something you get to laugh about afterwards.)

It may not be appropriate for me to comment about video games as I have virtually no interest in them whatsoever, but it still strikes me that repeatedly viewing images of extreme violence on some level serves to make increased levels of violence more acceptable alongside creating a sense of detachment. Or is that just hollow opinion?

My level of violence is limited to killing flies in my kitchen - although I have been known to smash up furniture when really pissed off. Anger/rage needs its outlet, it can be very difficult (for me) to transform it sometimes. And sometimes I feel the decision to let rage out is an indulgence - this is surely cultural conditioning though. It's still possible to respond creatively after smashing up a table. Other circumstances could certainly be more difficult.

I'm reminded of an excerpt from Dale Pendell's Pharmakognosis:

My closing thought to this disjointed ramble is that there are more people on the earth than ever before so of course there is more violence. (The OP was talking about depictions through media though and my analysis of this matter is far from complete, on the whole because it's something I prefer to avoid watching.)