Annotated Bibliography On Video Games

Video games and their impacts have been hotly debated for a number of years, particularly violent video games. Games such as Grand Theft Auto appear to promote everything from carjacking to randomly murdering an innocent bystander just because you can, sparking debate that seems to renew itself every time a new game is released in the series. The most general form of this argument simply asks if video games are good or bad for their players. On one side, there is the belief that video games, and particularly those that are violent, are bad, especially for children. On the other, it is believed that video games are relatively harmless in the long run, and potentially even beneficial. The importance

This paper will provide a survey and balanced evaluation of current research and thinking by experts on the short and long term effects of video games, specifically violent actions and themes, on individuals as well as society as a whole.

Content analyses show that 89% of video games have some violent content. Half of the video games on the market have extreme violent actions toward other characters. Games, today, are allowing players to not only connect with the game physically, but also emotionally and psychologically. In essence, the player becomes the character. According to Nielson Media Research, at least 45 million households in the United States have at least one video game console (Markey & Charlotte, 2010). The average age of video game players has increased to age 34, and 60% of Americans play interactive games on a regular basis. However, researchers believe that younger children are more susceptible to the negative effects of playing violent video games compared to older teenagers and adults. Furthermore, games that include violence have raised serious concerns among

This article does a review of other studies that are about the effects of gaming in all varieties, including visuospatial cognition, possible aggression, etc. The review of the studies shows a large amount of studies with publication bias, and in the end have no support for their hypothesis that states videogames cause aggressive behavior. However, some video game play was

(White, 2009, p. 2) Video games also cause children to develop social problems. Their empathy decreases and they are less willing to help others. Children become antisocial spending less and less time interacting with family members, friends, and playing. They are controlled by what is occurring on the screen in front of them, locking themselves up in their rooms, or away from others just to play endless hours of video games. Video games have progressed over recent years becoming far more violent, sophisticated, and addictive. Studies have shown that the effects of video games and aggressive behavior follow almost the same pattern as that of studies with violent media such as cartoons.

Side effects of video games number just about as many types of video games that people play. In Lisa Weber’s article “Positive Effects of Video Games on Children,” she states several benefits that children obtain when they play video games. Some of these advantages include the areas of social development, education, and an emotional outlet. As a result, Lisa clearly displays her stance on the positive side of the opinions of video games. However, electronic gaming contains a voluminous amount of pernicious effects. When young adults and children partake in video games, they come across numerous experiences that could have a negative influence on their lives.

Although there is a plethora of research that has been established on the harmful effects of television and movie violence, empirical research on video games is still limited (Anderson et al., 2010). Anderson and Dill (2000) sought to understand the

The controversy of the effects of violent video games is a never ending battle between gamers and science. Hundreds of studies have been conducted on the issue all saying the same thing, violent video games have a correlation with increased risk of hostility in the people who play them. Although correlation does not equate to causation meaning that video games can not be condemned as the only source of aggressive behaviors. This isn’t the only effects that these games have on people. Violent video games are shown to have positive effects ranging from boosting learning in children, improvements in visuospatial cognition, and a decrease in violent crime.

Austin Grossman once stated,” Video games are a huge, incredibly popular, world-transforming medium.” The question is, does this powerful source have a positive or negative influence? With the many benefits, that out rule the negative effects of violent video games, like increased intelligence, enhanced social skills, and strong friendships, the choice becomes clear. Although some may think violent video games have negative effects, the positive effects are more prominent.

The advancement of technology in the contemporary word has increased the use of video games by children, teenagers and young adults. The video games have existed for almost three decades and the controversy of their causing violent behavior spans the same period (Porter and Starcevic,422). The release of Death Race game in 1970s initiated a debate with organizations, governments officials and other institution taking sides in the argument of whether violent video games cause violent behaviors. The issue has been a bond of contention and has attracted several scientific studies as well as psychological explanations. As a result, the media, regulatory authorities and professionals in mental health have debated the effects of video games on the behavior of those that play, especially the young people. This essay argues that video games do not cause violent behaviors.

The relevance of violence in video games in the United States today is currently being discussed as a concerning topic in congress. Many people argue these video games influence individuals to commit crimes and lead to mass shootings. The arrival at a decision to ban the production and distribution of M-rated video games in America has come to a standstill. Research has proven that violence in video games has many positive and negative effects on the brain, but the severity of these effects does not compare to overall aspect of violence in video games. Ferguson admits “...there is not enough evidence to prove that violence in video games is directly related to aggressive behavior” (Ferguson, ). Because there is no proven evidence, congress is at a standstill on its decision to ban these video games until they are proven to have a negative influence on society. News media continues to persuade the masses about their opinion on the subject and most of the time their evidence is false or one-sided. The people deserve the truth about extreme video games and until research accurately proves the effects of these video games, people will believe the opinion of others. The evidence suggests that extreme video games involving violence offer players a form of catharsis, along with enhanced cognitive skills,

For instance, a study has shown that gamers who play horror or action packed games assists in controlling their emotions. Even though there are suggestive negative effects in playing violent videogames in particular, such as Call of Duty, they been linked to improved vision, multitasking, and accuracy.(Wignall) Surprisingly enough videogames have reduced stress, and improved behavior. While most people think that videogames increase stress, games reduce adrenaline responses over 50%. (mentalfloss) This means that people are calmer when they are playing games. Since games give rewards and encourage leadership traits players can present a correlating motivation in their everyday life. (mentalfloss) There are numerous different genres of games and all of them have different positive effects. Nevertheless videogames are beneficial in everyday life.

Over 1.2 billion people around the world play video games and of that, roughly 700 million play online video games. Neurologists believe that video games retune connectivity across and within different brain areas, but even though there are positive results, heavy use of video games can also have serious drawbacks. (Denworth, 2013) This study explains how video games can both positively and negatively affect our everyday life. Since the dawn of the technology era, video games have become increasingly more popular, and although some deride them as needlessly violent and pointless, there can be benefits to spending hours playing video games. In her article, Denworth talks about how it’s actually the violent video games that are the most beneficial

Video Games have come a long way since their first introduction into the main stream. With video games becoming more sophisticated and using advanced technology, it seems as if video games are closing in on the gap between games and reality. However, as video games become ever so life-like it brings up the question of if the violence associated with video games is having a negative consequence. There have been many accusations over the years over the harm video games are causing children and teenagers. Experiments have been conducted trying to associate a link between video games and aggressive behavior. Even the media has been known to point fingers at video games for the cause of children

“Life is a video game. No matter how good you get, you are always zapped in the end” (“Video Game Quotes” 1). Over time researchers, psychiatrists, and parents have often wondered how damaging violent video games can be to the youth in society. This is an important matter to people with children in their personal lives or work environment. These games have become a large risk factor for aggressive behavior in children. Researchers have been saying that video games do affect adults as well; however, they have even more effect on younger brains in early development. Video games have negative effects on childrens’ behavior. Some effects that video games have are reduced academic performance, aggression, obesity, and emotional disorder.