Do Violent Video Games Cause Real Violence

“Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior” by Greg Toppo, has a short depiction of the investigation of Adam Lanza, the 20-year-old who violently gunned down several children in the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, August 12, 2013. In the article it tells how investigators examined Adam’s prior life before the shooting to try to make sense of why he did this. A Connecticut State Police investigator, Michael Murdy, discovered that after finding Adam’s GPS, the shooter spent a lot of his time at a local movie theater where witnesses said he spent hours playing the arcade game Dance Dance Revolution, a game that isn’t violent at all, in fact, Dance Dance Revolution has its players dance on glowing squares to Asian techno-pop music. However, things became more cynical once the police checked out Adam’s house and discovered that he, like many other teenage boys had violent video games in his possession such as Call of Duty, Dead or Alive, and Grand Theft Auto. They also stumbled upon several concerning items such as photos on his computer of the Clumbine killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, information on artillery, copies of the gory films Bloody Wednesday and Rampage, a list of elements to create explosives, and many other troubling things in his possession. Even though those violent video games aren’t what he was obsessed with, I believe they caused the violent downward spiral; along with the constant exposure of the violent content on his computer. Theoretically speaking, Adam didn’t need another person to play any of these games, so he was probably alone the majority of his time. Imagine a young man secluded most of his day, not only physically but mentally, spending hours at the arcade detached from society, playing Dance Dance Revoultion and then going home and spending even more time looking up evil things on his computer, and following that up with violent

Screaming and yelling, my brother punches through his bedroom wall. It’s six in the morning and he’s screaming at my mom for doing laundry. Maybe he has anger issues? But his temper has only been this bad for a couple years now. Ever since he started playing video games, like Call of Duty. Violent video games have been a battle that my family has been fighting for a few years now. My brother, started out small, playing Nintendo games and simple games like Crash. However, my brother has always had a slight anger management problem and even with easygoing games, he became furious when he lost. Because he has lofty dreams of winning every game possible, he will not stop. Now, with video games, like Call of Duty and God of War, my brother has become even more aggressive. Freaking out whenever he lost a match. He used to be such a sweet little boy, but now he screams and disrespects my mother. Afraid to anger him, my mom does nothing. Video games have been taken away from him, but he will never be the same sweet boy that he was. Many families are fighting the same battle. Gamers like my brother would disagree that video games are the reason he is aggressive. He argues that the reason he is aggressive is because of my sisters and me, which could be a part of the reason but what have we done to make him disrespect our mother or to make him destroy his walls? Although children, adolescents, and video gamers would disagree, research has provided evidence that violent video games

In today’s world, violence has become a very adamant problem. Violence is acting in intent to hurt, harm, apply physical force or even kill someone or something. Some people have said that the rise of violence is due to the increased violence in video games. This question has been up for debate for a long time and there still is not enough evidence to prove that it does. Nevertheless, the problem is not video games but instead it is the people who play them. Violent video games affect human behavior because they make the person who is playing the game think its reality and not just a game, being exposed to the graphic depictions can lead to a decrease in empathy and sensitivity, and could lead to an increase in aggression and anger problems.

Violence in video games lead to violent outbreaks and bad behaviour in real life, many people believe so. Are these violent video games moulding and fuelling today’s generation of young minds to a more violent side, forgetting the idea that these games are solely for entertainment purposes. Many studies have taken place surrounding this idea, giving valid points to both sides of the topic.

The worst school shooting in America, caused by violent video games? Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were Columbine school shooters, who played violent video games. At this point, is when in the U.S., people started to question video games and their ties with violence. Till this day violent video games have been becoming more and more popular. People and some parents are thinking that violent video games are causing violence in our youth and people, in general. Some people are thinking that today’s video games are becoming a bit too violent. Other people think that violent video games even help with control of people’s emotions and do not cause violence. This argument is very split, and is greatly supported on both sides. I am part of the community that disagrees that violent video games cause violent tendencies. I believe that videogames in general should be part of someone's life and even help in coping with violent thoughts.

The U.S.A. has had its share of horrific tragedies in the past few decades – mass shootings, homicides, domestic violence, terrorist attacks, just to name a few. It is difficult to fathom what could possibly motivate someone to demonstrate such an act of violence and terror. Could it be that playing video games with murderous themes and watching violent movies cause aggression in users? To what degree does violent media affect people’s behavioral patterns? Furthermore, because the lives of people are at risk, hypotheses that claim playing violent video games have no mental or emotional effects on the majority of people are entirely wrong. Instead, the concern should be focused on the different small groups of people who are affected by violent games; thus, correctly interpreting the causes of aggression is critical to understanding the current issues in a country that tolerates violent video games.

Parents and government officials alike believe that extensive participation in playing violent video games can cause psychological harm and influence aggressive behavior. Does it really? Many psychologists challenge this idea by using scientific research for backing. There has been much controversy over the topic and a lawful debate in California over who is allowed to have access to such vicious content. On the yes side(damage occurs and behaviors are influenced) of the argument is Steven F. Gruel, who stresses the importance of regulating the release of negative or “damaging” media, specifically violent video games, to minors. On the opposing side is Patricia A. Millett, who believes there is no concrete correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior or cognitive damage. Neither is right or wrong because a great deal of psychology is built upon theories that have been strengthened through extensive experimentation. Nonetheless, studying the effects of violent video games on psychological health and behavior can help narrow understandings of how what humans perceive influences how they think and behave.

Violence in video games does not cause kids to be violent because a majority of kids already play games that contain violence. Most games now days contain violence whether it be mild violence or intense violence with blood and gore. Federal crime statistics present that “the rate of juvenile violent crimes in the United States is at a 30-year low…people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in general populations”(“Do Violent Video Games

Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty and Halo are all video games that most would consider being violent. Whether it is stealing cars or shooting down the enemy it can clearly be seen that the characters in these video games are not setting the best example for the people who play these games. This leads many to wonder if these violent video games can alter the way that people view things as right and wrong. Does playing more violent video games cause one to act more violently than someone who does not? Even though many of the violent video games out there say that they are for mature audiences that does not stop parents from buying these violent games for their children and adolescents. This leads to many people in the scientific community to look at whether violent games can lead to an increased amount of aggression in children and adolescents.

Video games are quite a blast to play through. Being able to take up the mantle of a plumber and stomping on some enemies sounds fun, am I right? How about destroying hordes of enemies with any gun of your choice? While these things may sound great and harmless as it is to you, it isn’t to some others. There are those who blame violence within video games as a leading cause of violence in youth and players as a whole. News outlets and even outraged parents have blamed any sort of violence to have been caused by the violence within video games. This is a problem since it not only shows how uninformed these people are when it comes to this subject, but also how they don’t really consider the facts that have been given to disprove that the violence in video games is a main factor in causing real-life violence. With that said, there are a few reasons as to why violence in video games doesn’t cause violence. The first reason is that the vast majority of players that play violent video games refrain from real-life violence, the second is that the relationship between real-life violence and video games are weak, and the last reason would be that other forms of media also contain violence.

Violent video games provide an emotional outlet for inherent violent thoughts and feelings, which essentially deters crime. A study regarding the subject of violent youth activity found that “between 1994 and 2010 the number of violent crimes among youth offenders fell by more than half, to 224 crimes per population of 100,000. At the same time, sales of video games have more than doubled since 1996” (Corriea). These statistics communicate the idea that violent video games actually decrease the chance for people in general who express interest in violence to commit violent acts in real life, as their time will be spent engrossed

Since the 1980’s, social scientists have debated over the effects of video games. Vast improvements and advances in technology have evolved the gaming industry, gaining popularity. Not only has the popularity of video games increased but the amount of controversy surrounding them has also escalated. For decades, critics have accused video games of causing acts of violence and violent behavior. Although the media and critics blame increased violence in the real-world to violent video games, this exaggeration of their effects does not take into account and the fact that there can be no single risk factor that leads to real-world acts of violence and the lack of evidence that suggests a causal link between video game violence and violent behavior. Therefore, the current regulations and laws surrounding violent video games should remain the same.

Those who are against violent video games may believe that by playing a violent game for just a minimal amount of time has the potential to increase a person’s aggression levels exponentially. As a study

An entertainment that has been around for years now, and progresses technologically is becoming the blame for real life criminal acts in youth. Every year video games advance to becoming more realistics in all of their aspects. It is said that the fictional acts in video games are causing real life criminal actions, and in result the media is posting blame to them. Video games are one of the most argumentative cause to criminal acts or aggressive acts in youth. According to Videogames.procon.org, “Video games have been pinpointed to being the lead cause to the Sandy Hook and Columbine shooting.” News outlets bring up the fact violent video games in almost any criminal act committed by youth. Instead of diving into research and developing facts and supported evidence; reporters find using the easier route to be best. They just simply blame it on something else, and in this case violent video games. So, the question to be answered is do violent video games contribute to such criminal actions in youth? Much research has been done trying to conclude an answer to this question, but the results have and will be always the same, they do not. Video games are merely a form of entertainment the only action they will encourage is aggression.

A major opposition to violence video games leading to aggression is that the research that was done is not a valid research. Henry Jenkins said “...most of those studies are inconclusive and many have been criticized on methodological grounds” (2). The studies are not inconclusive because in the studies that the researchers do they