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Do Violent Video Games Cause Violent Behavior Essay

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Do violent video games cause behavioral problems? For years this topic has been highly debated amongst parents and the players. Violent video games do cause behavioral problems because they alter a gamers mind.
Risk factors are a major part of behavioral problems. A risk factor of behavior problems are behaviors that are harmful, disruptive, and impulsive. A majority of researchers say that it is unlikely that playing violent video games will cause a child with no other risk factors to turn into an extremely violent person(Lee). This being said, violent video games are a common risk factor among adolescents (Cooper). Personal background, peers, neighborhoods, and genetics are other common risk factors. Combined, these risk factors can cause violent behavior to occur (Calvert).
Continually being exposed to violent acts will eventually lead to violent behavior. Exposure to violence will cause some form of violence to develop over time. Unnecessary violence, such as video games, are causing problems that would otherwise not be an issue. For example, in one study, 161 nine through twelve-year old's and 344 college students were randomly assigned to play either a violent or nonviolent video game throughout a specific amount of time. The participants played a game against the computer in which they set punishments levels for their opponents. Those who played the violent games appeared to have harsher punishments than those who played nonviolent games (Cooper).
Children often imitate the actions of characters from games they play and find it difficult to separate reality from fantasy. “Kids are changing the way they think.” Says Dr. Gentile. He explains that long-term exposure to this media can potentially lead to changes in both thinking and behavior. Generally speaking, when children play these games they really enter into the spirit of things. In many of these games, one must play as a specific character throughout the game. From beginning to end, the player is required to make decisions as if he/she was actually that character, facing new challenges and completing quests with every new section of the game. “These games require the player to be an active participant, allowing them to decide the destiny of their

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