Dungeon And Dragons, Rock N ' Roll, And Video Games

Video games and violence have been a big issue that has been the start of many arguments in today’s society. There have been many studies that have tried to support either side and no one can seem to come to a conclusion. The documentary that I watched, “Are Video Games Really That Bad” by BBC Horizon, was a document showing the benefits of video games and how they do not cause violence in people. Video games can be helpful to many people and can improve concentration, improve awareness, and can stop the brain from deteriorating as fast. These are just a few points that they make in the documentary. These stakeholders are trying to show their viewers that video games do not hinder gamers but instead they help them by increasing brain activity,

Violent video games and RPGs have taken over the video game industry. You don't see many kids playing Mario anymore. Everyone argues whether these violent games are perilous or harmless for gamers. Many studies have been conducted to prove each side of this argument. An Italian study published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science , says, “Participants who played a violent video game for only 35 minutes exhibited less self control, cheated more, and behaved more aggressively than did participants who

Violent video games cause dangerous and, aggressive thoughts to appear, and may make people act out in violent ways causing them to become harmful to their surroundings. In addition to making the player aggressive, violent video games are also linked to criminal activity. According to the article, "Do Games like 'Grand Theft Auto V' Cause Real-World Violence?", “The Aurora shooter, James Holmes, the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, they’re all described as essentially being addicted to video games” (Kain 1). Becoming addicted to video games, like these people, can reflect in actions, making gamers dangerous. On top of causing aggression playing violent video games, “Increases the likelihood that a person will commit a violent crime, like murder or assault” (Carey 1). Playing violent video games is harmful to the player and, their surroundings because they can have sudden outbursts causing harm to others. Video games, especially addictive, and violent games, are linked to criminal activity and, make people addicted, and harmful.Some people think that if they distract children with enjoyable video games it will cause them to be too distracted to do anything else, like violent behavior.

Are video games harmful? Are they poisoning society and corrupting the minds of the youth? The evidence would certainly make it seem that way, but what are the real effects that video games have on people? Video games have been the subject of controversy ever since their creation. Yes that’s right, ever since the creation of Pong, video games have been a concern. In fact C. Everett Koop stated that “There is nothing constructive in the games. Everything is eliminate, kill, destroy and do it fast” (Marcovitz 12). As video games grow more and more like real life concern grows as well. However, as video games grow, they also grow in providing a safe outlet for negative emotions, teaching player’s life lessons, and any research proving otherwise is too flawed to be reliable, the media also twists the subject of video games to fit their viewpoint instead of reporting what video games actually do.

The most popular games, like Grand Theft Auto IV offer what’s called “free play”. The ability to go where you want and do what you want in the gaming environment. The bigger the virtual world, the more exciting this can be. There are no signs, however, that tell you to punch or shoot someone” (Ulanoff). While Highland talked about how playing video games enough will “make you believe” you can actually do what you are doing inside the game, it goes hand in hand with something that Jones said in his article, Violent Media is Good for Kids. “Suddenly, I had a fantasy self to carry my stifled rage and buried desire for power. I had a fantasy self who was a self: unafraid of his desires and the world’s disapproval, unhesitating and effective in action” (Jones 195). This realization of games being our way of releasing our worries and anger onto the world being the primary reason that video games have become very appealing over the years and their evolution as an escape. Despite any regulations set out by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, or ESRB, video games have been becoming more of a part of people’s lives than ever before, just as Michael Highland stated about his own life.

Technology is an important aspect of change in our world. As time goes on, we are introduced to more and more technology every year, which includes media such as video games. The increase of technology has also increased and improved the world including ways of communicating and distribution of information. More often used outlets of media are those used for entertainment purposes, like television, internet and video games. The ones who are most likely to engage in these media outlets are millennials and the most recent generation Z, because they have been introduced to these outlets from a young age. In fact, a study found that children spend around 9 hours a week playing video games (Polman, de Castro, & van Aken, 2008). It is evident that video games are progressively becoming more violent in nature, and with children spending as much time as they do playing video games, there are questions that must be asked, is the violent nature of video games effecting today’s youth? And if so in what ways?

A large debate that has encountered many, is whether role-playing with simulated violence is diverse or perilous. “Playing the games can and does stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term.” I believe any role-playing violent game can cause harmful possibilities for many reasons such as, imputing bad habits, risks of danger for others, and committing violent crimes. One main reason that violent games are treacherous is, it can impact the person and cause bad habits. In the story Shooting in the Dark by Mark Kegans, a group of researchers tested students by having them play a violent video game and compared them to a group of students who played a nonviolent video game.

According to the article “Shooting in the Dark” author, Benedict Carey, states that studies today on violent video games show no concrete evidence on actually long term negative effects on gamers. Mr. Carey is not a researcher or scientist but is a veteran writer of neuroscience, neurology, and psychology. Throughout this article he gives factual evidence and quotes from scholarly sources such as doctors and researchers in the fields of behavior and psychology. The author gives ample explanation on evidence used from his sources to give the optimal understanding to the reader of the results and/or findings given by the sources. The article connects to the modern age of gamers with examples from big name video

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

Findings supporting these claims also show that with an increase in violence comes other negative health risks such as an increased likelihood of substance abuse, sexual activity, and obesity(Denniston, Swahn, Feldman, and Romero). Media use, and subsequent exposure to violent content is extremely prevalent among 8 to 18 year old children who spend, on average, 7.4 hours a day using media or computers and 80% of teens have some type of gaming console(Denniston, Swahn, Feldman, and Romero) These claims and the amount of media children are exposed to were concerning enough that the American Academy of Pediatrics started making advisory statements about violent video games and media being health risks for children in 2001. (Hall, Day, and Hall) Since then the link between violent games and violent behavior in youths has been researched across many “population groups”(Denniston, Swahn, Feldman, and Romero). The second theory revolves around any positive effects that might be gained from playing these games (Hall, Day, and Hall). Stating that these may offer “safe” outlets for negative emotions and thusly allowing players to be more emotionally balanced. (Hall, Day, and Hall)

Matt Peckham supports the theory that games do not cause bad behavior. In his web document on Time.com, he uses a sarcastic tone but yet provides the reader with a study performed by Stetson University. Surprisingly, “In my recent research we found that for some teens with a pre-existing mental health issue, playing violent video games seemed to be associated with less bullying” (Peckham 2). Other people may argue that the ability of a game to cause conflict with people’s personality is more of a conflict with their mind and body. Robbins states that video games can only cause bad behavior when allowed to by the human brain, so basically, the games are not for the weak-minded. Robbins also asks the question “Would you blame sports?” and then states “I’m not contending that there is no connection between violent games and violent people, but it’s correlative instead of causative. Individuals with personalities that lead to homicide are likely more drawn than others to media that feed their fantasies” (Robbins 1). He states here that people with a pre-existing desire for violence are more likely to display violent behavior after playing these video games.

Over the years, the popularity of computer and video games has grown. Specifically violent video games make up more than 50 % of the top selling games. These games include violent themes that involve guns, crime, blood, and gore. There is an ongoing belief that these types of games are to blame for the many acts of violence in society and have encouraged America’s youth to act out in aggression. Several organizations, such as the PTC (Parents Television Council) have moved to discourage the development of violent games while also pushing for stronger regulations when purchasing such games. There is also debate among parents and concerns on how games can negatively influence their children. So is there a direct link between video games and violence? The truth is video games do not encourage violence in society based on several factors which include scientific studies, statistics on crime, and prevention measures adopted by game publishers.

Excessive video game playing has been a problem with today’s youth they have had more influences over the youth than ever before. That brings to my attention a question, how do video games affect the youth of our society? Excessive video game playing, especially violent video games, can lead to youth violence, a decrease in academic success and many other negative things. I realize that some parents believe that they can be good for children, I agree but I also disagree in some cases. Some parents allow their children to play video games to keep a social life and to learn how to use strategies. This is true in some cases but not in all cases. For instance, other children that play video games alone and are in their rooms constantly can

“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.

Controversy about video games continue to escalate between parents and gamers, regarding the psychological effect of simulated, realistic, and 3D violence on the minds of young children and growing teenagers. Yet, research shows that video games contribute very little to today’s everyday violence, despite complaints and concerns that games influence a child’s normal behavior. Technology is a way of life in today’s world, computers are used by toddlers, adolescents, and adults alike. No matter what career path a person chooses, the computer plays an essential role in the job. The more our technology progresses and as our industry grows stronger, computers and electronic entertainment will grow to be found everywhere around the world. This includes videogames.