Harmful Effects Of Violent Video Games

Prolonged scenes of massive violence, graphic sexual content, and animated blood are examples of statements that the Entertainment Software Rating Board uses to depict the content in over fifty- five percent of the video games rated yearly. The debate of whether the aggressive nature of these video games influences youth violence in our country has been heatedly battled for decades. Since the mid 1980’s, it has been suggested that high profile cases of violence are due to an aggressor’s excessive video game use. However, much like a cold case the type of connection between video game use and youth violence remains without a definite answer. Most believe that video game use negatively influences child aggression acts in our country. Others firmly declare that video games provide a realm of opportunity for child development. Ultimately, it is impossible to say that video game use affects every child the same way. New studies suggest that video games do not affect every child that plays a game. Although violent video games are innocuous for the majority of adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen, the effects of these games are aggravated in those with pre- existing antisocial or depressive traits.

“Approximately 90 percent of kids in the U.S. play video games, and more than 90 percent of those games involve mature content that includes violence.”-(Time Health). The link between violent media and aggression in video games has also created a spawn of research studies that has gone back and forth on the issue of whether

The first reason that violent video games are not beneficial to our society is that they often award players for simulating violent behaviors, and thus that enhances the learning of them. Studies have shown that when violence is rewarded in video games, players exhibit increase of violence compared to those who play video games where violence is punished. Violent video games create aggressive human beings, and award players for violent behaviors. They require active participation, repetition, and

In today’s society there has been an ongoing debate regarding the effects of violent video games and the development of today’s youth. Many people believe that the violence in video games promotes aggression. According to Doctor Brad Bushman’s article, "Do Violent Video Games Increase Aggression?" he claims that violent video games leads to aggression because it is interactive process that teaches and rewards violent behavior. Yet others believe that this not the case. Gregg Toppo of the Scientific American, writes in his article, “Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior?” that video games are not a significant issue because teenagers know how differentiate between reality and fantasy. Because of the controversy surrounding this topic, I decided to research the question, “Does exposure to violent video games cause aggressive behavior among teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18?” Initially before performing any extensive research on this subject, I hypothesized that violent video games do cause aggressive behavior. I then proceeded to study different scholarly works that both supported and opposed my hypothesis. What I learned from those works eventually gave me a more complete understanding of the topic and allowed me to take a more educated stance.

A significantly large portion of the video games created within the past 5 to 10 years contain some form of violence. On top of that, some of the most popular video games out in the market today are extremely violent and warrant an “M” rating for mature. Video game developers are well aware of this trend and continue to produce more graphic, interactive, and realistic content. Therefore, there is a concern that the vast amount of violence in video games is changing how youth develop and what they perceive as normal. Many researchers believe that there is a link between video games and increased aggression in the people who play them.

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

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

Violent video games are those that represent violence as the best or only way to resolve conflict. Some statistics say that in the United States, kids ranging from twelve-seventeen play video games, which is supplying $21.53 billion to the domestic video game industry. Most video games contain violence, and fifty of those are the top selling ones.

With the popularity of video games growing there has been both instability and prosperity from children playing more violent games. There are beliefs that the newer more lifelike violent games are harmful to children. The beliefs have grown so much so that California Law went before the U.S. supreme court to determine the controversy. The importance of this matter is that these video games could cause the adolescents to have an increase in violence. Studies that were taken to act as evidence toward video games being harmful or harmless were focused on neuroscience research. This is an aspect of Psychology that deals with the functions of the brain. The way the brain functions is affected by many factors, a major argument is playing violent video games has harmful influence on the brain?

The question is why children are being affected by these games. Is it that the child are mimicking what they see or is it effecting the child’s brain. At Indiana University, Dr. Vincent Matthews decided to create a study to watch brain patterns after playing violent video games. They performed three different tests to find out how these games impacted the brain. They picked out 28 students from campus to play either violent video games, first person shooter games, or non-violent games. What they found was after a couple hours playing these games that those who play violent video games showed no brain activity in areas involving emotions, attention, and impulses. There is science behind violent video games and their negative effects on people. Researchers ran another test after the participants played the games. They held up cards with non-violent words like run or walk, and they were in different colors. They also held up cards with violent words like hit or push which were also in different colors. Those who play violent video games were equal to the non-violent video game players in the original testing but when it came to the violent words, violent video gamers should no brain activity in the area of emotion like the non-violent gamers. When faced with violent topics, the gamers were desensitized to the topic. Alice Park stated in her article, How Playing Violent Video Games May Change the Brain, “The brain changes that Matthews’ group saw were similar to those seen in

Today our world is surrounded by technology and new inventions that make our lives better. Some of the most popular of hobbies among children and teenagers are video games, but what many people don’t know is that they are bad for them. Violent video games in particular have been proven to not be appropriate for the age groups that play them and to have a negative effect on school, social behavior, and increase aggression.

The creation of video games that portray violent content have became a popular commodity for children looking for ways to spend countless hours of free time. Violent video games have been a part of American culture ever since the release of “Death Race” in 1976 (“Videogames and Violence”). This multiplayer arcade game involved driving a car over stick gremlins in order to score points. These types of games have evolved into something far greater with releases of Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Modern Warfare just to name a few. Violent video games are leading people to draw conclusions that children engaging in this type of violence for entertainment purposes may result in a negative impact on society. A prime example of how video games negatively influenced teenagers’ lives is the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. Two teenagers opened fire on their school, in the middle of the day, and were inspired by the games Wolfenstein 3D and Doom (ProCon.org). So, is the ease of access and the thrill of violent activity creating a real life danger zone for these gamers and the innocent bystanders in their path? There is a direct correlation between video game violence and mass murders occurring in this country. Exposure to video gaming may desensitize children and encourage aggressive behaviors, lead to real life acts of violence, and should be monitored in order to keep our children and this nation safe.

Looking into the world of video games I will explore research that has indicated the exposure to video games directly results in aggression or violent acts. Additionally, I examine research that has stated that a direct relation cannot be determined and that there may be other important factors not sufficiently addressed like societal influence. Also, I will introduce observations about the study of video games and their relation to aggression and violence and how they may be faulty or biased making any results reported necessitating additional scrutiny.

“Recent contents analyses of video games show that many as 89% of games contain some violent contents” (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, Walsh 3). More than half of video games being sold around the world contain some form of violence. All of the violence involved in the video games being played by children is a pattern leading to aggression. Aggression can be caused by many things; however, violent video games are the main cause of aggression in young adults. “If a child began playing violent video games at a young age, then he might think that violence in real life is the same as the game violence and that it doesn’t have a real impact on others” (Gilad, Alto 1). Thinking that violence in the virtual world is the same as in the real world is the first step to showing aggression. Aggression in children caused by video games is the biggest effect parents and researchers worry about. Violent video games teach children that shooting and killing people are

Violent video games are some of the most played highly rated and played games in the gaming industry. Violent video games are also some of the most controversial types of video games, many people blame these types of video games for aggressive behavior. There have been many studies about how violent video games affect people's mood and behavior, and many people from the president to many scientists who think that the games will make a young mind become much more aggressive than their mind was originally. However there have also been many studies that have gone to prove this theory wrong, which ever one might be right or wrong there are many benefits that these people should not deny. The effects of many of these game are mostly positive in