Learning Theory, Video Games, And Popular Culture By Paul James Gee

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

A huge controversy in today’s society is violent video games and their behavioral effect on the children and adults who play them. Violent video games have been blamed for bullying, school shootings, and even violence towards women. Many have fought that violent video games desensitize players to real-life violence, and that they are teaching the youth that violence is an acceptable conflict-solving strategy. Other sources have stated otherwise. The 2004 Secret Service has stated that only one-eighth of attackers have exhibited interests in video games. Violent Video games do not cause violent behavior or behavior problems because it has not been proven that there is a link between violent video games and behavioral issues, playing video games provide a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings and reduces violence in young children, and violent juvenile crime has actually gone down since the violent video game popularity has increased.

The paper discusses how violent video games affect a person's behavior and if they manifest violence and show aggression in the real world after playing such video games. I learned that not all people who are exposed to video game or media violence turn violent. I think it depends on the person if he wants to get influenced from the game, to mimic what the game shows. This is just like the next source, discussing about what kind of behavioural problems violent gaming brings about.

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

Moreover, many kids deal with violence and can’t control it. As a result of having issues with violence some people play video games to let their violence and anger out. People need to understand that “ [b]ut overall, violent crime is down in the US-indeed, as violent games have become more popular, violent crime has fallen." (Erik Kain 1) The more popular the game is studies show violent

The popularity of violent video games is rapidly increasing, but abundant evidence suggests that, “playing violent video games [diminish] the player's perception of their own humanity” (Greitemeyer 499). Violence in video games has become increasingly popular throughout the years, as gun related murders have also increased in the United States, according to the data table in “Do Games like ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Cause Real-World Violence?”. Some might say violent video games are a positive part of people’s lives because they keep criminals off the streets, but that is not the case. People should not be playing violent video games because it causes people to act out in aggressive ways and further, violent video games are directly linked to criminal

Lately, it seems that there has been an abundance of horrible mass shootings and brutal violence in our world. In today’s seemingly dangerous world, parents are yearning to protect their children from getting involved in these savage crimes. Now, a great deal of people, especially parents, accuse violent video games as the cause of this growing epidemic. The controversy of video game induced violence has a long history, but it didn’t appear in the spotlight until the disturbing Columbine shooting in 1999, when the gunmen were said to have been addicted to violent video games. Since 1999, there have been more mass shootings and vicious crimes that have been accursed on video games. While siding with the belief that video games create violence

Many pundits believe video games that exhibit crude violence, blood and gore, strong language, use of alcohol and drugs and so forth, will influence young adults physical magnetism to deploy this ideal charisma in the real world. For example, in the news article Violent video games do not cause people to be violent in real life by Brian Sweeney, an argument was made, “Violent video games tend to raise more interest to other players to try out and experience things that normally people wouldn't do in real life, whether it be stealing cars and causing destruction to people and property in games like Grand Theft Auto or progressing through the story while killing nightmarish creatures using guns or knives like in Resident Evil or Dead Rising.” Though graphics are vividly improving each and every year, and explicit content seemingly encourages contributors to produce similar actions in tangible means, this statement is absolutely bogus and completely eschew in a sense of disputable genteelism. Violent video games does not really affect one's psychology, rather creates a virtual perception of freedom and reverie of diluted tension. The foregoing article introduces Jacqueline Huppuch, a senior is also a gamer who plays violent video games. She plays because it helps relieve her stress, for instance, “In

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.

In “Grand Theft Childhood,” Professors Lawrence Kutner and Cheryl Olson do a good job of investigating whether violent video games are bad for kids. They present both sides of the argument in an unbiased way.

While opposition to violence in video games believe that violent video games cause people to become desensitized to acts of unjustified violence, this study performed by these professors blatantly proves that the opposition is wrong. For example, Florida lawyer Jack Thompson was an avid supporter of opposition against violence in video games. However, in 2008, Thompson was disbarred for his “extensive history of public misconduct” (Cavalli). Thompson, in reference to the mature-rated video game Grand Theft Auto IV, called the game “a murder simulator for violence against women, cops, and innocent bystanders” (Chalk). Using the information gained from this study, we could potentially develop games that use violence in video games to teach children the difference between what is right and what is wrong.

“What happens if an intruder gets in the classroom?” or “ Will I ever be the intruder?” Violent Video games are dangerous to humans in so many ways. One way that Violent Video Games affects humans is how they wash away emotions and sympathy for other people. Even though the shooting and killing is in the video game, they also stimulate a violent behavior and can lead to violence later on. Studies have shown that many shooters (mass or single) or adults who seek violence, have played multiple, or even just one, violent video games. Violent video games affect the left and right side of the brain. Children who play violent video games

Violent video games are contributing to violent behaviors in the youth and teenagers of America. Youth violence is a seemingly increasing problem in the United States. Juvenile centers are gaining new residents each day.This violence is brought on by an increase in video game violence. Many of the newly developed games are killing simulators which train players for real world violence. There seems to be a lack in evidence against video games. “According to the federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low” (Jenkins 32). So called links between video games and youth violence are said to be found, but these links are coming from people who solely research media violence.

Throughout history, the American society has suffered from tragic events, from mass school shootings to civil terrorist attacks. The older generation has blamed violent video games such as Grand Theft Auto (GTA), Saints Row, and Mafia for the corruption of the youth and their path towards violence. In addition, mass media has also pointed fingers towards the gaming industry for most of these horrific incidents. Furthering the belief that video games are bad for children which is inaccurate. Because several experts have found videos games to be useful in terms of helping with stress, occupying time, and providing useful lessons.

One of today’s most debated topics is whether violent video games cause bad behavior. This topic has been researched for almost 30 years and there are still major opinion differences. Many psychologists say violent video games do cause bad behavior, and claim that games such as Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto, and Modern Warfare, desensitize people to violence, making it a norm in society. Others disagree, claiming that these games, although they can be very violent, can help people develop critical thinking skills. (Nonviolent video games are preferred for this though). The truth is, violent video games do both; studies indicated that some games increase aggressive thought, feelings and behaviors in both the long and short term. But, studies