Negative Effects Of Video Games

It makes the possibility for violence grow stronger and stronger as the child grows in age until he or she takes a liking to violence,

At young ages, children can be influenced greatly by the things they see around them. A child’s mind is easily influenced at young ages. Fear is a major influence that can shape the way a young girl/boy grows up. In the article “Why boys become Vicious”, Golding states, “when people are afraid they discover the violence within” (Golding).

Many studies show that children are more prone to violence due to a child’s undeveloped brain. “Children who are regularly exposed to more violent media have an increased probability of behaving more aggressively in real life (Anderson).” Furthermore, children nowadays are exposed to excessive amounts of violence in media, increasing their risks of violence when older (Anderson). Anderson explains, children are likely to become “emotionally desensitized to the violence” being portrayed. Negative actions may happen without concern or acknowledgement that something is wrong (Anderson). According to Anderson, young children will be meaner and more aggressive. The more contact with media violence a child gets, the more likely they are to be aggressive, as he or she gets older

The conditions to model this violent behavior includes “attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation” which can be interpreted as the attention to the fact that violence is an adult’s response causes a child to model the behavior of the adults around them resulting in more violence (Bandura).

Brody’s attempt at shock was very poorly done. He attempts to lure the reader into thinking he’s talking about some kind of battlefield, but botches it from the onset. He then presents to sets of facts, one which we must take his word on, and the other I know to be blatantly untrue. This may be my ethos over his, but I doubt anyone truly believes that “the core gaming audience is 8 to 14 year old males” (Brody 2). In the next couple of paragraphs he goes on a rampage, painting video games as more and more realistic killing simulators. Brody believes that every game should be politically correct, with correct gender stereotypes, no winners or losers, and no violence. Now, if someone was to buy his statement that most gamers are 8-14 year olds, these beliefs still would not hold water. What Brady is advocating is completely sheltering kids, and not exposing them to any of the realities of life. In addition, he totally ignores the rating system for games and chooses the most violent titles he can

The impact video games have on the brain can differ by the opinions of others. Some may argue that it is a disadvantage and others may say it is the total opposite, an advantage. I will be exploring the viewpoints on both ends of the spectrum. Looking into documented research on the topic, I will be discussing the benefits of gaming, why people correlate excessive playing time to negative behaviors, and the long term effects that video games cause to the brain.

The repeated exposure to violence in the media, at home, and in school teaches children to associate the feeling of anger, with an act of violence. Whenever someone will not do or give the child what they want the child gets angry and reacts with violence. Previous experiences have taught violent children violent outburst will often result in the child getting exactly what they desire, reinforcing the negative behavior.

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.

From the late 1970s until the present day, the video game industry has been growing in popularity and profit at an amazing rate, with profits exceeding $10 billion in 1999 (Senate Commitee on the Judiciary, 1999). As time has progressed, the content of these games has become more and more realistic, and the violence in them has become more realistic. Concerns about this violence, from the relatively tame Pac-Man of the early 1980s to the near photo-realistic bestsellers of today, have been around since video games first enter the public consciousness. Video game violence appears in nearly all genres of game, from fantasy, to action, to sports and children of both genders have indicated a preference for video games containing violent content (Funk J. , 1993).

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.

childhood many problem with children becoming violent can lead just from the nature of that

Statistics indicate many aggressors at some point or another have witnessed acts of violence. During childhood, these observed behaviors can have a major impact and influence on adolescent and adult attitudes, perception of self and others. "Children become more susceptible and prone to negative and dangerous behaviors which can

1“Thompson’s case spawned a lawsuit filed against the Sony Corp., retailers and publishers on behalf of family members of two of the police officers. The case was profiled on “60 Minutes.” ” . This shows the level of controversy caused by the psychological effects of gaming and negative causation which could cause the death of innocent police officers or even citizens. The economic implications of Rock Star gaming were made inferior by the medias advertising of GTA as many news show were talking about it controversy which may have inadvertently increased sales and this reduced the effect of any successful law suit or reduction of profit margins due to age restrictions. Other than GTA gaming has an effect on society and the mental wellbeing of its consumers. Many depressed and suicidal/homicidal teenagers look to gaming as a haven and absorb information and copy behaviour directly from the games they play. “Some gamers become so engrossed in games that they actually believe they are part of the virtual world in which the game takes place. This

In the 90’s there was even enough media attention to video game violence that the United States Congress had a hearing on issuing age appropriate labels, much like in movies, to video games to warn parents of the contents of a game. Each of these matters have only helped further tarnish the reputation of video games, and draw worse misconceptions about them.

The video game industry is a multibillion dollar a year industry, so it isn't hard to understand why they go through great strides to protect their image. They provide entertainment to all ages, genders, nationalities, and ethnicities. Contrary to the opinions of the industries opponents, video games are not destroying our youth, they challenge, educate, and provide an escape from an oppressive world.