Essay on Positive Influence of Violence in Video Games

In conclusion, video games that are violent can be very perilous to not only kids but anyone who plays them. They can have short and long-term effects on your career and the way you think. Violent games are bad because they can lead to serious actions, the player can get hurt, and because they can distract us. Making the choice to play this game is not only affecting you but it can affect the people around you and how they think of you. So next time you go to play games you should think about the consequences that come with

Another point supporting violent games is backed up by a study Journal of Adolescent Research. This study concludes, “Kids use games to experience fantasies of power and fame, to explore and master what they perceive as exciting and realistic environments, but distinct from real life, to work through angry feelings or relieve stress” (Casey). Another theory is that violent video games might cause guilt. Research shows that gruesome video games can induce a feeling of guilt that could have a positive effect on kindness, civic engagement, and prosocial behavior (Casey). By making kids feel bad, they may want to do something kind to feel better

Video games are loved by many people. People even make money by playing video games and posting them on YouTube. But many people argue that violent video games cause real life violence in children. Many video games have actually been banned in countries. One example of this is Watchdogs in the United Arab Emirates. Violent video games do not promote violence in kids under 17 because it has not been proven to increase aggression, there are recommendations for age groups on the package because of this, and countries that have a high percentage of video games use, have low gun violence.

Laurie D. Berdahl, M.D. states that “I think that it’s good for people to understand that is at least 30 years of research that playing violent video games increases violent behavior in kids, she said “It’s no longer controversial. Basically, there’s solid research that even if someone doesn’t become a mass shooter, his or her reactions become more violent and aggressive. There is no longer any question.” There has been many studies into the effects of violent video games on the adolescent mind. Many of them have brought up some very important and very concerning questions. Am I a bad parent for letting my child play this violent video game? Will my child become a school shooter from playing this video game? These are some very important and vital questions to the crisis that is adolescents playing mature rated video games. The reason most parents do not want their children playing violent video games it that some parents do not want their children to grow up violent and hateful of people. Violent video games can and will affect your child’s mind and how he or she reacts to things. A child who plays violent video games six to seven days a week will definitely react violently to situations in which a child who does not play violent video games six to seven days a week would react

First of all, most teens who love violent games spend most of their time playing video games. In addition, “an even more direct link of video game to real-life violence occurred in 2006. Alabama teen Devin Moore was arrested by local police on suspicion of the car theft. While in custody at the police station , he suddenly attacked an officer, stole his gun, and killed two officers and a 911 dispatcher.” (Ramirez page 14). It feels good

Violent video games can contribute to violence, especially in youth. Violent video games expose players to real-life violence. Video games are becoming more and more realistic. Violent video games teach youth that violence is an acceptable way to solve arguments or fights between people. These games encourage killing and fighting enemies. Some games kill zombies, shoot people, and fight to the end of death. Playing violent video games increases mean behavior and triggers anger, especially in kids that have major behavior or mental problems. Violent video games have been blamed for bullying, school shootings or attacks, and violence towards girls.

In this age of technology, it's very safe to say that a large majority of the world's population has played at least one video game. This can vary from playing games on console, like Xbox-One, Playstation 4, and for the older generation, the NES to playing mobile games like Tetris. There are many consoles that span from the creation of video games. This has opened opportunities to make several kind of games. These can vary from side-scrollers like Super Mario Bros. on the NES, to Role-playing games (RPG) like Final Fantasy IX on the Playstation 1. While this has caused some great games to surface, it has also allowed intense violence to be let into games. Parents and anti-gaming communities state that this is why kids can become violent. This is false, because violent games can be avoided to prevent this issue, and the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) has even made various precautions to make sure parents know what they're purchasing. Comprehensible symbols, detailed lists, and age restrictions prevents children from "becoming violent".

Violent video games are advantageous because they can help people relax and deal with social problems/stress. For example, “No study has ever shown that violent video games result directly in actual violence, let alone mass shootings” (Kain). Also, “None of these extreme acts, like a school shooting, occurs because of only one risk factor; there are many factors, including feeling socially isolated, being bullied, and so on,” said Craig A. Anderson, a psychologist at Iowa State University” (qtd. In Carey). These quotes show that violent video games are not the reason for violence and shootings, hence they should not be blamed for these atrocious acts. Instead, violent video games should be looked on as a positive influence in people’s lives as they can help them stay preoccupied, and not have them focus on the negatives in their lives such as being bullied, not being socially welcomed and other dilemmas they may be experiencing. “In fact, numerous studies have been conducted and the results are mixed. Some studies have shown that video games increase aggression; others show the opposite” (Kain). In other words, even though some studies have shown that video games increase aggression; there are other studies that have shown video games releasing aggression and ultimately relaxing the player. Critics may argue that violent video games increase aggression and make people more violent. “Sure enough, compared with a group who had played a nonviolent video game, those who had been engaged in “Mortal Kombat” were more aggressive across the board” (Carey). However, violent video games can relieve stress and aggression; calming them down and making them safer to be around.

There has been a lot of factors linked to child aggression. One of biggest factors is children playing violent video games. Although video games are commonly used by children there can be negative effects when introduced to violent video games. Recent studies have shown a correlation between violent video games and the behavior of young children. Violent video games influence children's behavior because their attitudes become more aggressive, the availability of violent games has become very easy for children , and with the help of technology the graphics of the video games make the game look identical to real life.

It may seem odd that one would think that a video game could possibly have a negative effect on children. Especially when you discover all of the logical fallacies in their argument. Although some people have some decent points, most studies done on this subject have no direct correlation with the violence in children that happen to play violent video games. A study done in 2008, deemed with the title “Grand Theft Childhood” reported that 60% of middle school boys who played at least one M-rated game had previously hit or beat up another

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.

First off, the type of video game does not matter in causing violence as much as the amount of time spent playing does. As stated in a study by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, ”Those children who spend more time playing games might be slightly likelier to be hyperactive and to get into fights. But violent video games seem to have no effect on behavior, according to British researchers”. So videogames, both violent and non-violent, when played for too long, can lead to more aggression.In the same study, it’s stated that “The researchers found that the 22 kids who played video games the most each day were the likeliest to have behavioral problems, exhibit hyperactivity and have trouble academically, although the effects were "quite small in magnitude,” So, even though there were behavioral changes in

An Iowa State University News Service article featuring three studies done by Iowa State University psychology professors Craig Anderson and Douglas Gentile makes note of this and in their research, the professors looked into whether violent video game exposure led to more violent behavior in children and adolescents or not (“ISU Psychologists” 449). In their three studies, they noted that kid’s games in general have a behavioral effect, that students who played violent video games were more violent or in favor of violence, and that violent video games may lead to poor performance in school as well as a higher rate of social rejection (“ISU Psychologists” 450). Regarding this information, a major increase in aggression in individuals would definitely run the risk of being detrimental in many cases, especially in regard to children. Since children are still in a developmental stage, violent video game could potentially have more of an overall impact. However, in some cases, it can be argued that perhaps video game-related aggression can be a good thing because it’s only a minor amount of aggression in most people, and this minor amount of aggression can be a good thing as it can provide a competitive boost. Even violent video games may have some sort of benefit to the

Violent video games only make people less social and usually, people with anger problems don’t want to just play violent video games. They want revenge. People also claim that video games help kids learn life skills and how to read and write. Yet any “skills” learned from playing violent video games are only used if you want to dismember body part or kill someone. Because players actually are making the motions of the avatar on the screen, they become more engaged and emotionally intact with the violent video game than someone watching a movie or T.V show might be (Andrea Norcia, The Impact Of video Games). One of the main pros of playing video games is that Violent Video Games can help with early childhood learning and can help children learn to read words on the screen’s. However violent video games usually don’t have subtitles on them. If the video games do have words on them, they are usually words like “Press left control to tear limbs off,” or “ select A on your controller to shoot the gun.” Another positive effect is how violent video games give a more accurate virtual playing experience. Nevertheless, more than likely, the virtual image is of blood, guts, guns, or other rated R images. Violent video games

Playing video games does not cause violent behavior. Don’t get me wrong, some video games show horrific acts of violence. “A recent survey found that 92 percent of U.S. kids--ages 2 to 17--play video games, and their parents bought 225 million of them last year to the tune of $6.4 billion.” (Sider 79).What’s here to argue is that violent video games do not cause violence among children, but the blame for violence should be on the individual and people who should have taught the individual better. If kids are not able to see the difference between reality and fantasy, then they really can’t be blamed for committing acts they see in a game and then imitating, not fully understanding the consequences of doing it in the real world.