Video Games and Youth Violence: Is There a Connection? Essay example

Video Game Violence has been a big controversial topic for many years, going back to the most simple classic video games like Ms. Pac-Man, Centipede and Space Invaders,which eventually turned into more modern games like Destiny and Grand theft Auto. This research expands and analyzes the idea of how video game violence is always accused and put to blame for aggressive events and how the research of this is faulty . The way most people look at video games and how people try to connect them to violence could needs to be corrected. Within this research we will be looking very closely at how these studies and tests were done on violent video

In my most recent essay I wrote of the violence attributed to video games in light of various shootings and other tragedies that occurred in the past year or so. In this essay I argued that despite their violent content, video games are not completely to blame for acts of violence committed by children. Throughout this essay I tried to convince the reader by, first, establishing my own credibility with video games, then sharing my own experiences with violent games, and providing both empirical data and valuable insight from trusted sources.

One of the main concerns with respect to violence in video games compared to other media is the fact that games are immersive, and interactive. They are repetitive, and based on a reward system which is a proven psychological component of classical conditioning discovered by Ivan Pavlov. This argument however has been going on since the days of the comic book in the 50's, and because of the graphic violence portrayed in them, parents blamed them for their children's bad behavior.

Video games are prevalent among impressionable children and teenagers. There has been a great deal of controversy surrounding the violent themes used in video games. Teenage shootings in schools have led society to question the relationship between video violence and criminal activity. After considerable research, expert opinions, and research findings, the American Psychological Association found that there is no link between gaming and criminal behavior (Casey). With this, the pursuit of video violent games continues to grow in our society. With games that show execution style murders, blood oozing from gunshot wounds, and victims moaning from wounds, it certainly is gratifying for the indulgent player. The ongoing concern about aggression and violence has once again been proven to be non-existent (Alert). My thoughts are that this cartoon like violence is appeals to the need for violence in an artificially designed environment. In this manner, violence is contained within the boundaries of fantasy. This is unlike “The Crucible” which occurs in with real people, events, and situations. Thus, directing violence in the realm of societal dysfunction that has endured with

Over the past few centuries,video games have become a great leisure and hobby among kids of all ages and cultures. With the advancement of technology, video games have advanced highly in its realism and genres. This high type of advancement brought the video game industry to a multi-billion dollar industry. However, with realism, comes negative effects as well. Ever since the creation of violent or “mature” video games, there has been a constant debate on whether it will increase violence in the player. Although, not all video games are violent, and just increase skills in a player such as hand-eye coordination. Nevertheless, there is research going on for the link between violent video games and youth violence. The question is which event happens first in the sequence, do violent video games aggravate a person’s violent behavior, or does a person get rid of their anger through playing violent video games? Either way, violent video games are not beneficial to our society.

So how is it that it is the fault of video game violence that makes juveniles violent? As much as media coverage will have people think the “wave of violence gripping America’s youth” (Grossman), the truth is violent attacks in America’s schools are “extremely rare events. The odds that a child will die in school through murder or suicide are less than one in one million” (Olson). Increase in news reports about crime just end up raising viewers’ perception of risk, whether or not there is actual danger (Olson).

Are violent video games directly correlated to teen violence? This is the burning question many researchers are dedicated to answering. The common form of the question is “Is the increase in violence in games creating killer kids?” The simple answer is no. Instead the opposite has occurred, as games became more violent, the players became calmer. The games create a “safe” outlet for any anger or angst that young people possess. Crime rates in the teen population have lowered and violent teens admit to having little to no interest in violent video games. The games that most people fear are destroying the youth may actually be one of the things helping them grow and become “normal” members in society.

In this day and age it seems as if America's youth is becoming more violent. Concern for those aspects in our society which influence violent acts has become an issue since the tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Many feel one aspect of today's society affecting our nation's youth in a negative manner is video games. Is this form of entertainment really a factor in teen violence? I think not. Video games are not to blame for increased teen violence.

Although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it. I am focusing on violent video games and how they affect juveniles because I feel that this issue needs to be looked at in the criminal justice community. It is an unnecessary distraction to blame the actions of a disturbed youth on a form of entertainment that has been used by millions of people without incident. A review article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly found that many studies which claim to indicate an increase in aggression due to video games are, in fact, biased! Once the bias is taken into account, the studies no longer find any correlation between youths who play violent video games and youths who

Today's technology no longer allows video games to consist of simple characters of simple colors doing simple things. The technology of today's video games has gone beyond the older generation's wildest imagination. The older generation of video gamers would not have thought that the characters could stop to smell the flowers or have a conversation with a dinosaur. However, the children of today cannot imagine their video games without these virtual-reality worlds that provide them with a different experience every time they play. Children are lured into these games because of the look and feel of the lifelike characters that have movie screen qualities. These high-tech three-dimensional games allow children to experience the virtual characters as if the child were really inside the game (Moltenbery 1-2). Children who become addicted to video games do so because of the feel of being in a virtual-reality world, which allows them to be one of two kinds of viewers. The first one is a third-person viewer, where the player sees the acts performed by the character. The other kind is the first-person viewer, which allows the player to see through the eyes of the character. Some of the top selling first-person games are: Star Fox Adventure, Top Gun, and Mortal Combat. These first-person games are the most sought after because the children love the feel

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.

Video games have become a staple in the entertainment industry. Families coming from various backgrounds across the world own a video game system. Shooting games such as call of duty have become particularly popular amongst young teenagers. These types of games have led to a very popular debate. The question being do violent video games make children violent? Prosecutor Steven F. Gruel believes that they do cause children to become violent while defense attorney Patricia A. Millett argues that there is not enough evidence to prove this to be true.

Teen violence is a term used to define collective behaviors by teenagers that are not acceptable by the society. These behaviors range from slapping, bullying, hitting, assault and even armed robbery. Teen violence has been affecting many societies and has destructive history to communities. Although many factors have been pointed out to cause teen violence, studies show that modeling behaviors are the most common causes of teen violence in the society. These include behaviors as seen in the movies, on the streets, on the video games and at home. Social engineering factors and psychology behind teen violence are some of the main challenges contributing to teen violence. Video games, in particular, have caused the prevalence

Does exposure to violence in video games, on TV, and in social media have an effect on those exposed to it? Are those who are underage more susceptible to any detrimental side effects from viewing these things? This has long been a topic of discussion among lawmakers, psychologists, and the scientific field as a whole. It concerns parents and community members, especially in the wake of a seeming rise in violence at school from bullying, fighting, or in the extreme cases of school shootings. Were any of these types of incidents encouraged by exposure to violence in media?

Throughout time researchers have studied children’s behavior and the aspects that affect this behavior. Some believe that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and others don’t. Even though video games haven’t been around for a very long time, over the year’s children and even adults have almost become addicted to these games, it is like once they find something they like to play they get hooked and can’t stop playing them, they want to be in the game every day, all day. With this topic the independent variable would be the violent video games, because those can be chosen to be played or not be played. The dependent variable would be the aggression in children, because depending on the type of game, the game can change the child’s behavior.