Violent Video Games Do Not Cause Violence

Being a person who plays video games some being violent and others being strategy based, I personally do not think that violent video games make or cause people to act violently. Yeah I will say that some games could be quite graphic but even before games came out, people were violent and acted aggressively towards each other they would fight or bully each other even kill one another they did not even need or have to play games to do such things. People tend to have violent tendencies even without playing a violent video game, just imagine the time you were so angry at somebody that you wanted to harm them be it punching, slapping, or beating them up a game did not influence you to think that way. You thought about hurting that person because you were upset with them or something they did.

Video games also play a big role on promoting violence. Even though most adults don’t play video games, our children do. And if we let our children play violent video games, wouldn’t you say that they are going to become violent? Kids learn by their surroundings. So playing a video game that teaches them about punching and kicking others they will do the same with their friends at school. And then we ask ourselves why the kid next door took a gun to school and shot his best friends?

The first body of evidence that supports the claim that video games do not cause violence in reality is that “almost all boys and most girls play video and computer games, including games with violent content” (Olsen, Kutner, and Warner 56). This would suggest that if all children play violent video games and video games did in fact cause children to act violently, then all children would be violent. As absurd as this suggestion is, when the claim came

Americans have been blaming violent forms of entertainment since colonial times. From dime novels to music, to movies to television shows. The most recent medium are video games. Aided by crime-saturated news reports, a lot of people are convinced that video game violence transfers to real-life youth crimes like the school massacres. They think that violent video games make people violent, but that is not the case. Violent people play violent video games. Not everyone who plays video games are violent, but those who already are violent will play them as an outlet for their frustration and rage. If anything, video games keep violent people from going out and killing people in real life because they can vent in the virtual world.

Yes, I personally do believe that video games contribute to violent behavior because those who do not play video games are less violent. Shooting games simulate real shooting experiences and that can normalize real life shooting. According to Do Video Games Cause Violence” Video games teach a young child how hold a gun properly and shoot.

People have always been looking for a reason why horrible things happen. The media is quick to blame video games as the target and cause of many shootings that have occurred, ever since Columbine and Quake. People have been blaming video games for violence for years now, ever since violent video games have been made. News reports blame video games more and more for each shooting, telling the public how this person played video games for x amount of hours a day, and that video games caused him or her to shoot people, and how video games encourage and reward violence. Anti-video game lobbyists have been campaigning to have violence removed from video games, citing resources that they themselves have created as reasons for

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.

Numerous studies have been done, showing no direct correlation between video games and actual violence. “The US Secret Service conducted a review in 2004 aimed at identifying causes of school shootings, and it found just 12 percent of studied attackers -- that's 5 out of 41 -- expressed an interest in violent video games”(Conditt, 2018, para 6). It was found that video games actually decrease violence in the real world. There was an economic study conducted in 2016 that found, ¨a reduction in crime in the weeks after major video game releases¨ (Conditt, 2018, para 7). This is because the video games give people an outlet to release violent thoughts and frustrations in a safer, virtual environment. In fact, video games actually decrease violence on the

97% of teens ages 12-17 play video games today. They contribute to the growing industry of video games which is now at $21.53 billion (ProCon.org). In your life you have most likely played some type of video game, such as a game on your phone or on your computer. Did that game make you feel like you wanted to cause violence? Violent video games do not cause mass shootings, it allows kids to relieve their stress, and it is the competitive nature, not the violence in video games.

In today’s world, one of the big topics is whether video games cause violence. I strongly believe that it isn’t the case. Having been an avid gamer for most of my life and knowing thousands more, I have seen first-hand video games do not cause violence. I know you don’t want to just take my word for it, so I will show you through others as well.

In their research of violent videogames and the effect on children, they have found that “the simplistic belief that exposure to media violence will lead directly to individual violence is clearly wrong.” (Kutner, Olsen, 2008) I am going to ask you to look deeper than this. I assert that although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it.

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".

Matt Peckham supports the theory that games do not cause bad behavior. In his web document on Time.com, he uses a sarcastic tone but yet provides the reader with a study performed by Stetson University. Surprisingly, “In my recent research we found that for some teens with a pre-existing mental health issue, playing violent video games seemed to be associated with less bullying” (Peckham 2). Other people may argue that the ability of a game to cause conflict with people’s personality is more of a conflict with their mind and body. Robbins states that video games can only cause bad behavior when allowed to by the human brain, so basically, the games are not for the weak-minded. Robbins also asks the question “Would you blame sports?” and then states “I’m not contending that there is no connection between violent games and violent people, but it’s correlative instead of causative. Individuals with personalities that lead to homicide are likely more drawn than others to media that feed their fantasies” (Robbins 1). He states here that people with a pre-existing desire for violence are more likely to display violent behavior after playing these 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.

Most of us have certainly pondered on the thought if video games truly create violent citizens, I personally believe that video games do not what so ever. One must distinguish this topic accurately and consider learning to differentiate and not have a biased or radical opinion. There have been many attempts from a number of different people who have tried to give a bad name to video games due to the simulations and realness and say that video games will create a negative environment for anyone who plays them, especially in children. Enthusiasts of video games have spent decades asserting that there is no underlying link between playing violent titles and engaging in the violent real-world behavior. Brand-new data confirms their contentions.