Violent Video Games Don't Lead to Increases In Violent Behavior

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.

Video games have become very influential on children and adults (Stafford, 1999). With violent video games humans are more prone to act aggressively, to have aggressive thoughts and become numb towards violence (Harding, 2009). Apart from these they are

Prolonged scenes of massive violence, graphic sexual content, and animated blood are examples of statements that the Entertainment Software Rating Board uses to depict the content in over fifty- five percent of the video games rated yearly. The debate of whether the aggressive nature of these video games influences youth violence in our country has been heatedly battled for decades. Since the mid 1980’s, it has been suggested that high profile cases of violence are due to an aggressor’s excessive video game use. However, much like a cold case the type of connection between video game use and youth violence remains without a definite answer. Most believe that video game use negatively influences child aggression acts in our country. Others firmly declare that video games provide a realm of opportunity for child development. Ultimately, it is impossible to say that video game use affects every child the same way. New studies suggest that video games do not affect every child that plays a game. Although violent video games are innocuous for the majority of adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen, the effects of these games are aggravated in those with pre- existing antisocial or depressive traits.

“Approximately 90 percent of kids in the U.S. play video games, and more than 90 percent of those games involve mature content that includes violence.”-(Time Health). The link between violent media and aggression in video games has also created a spawn of research studies that has gone back and forth on the issue of whether

"Get over here!" The angered and scratchy voice bellows from deep within the strong, mean-spirited ninja. The ninja throws forth a blade that is fastened to the end of a long, black rope. The sharp point of the spear pierces the skin and takes root deep within the stomach of a screaming, young woman. Blood splatters from the impact, and the ninja forcefully retrieves the blade by pulling on the rope to which it is attached. The shrieking, young woman is lurched forward, attached still to the steel blade and without the ability to defend herself. Currently, she stands paralyzed and helpless at the hands of her attacker.

What if I told you that video games do not cause violence like “smart” people tell you. Video games do not cause violence and people who think that are probably not gamers themselves. However, I beg to differ with all of those people. I say violent video games are will not make you a bad person like most every parent that is above the age of forty says. Now, it's my turn to tell you why playing violent video games will not make you violent.

The killings in Marshall County High School, Kentucky. The slaughters in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida. The shootings in Great Mills High School, Maryland. All of these tragedies are results of gun violence. But gun violence cannot just occur out of nowhere; there has to be a cause. Many people believe that violent video games are the direct cause of abusing the power of guns. But research has proven that this is not true; violent video games do not cause the actual school shootings.

(White, 2009, p. 2) Video games also cause children to develop social problems. Their empathy decreases and they are less willing to help others. Children become antisocial spending less and less time interacting with family members, friends, and playing. They are controlled by what is occurring on the screen in front of them, locking themselves up in their rooms, or away from others just to play endless hours of video games. Video games have progressed over recent years becoming far more violent, sophisticated, and addictive. Studies have shown that the effects of video games and aggressive behavior follow almost the same pattern as that of studies with violent media such as cartoons.

Lisa Weber has an intriguing thought that video games can help kids disperse their anger. “For children who are not into football or other aggressive sports, video games may act as a release of pent-up aggression and frustration.” (Weber) If an individual plays violent video games to release his anger and aggression, serious problems could result. Teens may play gruesome games where they can seriously injure or even kill people just because they feel irritated. Thus, they may begin acting violent in a real-life situation because they have resulted to aggressive practices in an electronic game. If young adults and children act out violently, they could find themselves in trouble with their parents, friends, and even the law. Individuals should strive to seek different ways to get their anger out. Talking to a family member, going for a walk, listening to clean music, and reading a book can stand as other positive options to unleash anger. Young teens and kids should not use video games as an emotional outlet.

Author, Steven F. Gruel, argues that there is an overwhelming amount of science and research that supports the claim that video games that are violent are indeed harmful to human development (Gruel 2010). It affects their development by causing them to act more violently. He begins by discussing that over time, usage of violent video games among youth has

People need to understand that " People who played a violent video game for three consecutive days showed increases in aggressive behavior” (Nauert). People who play violent video games are addicted by showing a lot of aggression. Carey states "Youngsters who develop a gaming habit become more aggressive”. Young teens who become addicted to violent video games become more aggressive with other teens. Tighe states “... Put off interacting with family or doing things they should accomplish “because they’re in the middle of a really cool game”. Although some people think playing video games increases concentration and problem solving skills, it is evident that it increases aggressiveness. Furthermore, people who play a lot of violent video games will have long- term

Video games have been blamed for contributing too many acts of violence or aggression for decades, yet video games can likewise be useful for creating subjective, physical, and numerous other concealed abilities. In any case, whether video games are beneficial or not for players is still a questionable theme. Violent video games are promptly faulted by the media and a few specialists for being the motivation behind why some teenage get to be aggressive or confer great hostility in social conduct. On the other hand, numerous researchers and analysts find that video games give various accommodating advantages. They help us to treat an assortment of disorders and inabilities, including violent shooter games, may boost children's learning, health and social skills, and serve a scope of instructive capacities.

Many experiments that blame video games for increased aggression and desensitization to violence do not account for factors such as family history and mental health. It's questionable to claim that video games alone could turn a previously upstanding teen into a delinquent. Previous experiments often relied on only ten minutes of playing followed by a questionnaire to establish increased regression levels. With such limited data, it's easy to make rash assumptions. A three year study conducted by psychology professor Christopher J. Ferguson saw the effects of violent video games on aggression vanish when adjusted to how the games are played in real life. (3) In fact, over time, video games seemed to actually help players

“Recent contents analyses of video games show that many as 89% of games contain some violent contents” (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, Walsh 3). More than half of video games being sold around the world contain some form of violence. All of the violence involved in the video games being played by children is a pattern leading to aggression. Aggression can be caused by many things; however, violent video games are the main cause of aggression in young adults. “If a child began playing violent video games at a young age, then he might think that violence in real life is the same as the game violence and that it doesn’t have a real impact on others” (Gilad, Alto 1). Thinking that violence in the virtual world is the same as in the real world is the first step to showing aggression. Aggression in children caused by video games is the biggest effect parents and researchers worry about. Violent video games teach children that shooting and killing people are

Controversy about video games continue to escalate between parents and gamers, regarding the psychological effect of simulated, realistic, and 3D violence on the minds of young children and growing teenagers. Yet, research shows that video games contribute very little to today’s everyday violence, despite complaints and concerns that games influence a child’s normal behavior. Technology is a way of life in today’s world, computers are used by toddlers, adolescents, and adults alike. No matter what career path a person chooses, the computer plays an essential role in the job. The more our technology progresses and as our industry grows stronger, computers and electronic entertainment will grow to be found everywhere around the world. This includes videogames.