Violent Video Games

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.

Since video games have been introduced, video games have been accused of contributing too many atrocities, and acts of violence. News outlets paint video games as being a source of which some acts of violence happen. Yes, violent video games have become more popular, meanwhile becoming controversial, but still there exist no links between aggression and video games. The University of Bologna says that “owning videogames does not in fact seem to have negative effects on aggressive human behavior” (Koffler par.7). Meanwhile, news outlets keep on missing the point on how beneficial video games are. Video games do not contribute to violence, can be educational, and they can improve us in different ways.

Morality and human nature are important factors when considering the behavioral influences of video games, whether they are positive or negative. Violence in the real world involves much more complexity than any influence by the media. As previously stated, simple factors such as one’s home life, environment, and general human nature are ignored when video gaming’s influences are under scrutiny. In a world where millions of people are dying in real wars, it is a luxury to harbor concern for children to be excited after playing a shooting game (Gee). The moral and behavioral influences of any video game are left up to the interpretation of the player; there is no direct influence in any game that dictates bad behavior to their players. James Paul Gee provides an incredibly important point in stating, “Video games are neither good nor bad on their own, and induce neither violence nor peace.” It is important to consider the context of video games. In David Kushner’s article, he quotes The British Board of Film Classification’s conclusion from a survey: “The violence helps make the play exhilaratingly out of reach of ordinary life… Gamers seem not to lose awareness that they are playing a game and do not mistake the game for real life.” If a violent child did not play video games, then where would the blame fall?

Playing violent video games is not directly responsible for all violence, and criminal activity. However, the question remains whether or not playing certain games can lead to higher levels of aggression. Parents often ponder this very question when their children beg for one of these games that are rated M for mature. This very well may be where the problems occur since these games that were designed for ages 17 and up are now in the hands of underage adolescents. The reason problems can occur in such scenarios is because while even though the people who are old enough to buy and play these games usually understand that the actions depicted in the games are unethical. While those who are younger and need their parents to buy the game for them might see the same actions as cool and fun. When gamers lose sight of reality and become incased in certain games they can also lose track of their morality. This means that violent video games are in theory capable of placing dark thoughts into the hearts and minds of all the players. Therefore, this paper will discuss if thoughts formulated while playing violent video games can be reasonably linked to an increase of aggression.

Recent mass shootings have made the public question the unclear motives of the people behind such destructive behaviour. Unfortunately, many individuals have jumped to rash conclusions regarding the causes of such events by linking violent video games with violence in the youth population. Even more discerning individuals have also criticized the role of violent video games in encouraging people to become mass murderers. With these opinions gaining popularity in the mass media, it has become the predominant belief of society to explain why there are more shootings recently. Such claims are usually driven by opinionated reasoning instead of scientific research, so it is much easier for the popular media to formulate such ostentatious theories. This can be seen with professional bloggers, Lyndee Fletcher and Ralph Nader, who are adamant that there is an obvious link between violent video games and the recent mass shootings. As seen in their respective articles published in 2015 and 1999, the controversial opinion on the effects of violent video games have left lasting impressions on the public to believe that frequent exposure has created adolescent mass murderers. This only demonstrates that the predominant belief regarding violent video games and mass shootings over the past two decades is resilient despite the empirical research studies refuting their opinionated claims based. Researchers have tried to establish a scientific basis for understanding in society, but it still

Video games and violence have different effects on children according to the type of video games that is being watched It is important to understand the world of video games. All video games do not prevent violence in children. Parents should take into consideration in monitoring their child while choosing video games. Depending on the video game that is chosen, does not mean the child will result in violent behavior later on in life. There are many types of video games that may promote either positive or negative effects in children.

As video game images become increasingly more realistic and graphic. Therefore, is there any link between the violence depicted in those games and violence in real life? Students are the main group people who played violent video games very often. Also, losing a game causes many people to have a negative impact. Last, the attitudes on violent game and antisocial. Games are everywhere around us, such as cellphones, televisions, or computers, but violent games are the most popular type of game. The scene inside the game may lead to real things happen, especially for children, who are eager to experience it. Therefore, violent games may cause many impact, such as crimes, antisocial, and negative effects.

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.

There are plentiful rumors roaming around about violent video games are directly promoting children to be violent. Although video game violence seems realistic, the game will never directly tell the child to replicate the scenes in the game, let alone if the parents will allow it. Violence in video games promoting violence in children is false, the genuine cause is the environment as seen contrary to the statistics surrounding video game violence and not the game itself.

At its root, cognitive development is defined as “the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem-solving, and decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood” (Rodriguez). Widespread in today’s society is the belief that fast-paced, violent video games may lead to behavioral issues amongst kids who play them. Debates about the effects these games have on kids continues to divide parents, politicians, and psychologists who specialize in the field of behavioral health. The time-honored argument that fast-paced, violent video games have negative effects on child development may be unfounded. Studies conducted by the American Psychological Association (APA) suggest that fast-paced and violent games increase cognitive skills at a faster rate than those who do not play. As a result, children see substantial increases in their communication abilities, multi-tasking, and critical thinking-which ultimately results in improved cognitive skills.

In my investigation I will research the question, does video games lead to violence on a young person. This will be done through researching the answers to the following questions:

Addicting. Influential. Violent. Video games are one of the biggest problems teens face in the 21st century. Most teens around the world are addicted to electronic devices. Phones, computers, television, and much more. Although these devices bring about amazing breakthroughs, most teens manipulate its use and use it for their own entertainment. Many, however, decide to play violent video games that impacts their everyday lives. With the world at your fingertips, so much controversy has been brought up over the thought of video games and its benefits or drawbacks to teens. Although a majority feel that role-playing video games with simulated violence don’t have a negative impact on teens, I have concluded that it negatively impacts the everyday lives of teens worldwide because it is really time-consuming, a distraction, and teens act more aggressively on their actions.

On the topic of violence in video games again. In the article “Do violent video games encourage violence or are they just games?, it states “Yes. It's contributing in a big way for their little minds. They end up wanting to be the character.” Kids want to look up to someone and could possibly want to be like someone and video games can contribute to it. They promote violence and that can have a bad effect on kids because they might try to be like them. In the article “Do violent video games encourage violence or are they just games?, it states “Yes. These days, many young kids play those games and it influences someone to want to live that life.” Again these games influence kids and people because of the violence in them. One way they influence them is wanting them to live the life because they might think its cool. Which it’s not so that’s how they influence kids. These are some of the ways these games can lead someone to violence.

Many studies have taken place to determine the effects of violent video games on children for example, “Irwin and Gross (1995) assessed physical aggression (e.g., hitting, shoving, pinching, pulling at clothes or hair, kicking) between boys who had just played either a violent or a nonviolent video game. Those who had played the violent video game were more physically aggressive toward peers” (Anderson, 2003). This study done by Irwin and Gross proves that children lose basic social skills after participating in playing violent games.

Mature-rated, or “m-rated,” video games have become extremely popular. Violence, blood, sexual themes, profanity, substances, and gambling are all contents that can qualify a game as, “mature-rated.” Purchasing a mature-rated game has a requirement of being at least seventeen years of age. Even though this is a requirement, many underage children easily have access to these kinds of games. It is argued that playing these violent video games can cause more aggressive behavior in children. Mature-rated video games are responsible for a rise in youth violence because it teaches children to associate pleasure and success with their ability to cause pain and suffering to others, and overall sets a bad example for children when their minds are still expanding.