Violent Video Games

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.

In 2008 an eight year-old intentionally, living in slaughter louisiana,shot his grandmother in the head right after playing grand theft auto IV. In America the rate of mass shootings and obesity each year. Video Games also teach antisocial behavior. Video games are responsible for increase of violence in schools, desensitizing American youth, and prompting unhealthy behaviors.

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.

Video games have been around for over fifty years and have become quite popular over the past four decades. In fact, they are so popular that a certain subset of them have recently come into scrutiny and are a topic of hot debate. This subset contains video games that are violent in nature, which, many people loathe. Those people try to use many fallacious tactics to persuade others to join their cause. Take the article ‘Violent Video Games Can Desensitize Players and Increase Aggression’ for example, firstly it hooks an audience with its hasty generalization that violent video games create mass murderers, secondly it uses cum hoc ergo propter hoc to provide evidence that video games contribute to and enforce desensitization and aggression, and thirdly it uses appeals to anonymous authorities to provide accreditation for the content it discusses.

A significantly large portion of the video games created within the past 5 to 10 years contain some form of violence. On top of that, some of the most popular video games out in the market today are extremely violent and warrant an “M” rating for mature. Video game developers are well aware of this trend and continue to produce more graphic, interactive, and realistic content. Therefore, there is a concern that the vast amount of violence in video games is changing how youth develop and what they perceive as normal. Many researchers believe that there is a link between video games and increased aggression in the people who play them.

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".

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

Video games have been around for awhile now. It is a thing that people enjoy doing in their spare time, like checking Facebook or watching a movie. Slowly evolving from being played in an arcade, to being able to be played on small handheld devices, such as a cell phone or a portable gaming system. But as these games evolved, so has some of the thoughts and feelings towards video games. It is thought by some that video games lead to a child or teen becoming a violent person. Some even believe that this might have a correlation to mass shootings. That is a huge stretch. Does playing video games really have any correlation to a kid being or becoming a violent person?

The video game industry possible causing behavioral problems for people of all ages. Video game violence isn’t breaking news for years people have played games with murder and sexual innuendos. People ask why violent video games are so attractive, maybe it’s a way to escape from real life or even therapeutic. History shows us that human being like violence, in roman time gladiators killed people and animals for sport with huge number of people as an audience. Today the video game industry has found a way to bring that same violent killing times ten, straight to your living room TV. Tons of people play violent games both adults and children, but which are more effected by the violence and should stricter guide lines be set in making violent games.

I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember. I started out playing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nintendo when I was six and now I play a variety of games for the PS3. These games include Need for Speed, Madden NFL 16, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto 5. What I am basically saying is that I have many years of experience with violent video games, but I have never been in a situation to where I thought it would make me more aggressive toward anyone. If anything I calmed me down. After a long day at work or even after a small argument with my girlfriend I would go to my room and play my games, it was a stress reliever for me. I have never been in any fights nor have I been arrested for any violence in my life. According to Cheryl Olson, Lawrence Kutner, and Dorothy Warner, “Playing violent video games reduces violence in adolescent boys by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play. Playing violent video games allows adolescent boys to express aggression and establish status in the peer group without causing

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.

Violent video games don’t make kids violent because they allow kids and teens to release anger or stress in a game instead of real life. Journal of Adolescent Health published a study that said “61.9% of boys play video games to help them relax. 47.8% of boys play because it helps them forget problems, and 45.4% said it helps them get their anger out. As this study shows, Boys would rather chill out play a game like Call of Duty with then go beat up a kid or maybe their girlfriend broke up with them they would rather go play a

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:

The video game industry has become a huge market in today’s society. It has been a fast-growing industry since it started. Today, many video games are directed towards youth. There have been several video games that have been released that are known to demonstrate violent behaviour. A concern that has developed is the possible connection between violent video games causing violent behaviour in young people. Many children and teens spend excessive amounts of time playing aggressive video games. Studies have shown the connection that both proves and declines the correlation between violent video games and violent behaviour. Some studies even show the benefits of playing these kinds of video games. The attitude “gamers” have towards video game research has also been a discussed topic.

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.