Essay on Violent Video Games Raise Aggression

Video Games have come a long way since their first introduction into the main stream. With video games becoming more sophisticated and using advanced technology, it seems as if video games are closing in on the gap between games and reality. However, as video games become ever so life-like it brings up the question of if the violence associated with video games is having a negative consequence. There have been many accusations over the years over the harm video games are causing children and teenagers. Experiments have been conducted trying to associate a link between video games and aggressive behavior. Even the media has been known to point fingers at video games for the cause of children

“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

As technology as progressed, more people, especially youth, take part in playing video games. There has been an steady increase of video game usage because of the fact that video games have become more life-like and realistic. While they have become more realistic in aesthetic ways, they have also become more violent in content as well. Games like Call of Duty

From the late 1970s until the present day, the video game industry has been growing in popularity and profit at an amazing rate, with profits exceeding $10 billion in 1999 (Senate Commitee on the Judiciary, 1999). As time has progressed, the content of these games has become more and more realistic, and the violence in them has become more realistic. Concerns about this violence, from the relatively tame Pac-Man of the early 1980s to the near photo-realistic bestsellers of today, have been around since video games first enter the public consciousness. Video game violence appears in nearly all genres of game, from fantasy, to action, to sports and children of both genders have indicated a preference for video games containing violent content (Funk J. , 1993).

Whether violent media content leads to real-life violence is always debatable. And in recent years, school shootings have made video games a new focus of public concern and scientific research. In public opinion, video games cause more aggression in comparison to traditional violent media contents because video games have more features of interactivity, "due to the active engagement and participation of players" (Hummer and Wang et al. 137). But more and more reports tell us that video games are not the main cause of school shooting issues; rather it is the negligence of parents, schools, and communities.

In 1976 the arcade game "Death Race" was released based on the movie "Death Race 2000". The objective of this game was to use your car in order to run over fleeing goblins. This video game was so simple but had so much controversy behind it that it led to the first study on the physiological effect of video games on the human mind. Ever since Death Race, video games have continued to make huge advances in order to create an almost endless amount of possibilities on what you can or cannot do in a video game. Since the first video game was introduced, the gaming industry has seen a huge spike in the popularity of violent video games. Not only have they become more popular, but they have also become significantly more realistic. So realistic,

Video games have become such a huge popular form of media as they are enjoyed by every people from all age. They can be seen as indispensable sources of entertainment for kids and teenagers, serve as the relaxing and joyful time after working hard. However, why does video game become such a controversial thing and why have many scholars begun to study both the negative and positive side of video games, especially violent video games? After a long time of studying overall the controversy, many scholars say that violent video games indeed can make players have violent thinking and aggressive behavior. Therefore, the violent video games should be regulated in producing and purchasing for kids and adolescents.

The journal article entitled “Kill pixels not people: exploding the fake scientific consensus on violent video games” by Ronald Bailey covers the effects of violent video games. The article defends the idea that violent video games do have a negative effect of making the player more violent or aggressive in real world experiences. The main supporting ideas mentioned throughout the article include; crime rate statistics, experiments, and knowledge of video game violence (Bailey).

Ever since the video game was invented many years ago, violent, bloody games have existed also. Some include killing zombies, shooting people, and fighting that ends in either someone dying or being hurt. The outcome remains the same, and a select few continue to live out these games throughout their daily life. These games can sometimes cause people to become angry. Although, some video games may have a negative effect on some people’s lives, other reasons such as their home life can be a factor in these people’s behavior.

So, among the negative effects people claim violent video games have on their users, there are always the causes that give drive to the impulse to play and enjoyment video games of this genre. Whether you enjoy them for the entertainment or simply for the blood-spilling theme, the games seem to give off and satisfy a sense of desire in the people who play

For this purpose of this study violent video games will be anything that allows the users to experience violence through the use of guns, the use of weapons/objects that are used to injury/murder characters in that game, the display of blood and/or dismembering, physical combat in which the only way to win is to injury/eliminate opponents.

Video games have become a major occupation of majority of the youth these days. They spend hours on end concentrating on video games, some of which are apparently very violent, yet this is actually the whole idea. Coming from the horse's mouth is an argument in support of video games coined from a video programmer's point of view, stating that violent video games allow people to do what they can not do in reality- virtual reality. ( http://www.theroc.org/roc-mag/textarch/roc-15/roc15-08.htm ) For instance, someone said to be having a bad day could use a violent video game to release stress by shooting down a couple hundred bad men than actually taking an AK-47 and spilling down a few brains down the

“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

Over the years, the popularity of computer and video games has grown. Specifically violent video games make up more than 50 % of the top selling games. These games include violent themes that involve guns, crime, blood, and gore. There is an ongoing belief that these types of games are to blame for the many acts of violence in society and have encouraged America’s youth to act out in aggression. Several organizations, such as the PTC (Parents Television Council) have moved to discourage the development of violent games while also pushing for stronger regulations when purchasing such games. There is also debate among parents and concerns on how games can negatively influence their children. So is there a direct link between video games and violence? The truth is video games do not encourage violence in society based on several factors which include scientific studies, statistics on crime, and prevention measures adopted by game publishers.

In contemporary society, the technology of violent video game become more and more advanced. The effects of media violence on video games has been increasing in people’s daily life. It is still be an issue and have a lot of debate on whether or not violent video games should be banned. In this essay, violent video games can be defined by RWJF Blog Team as those video game which represent violence as the best or only way to resolve conflict. ( Pioneering ideas 2010).