Violent Video Games: The Behavior Of Those Who Play Them

Video games and their impacts have been hotly debated for a number of years, particularly violent video games. Games such as Grand Theft Auto appear to promote everything from carjacking to randomly murdering an innocent bystander just because you can, sparking debate that seems to renew itself every time a new game is released in the series. The most general form of this argument simply asks if video games are good or bad for their players. On one side, there is the belief that video games, and particularly those that are violent, are bad, especially for children. On the other, it is believed that video games are relatively harmless in the long run, and potentially even beneficial. The importance

The main argument of this article is that video games have a direct link to short term and long term aggression. The author presents this argument by providing studies from peer reviewed articles that all conclude that video games do cause an increase of aggression. The main point of this article is to answer the question, “Do violent video games lead to aggression.” The article is about the effects of violent video games leading to aggression. The author uses recent examples, like the Sandy Hook and Washington Navy Yard shooting. In both of these examples, the author cites that both shooters had a history with playing violent video games. The author uses a study which selected individuals to play violent video games for a certain period of time. The study would then compare the results to a group who played non-violent video games. The study concluded that violent video games cause a direct link in aggression due to humans reenacting the actions the characters within the video games perform.

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.

Violent video games are contributing to violent behaviors in the youth and teenagers of America. Youth violence is a seemingly increasing problem in the United States. Juvenile centers are gaining new residents each day.This violence is brought on by an increase in video game violence. Many of the newly developed games are killing simulators which train players for real world violence. There seems to be a lack in evidence against video games. “According to the federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low” (Jenkins 32). So called links between video games and youth violence are said to be found, but these links are coming from people who solely research media violence.

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

Each generation grows up with something the previous generation did not. Music genres, television, and now video games. Video games have been a chief medium since they entered households in the late 70s and early 80s with such consoles as the Atari (1980). They have been a staple of the entertainment industry since and have shaped the generations that grew up with these consoles. Video games do, however, bring some controversy, despite their significance. The issue of violent video games and their effect on those who play them is a heated topic that has not yet been proven one way or another. Do video games cause people to inflict violent acts on those around them or not?

Attention Getter: Can violence in video games lead to violent outbreaks and bad behaviour in real life, many people believe so. Are these violent video games moulding and fuelling today’s generation of young minds to a more violent side, forgetting the idea that these games are solely for entertainment purposes. Many studies have taken place surrounding this idea, giving valid points to both sides of the topic.

Many studies suggest that violent video games contribute to the aggressions of video games players. Today over 85% of video games contained violence, and the rest have explicit content like sex, drugs, and disregard to human life (Carnagey, Anderson, & Bushman, 2007). Someone who is new to video games is exposing themselves to violence, and for many the general concern comes from being influence from such games. For example, video games first influence school shooting that first started in West Paducah, Kentucky in 1997, Jonesboro, Arkansas in 1998, Springfield, Oregon in 1998, etc. Making by example the violent nature of video games (Anderson, 2004). That is of course, researches do not have sufficient evident that video

The creation of video games that portray violent content have became a popular commodity for children looking for ways to spend countless hours of free time. Violent video games have been a part of American culture ever since the release of “Death Race” in 1976 (“Videogames and Violence”). This multiplayer arcade game involved driving a car over stick gremlins in order to score points. These types of games have evolved into something far greater with releases of Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and Modern Warfare just to name a few. Violent video games are leading people to draw conclusions that children engaging in this type of violence for entertainment purposes may result in a negative impact on society. A prime example of how video games negatively influenced teenagers’ lives is the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado. Two teenagers opened fire on their school, in the middle of the day, and were inspired by the games Wolfenstein 3D and Doom (ProCon.org). So, is the ease of access and the thrill of violent activity creating a real life danger zone for these gamers and the innocent bystanders in their path? There is a direct correlation between video game violence and mass murders occurring in this country. Exposure to video gaming may desensitize children and encourage aggressive behaviors, lead to real life acts of violence, and should be monitored in order to keep our children and this nation safe.

“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

Newton N. Minow once said, “Children will watch anything, and when a broadcaster uses crime and violence and other shoddy devices to monopolize a child’s attention, it’s worse than taking candy from a baby. It is taking precious time from the process of growing up”.The media is a powerful tool that in a very influence on children. There are many things that the youth in today 's society is learning from the media, for example, violence. There are different forms of media violence that children are exposed to. Some form of these violent medias is video games, television, music, movies and much more. The most effective form of media that children are exposed to are video games. Although video games have been around for 30 plus years, it has become a big part of our culture in America. There are different varieties of video games, such as action, adventure, fighting, sports, shooting, violent, non-violent and much more. In the united states almost 97% of the youth plays video games, and a majority of them spend at least seven to eight hours a day playing these games a day. This large percentage brings almost 12 billion dollars a year to the video game industry, and the long hours of playing these violent games increase in the aggressive behavior that children form. Studies have stated that 90% of pediatricians and 67 % of parents agreed that violent video games

With the rise of technology also comes the rise of video games especially violent video games. Video games in general generate billions of dollars per year. The industry is worth $21.53 billion. This shows just how immensely popular video games are. From 1976’s Death Race (the first violent video game) to 2017, violent video games have since surpassed what is identified as violent. Today, almost half of E-rated (for everyone) video games contain some type of violence. A staggering amount of video games are being played by young children. About 97% of children ages 12-17 play video games. (“Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?”). It’s impossible to have this large number of children playing violent video games without considering they are to a certain extent affected in harmful ways by these video games. Children who play violent video games show signs of anger issues, inability to distinguish the real world from a fantasy world, and a satisfaction when doing harmful actions both in the real world and while playing video games.

Research has been conducted to determine if violent video games cause increases in aggressive behavior in children and adolescents. This issue relates to anyone that has children, as well as anyone who plans to have children in the future. With the rate at which the video game industry is growing, there is no doubt that current children, and future children, will eventually come into contact with violent video games. It is important to be informed of the effects, if any, on exposure to violence in video games.

Video games have become immensely popular since their introduction in the 1970’s. The video game industry has since evolved into a leading player in the entertainment industry, and video games of all genres have become a popular pass time activity for children. However, according to a recent study, as many as 89% of these games have violence as a dominant theme. Potential harmful effects of the violent content of video games have been scrutinized over many decades. Views expressed in the debate over whether violent video games create aggression are often extreme, either idealizing or vilifying video games. Some studies suggest video games can provide an escape from school work and social activities and they may offer opportunities to display

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.