Why Do Violent Video Games Boost Aggression?

First off, the type of video game does not matter in causing violence as much as the amount of time spent playing does. As stated in a study by the Oxford Internet Institute at Oxford University, ”Those children who spend more time playing games might be slightly likelier to be hyperactive and to get into fights. But violent video games seem to have no effect on behavior, according to British researchers”. So videogames, both violent and non-violent, when played for too long, can lead to more aggression.In the same study, it’s stated that “The researchers found that the 22 kids who played video games the most each day were the likeliest to have behavioral problems, exhibit hyperactivity and have trouble academically, although the effects were "quite small in magnitude,” So, even though there were behavioral changes in

The article by J. Ramirez, Clinton Village News, states that Violent Video Games Harm Our Kids ensuring the reason of violence in young people who have played countless hours of violent video games.

Hundreds of studies have been done to determine whether violent video games will really make juveniles more violent. Randomized experiments were used in several studies to examine the short-term effect of violent video games (Anderson and Berkowitz et al. 90). In these studies, children were randomly assigned to play violent or nonviolent video games and then were observed when given an opportunity to be aggressive. The result was that children who played violent video games usually behaved aggressively.

In their research of violent videogames and the effect on children, they have found that “the simplistic belief that exposure to media violence will lead directly to individual violence is clearly wrong.” (Kutner, Olsen, 2008) I am going to ask you to look deeper than this. I assert that although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it.

Violent Video games do not cause behavioral problems or increases violent behavior .To me Video games are a form of venting emotions .Statistics show the number of youth offenders decreased to 1 violent offender per 100,000 population.Video games also improve skills and abilities like hand eye coordination.On the other hand videogames can decrease emotional sensitivity in the gamers but then again recent studies have shown that long

Violent video games do not cause violence. Just because a kid plays video games and shot someone does not mean it was because of the video games. According to an article written by Henry Jenkins on www.pbs.org, “But young people, in general, are more likely to be gamers - 90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play. The overwhelming majority of kids who play do NOT commit antisocial acts.” This shows two things. Just because a kid that happens to play video games and did something violent, does not mean it was because of the video games. His older sibling probably bullies them at home. This also shows that playing video games cause violence, but quite the opposite. Now speaking from personal experience, If I’m playing video games, I’m not thinking of how I am going to bully the school nerd, or shoot someone, I’m focused on the game and how to beat it. Me thinking of how to beat the game is preventing me from doing something else violent. It also means I’m sitting in the dark in my room, not out and about doing things to people that

Violent video games are usually the blame for school shootings, bullying or just regular aggressiveness. In “Violent Video Games Linked to Child Aggression” they did a study and looked at how children and teen’s video game habits relate to their behavior. The study supposedly showed that “children who were exposed to more video game violence did become more aggressive over time than their peers who had less exposure”. Although this study show that children are more aggressive when they are exposed to violent video games, I believe that children do not become more aggressive after playing violent video games.

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

Violent video games can contribute to violence, especially in youth. Violent video games expose players to real-life violence. Video games are becoming more and more realistic. Violent video games teach youth that violence is an acceptable way to solve arguments or fights between people. These games encourage killing and fighting enemies. Some games kill zombies, shoot people, and fight to the end of death. Playing violent video games increases mean behavior and triggers anger, especially in kids that have major behavior or mental problems. Violent video games have been blamed for bullying, school shootings or attacks, and violence towards girls.

People think that violent video games make a person more violent in reality. Scientists have ran tests for 607 8th and 9th graders who play violent video games. It all just depends on the person and their state of mind. Some cases would show some students would have more frequent arguments with teachers, physical fights too.

Video game makers have even advanced video games to give you the fell of using real weapons, also called virtual reality. There is a professor at the University of Missouri says that violent video games change behavior. First person shooter games help team players how to hurt people because first person shooter games are usually more realistic. Sixty percent sixth to eighth grade boys who play m-rated video games have hit or beat up somebody. Many people who have acted in mass shootings played violent video games. Violent video games have the tendency to lower people's empathy and they also lower people’s kindness. The APA says violent video games will risk the factor for aggression. When violent video games reward a player for violence, kids think violence is a good thing because they learn that you get rewards for committing violent acts. Sixty-seven percent of parents even agree that violent video games do lead to aggression.

The effects of both violent and non-violent video game playing can be determined by the amount of time playing the video game and by the content of the games being played. The content of the games being played could definitely have a factor in how a child performs in school, and how aggressive they are towards peers and teachers. Obviously if a child is playing hours upon hours of violent video games, this can lead to them acting out violence and having no consequences for it. If a child took the time that they played video games a week and used that time to be engaged in reading, homework or even a creative activity we’d have less issues with our children’s school performances. Parents should really be monitoring how long their child is playing video games, but this doesn’t always happen. A child who plays video games for long periods of time could also build up a social wall, become a loner. It is important for children to interact with other children in order to help develop their social skills, which without will make it very difficult to make it in this world. At the age children start playing video games, it is hard for them to distinguish what is reality and what is not. So in some cases the violent acts in video games could make the child believe the world is a scary place.

Although many would believe that violent video games increase kids aggression and make them do violent acts, this is not true. There is no evidence supporting that kids will become more aggressive or do anything violent after playing violent video game. Even though many people believe that video games will cause aggression, it doesn't because there are no tests showing any behavior or aggression differences in kids and some tests even show decreased aggression after playing games.

“Life is a video game. No matter how good you get, you are always zapped in the end” (“Video Game Quotes” 1). Over time researchers, psychiatrists, and parents have often wondered how damaging violent video games can be to the youth in society. This is an important matter to people with children in their personal lives or work environment. These games have become a large risk factor for aggressive behavior in children. Researchers have been saying that video games do affect adults as well; however, they have even more effect on younger brains in early development. Video games have negative effects on childrens’ behavior. Some effects that video games have are reduced academic performance, aggression, obesity, and emotional disorder.

In the United States, Ninety percent of adolescents between the ages of eight and sixteen play some sort of video game. They spend thirteen hours a week playing these games. According to CNN Health, if said adolescents are male that number is more than likely higher(Harding). The main question, however, is does the violence in these video games cause violent behaviours? Do prolonged hours to military like games cause adolescent youth to become and angry? Not at all. There have been many studies done to actually prove that violent video games have no effect on behavior.