Why Do Violent Video Games Change People In A Negative Way

In today’s society there has been an ongoing debate regarding the effects of violent video games and the development of today’s youth. Many people believe that the violence in video games promotes aggression. According to Doctor Brad Bushman’s article, "Do Violent Video Games Increase Aggression?" he claims that violent video games leads to aggression because it is interactive process that teaches and rewards violent behavior. Yet others believe that this not the case. Gregg Toppo of the Scientific American, writes in his article, “Do Video Games Inspire Violent Behavior?” that video games are not a significant issue because teenagers know how differentiate between reality and fantasy. Because of the controversy surrounding this topic, I decided to research the question, “Does exposure to violent video games cause aggressive behavior among teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18?” Initially before performing any extensive research on this subject, I hypothesized that violent video games do cause aggressive behavior. I then proceeded to study different scholarly works that both supported and opposed my hypothesis. What I learned from those works eventually gave me a more complete understanding of the topic and allowed me to take a more educated stance.

Although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it. I am focusing on violent video games and how they affect juveniles because I feel that this issue needs to be looked at in the criminal justice community. It is an unnecessary distraction to blame the actions of a disturbed youth on a form of entertainment that has been used by millions of people without incident. A review article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly found that many studies which claim to indicate an increase in aggression due to video games are, in fact, biased! Once the bias is taken into account, the studies no longer find any correlation between youths who play violent video games and youths who

For as long as I can remember, I have never heard my parents once tell me that videogames are good for me. They were always yelling at me about my eyesight and declaring that videogames cause violence. Videogames are portrayed as devices used to instill violence in children, cause bad eyesight, and overall, are terrible for children to play. You hear in the news about how there was an increase in murder rates and an increase in video game production, so it must be that videogames are causing people to want to kill others. But the truth is, video games aren’t what the adults running these news lines depict. They are devices that can change lives, heal relationships, help people cope with a loss, and etc. Though I have not gone through any traumatic events, videogames have helped me elsewhere. I would not be who I am today without them. I believe in the power of video games.

A video game is “an electronic game in which players control images on a television or computer screen” (Merriam-Webster). Video games have been entertaining and challenging gamers since the Game Boy to modern console games. Despite the simplicity of the definition of video games, a video game, especially ones containing violence can have a large effect on the gamer. Because of the realism and advancements in the video game industry, video games can influence the player, and can make the gamer more aggressive, even if the game is not a violent video game. Even though video games have grown in popularity over the past decade, some have not been too popular with parents, for the reason that they are too violent. Violent video games affect

In April 26, 2002, nineteen-year-old Robert Steinhäuser, was found armed with a pistol and shotgun, at the high school in Erfurt. He then proceeded to shoot and kill 16 people before taking his own life. The report found that while Steinhäuser's grades and attendance were falling and that he became more involved with a local shooting club and began assembling a personal weapons arsenal. The report also stated that he had a collection of violent films and computer games in his room during an investigation pursuant to the shooting (Diamond).

In addition, despite controlling content such as hostility traits, and frequency of gameplay, exposure to violent content in video games was shown to be a significant predictor of physical fights (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, and Walsh 18). The current research study indicates trait hostility not to be the sole factor that leads to aggressive behaviour (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, and Walsh 18). If it were the sole factor, then children and adolescents who had low traits of hostility would not get into physical fights with others, making their video game habits an irrelevant determining factor (Gentile, Lynch, Linder, and Walsh 18). The same notion should be seen in individuals with high hostility traits, who, regardless of their video game habits,

First, violent video games can cause many behavior changes. According to Issue 2836 of “US Today Magazine”, “... 67% of parents and 90% of pediatricians agree that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children.” Also the article states that from the opinions of researchers, 8 out of 10 agree that violent video games make children angrier or more aggressive. These results mean that more than half the people who debate this topic say it is true teens or children who play violent video games

The effects of violent video games exposure on human beings as it correlates to aggression has been an issue of controversy and debate over the years. Although there has not been any proof to show a relation between violent video games as it contributes to a long-term development on aggression. Nor is there proof that a confounding variable that may be present such as aggressive nature or family environment that may explain the relationship. Current studies has shown that the influence of violent video games exposure on delinquency and bullying may be connected to variables such as parental involvement, traits, stress, participation in extracurricular activities and the support provided by families or peers. From these studies, researchers

Violent video games don't exist -- in fact, nor do nonviolent video games. That latter point may actually be easier to demonstrate. Given the way the term "violent video games" is defined in the scholarly community, almost all video games are violent video games, including Pac-Man, as a scholar had to admit in one recent court case. My point is that the concept of "violent video games," which society has been debating as long as video games have been around (yes, politicians and scholars once seriously worried over the impact of games like Pac-Man, Centipede and Zaxxon), is so vague that it has little real meaning.

One of today’s most debated topics is whether violent video games cause bad behavior. This topic has been researched for almost 30 years and there are still major opinion differences. Many psychologists say violent video games do cause bad behavior, and claim that games such as Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto, and Modern Warfare, desensitize people to violence, making it a norm in society. Others disagree, claiming that these games, although they can be very violent, can help people develop critical thinking skills. (Nonviolent video games are preferred for this though). The truth is, violent video games do both; studies indicated that some games increase aggressive thought, feelings and behaviors in both the long and short term. But, studies

Playing video games does not cause violent behavior. Don’t get me wrong, some video games show horrific acts of violence. “A recent survey found that 92 percent of U.S. kids--ages 2 to 17--play video games, and their parents bought 225 million of them last year to the tune of $6.4 billion.” (Sider 79).What’s here to argue is that violent video games do not cause violence among children, but the blame for violence should be on the individual and people who should have taught the individual better. If kids are not able to see the difference between reality and fantasy, then they really can’t be blamed for committing acts they see in a game and then imitating, not fully understanding the consequences of doing it in the real world.

RUNNING HEAD:VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR1Violent Video Games and Violent BehaviorJuan HerradaGlendale Community College

Through significant research, there is evidence that violence has risen in America. Some argue that this is because children and teens are spending more, and more time playing violent video games. Though there is ample evidence to prove that playing violent video games can have negative effects on someone, there is no evidence to directly show that the correlation between the two rising numbers is related. In the reading, Steven F. Gruel, who argued before the supreme court, believes that playing, and or watching violent video games, causes children to act violently. The cause, Gruel believes, isn’t directly the video games, but the effect they leave on the children. Children are spending more of their time playing video

First of all, violent video games give people a lot of bad character, many researchers have experimentally found that people playing the violent game will become more aggressive than before. For example, according to Bartholow(2001), “ They also found (Study 2) that participants who played Wolfenstein 3D (a violent game where the player “walks” through a castle, armed with various weapons, and attempts to kill people) in the lab behaved more aggressively than participants who played nonviolent game” (p.284). What do those investigations tell us? The point is people who played nonviolent games are not as aggressive as people who played violent games. People enjoying the satisfied of doing crazy things in the violent games which are a kind of unsatisfied with their reality. In this way, violent games is a bridge that turns people into aggressive, extreme. Furthermore, violent games also make the players become irritable. For instance, these

With the rapid technological advancements, the culture of video gaming has gained popularity, as computers occupy an essential part in life. These games are sources of entertainment for users and they help in improving social skills. In the recent past, experts have expressed concern about the effects of these games on users. Some studies indicate that video games have various benefits to children (Granic et al. 66). Importantly, they enhance coordination, problem solving abilities, social skills, memory, and concentration. From this vein, it is evident that these activities may improve a child's academic abilities that imply benefits in future life. Nevertheless, engagement in violent video games might have negative consequences for the user. Some perspectives suggest that video games promote aggressive behaviors and parents should regulate the time their children spend in such activities. Despite these cognitive benefits, exposure to violent video games promotes aggressive thoughts and inhibits pro-social behavior.