Why We Need Violent Video Games

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 the year 2016, more than 10 million copies of Grand Theft Auto were sold. Grand Theft Auto, among other video games focus on illegal crimes. For example Grand Theft Auto, frequently makes references to drugs, murder, and robbery. Even though video games are much more violent than they were in the 1990’s, video games over the years have managed to make an impact on American culture. Some ask why violent video games are such a concern for America? Well according to Times Magazine,“The average U.S. gamer age 13 or older spent 6.3 hours a week playing video games during 2013.” With people becoming addicted to video games, others begin to worry if videogamers will start to blur the line between the virtual world and reality. In the book Columbine, the author David Cullen states media reporters, partially blamed video games for the Columbine Massacre. “When he was eleven, id Software released the video game Doom. Eric found the perfect virtual playground to explore his fantasies.” (Cullen,114) The shooters Dylan, and Eric before the Columbine Massacre fantasised about murder, and in the video games they played they were allowed to be killers. Although, media reporters stated that videogames, were a reason the Columbine Massacre occurred, David Cullen addresses that video games had nothing to do with the shooting. Although, video games had no effect on the Columbine Massacre, other shootings such as Sandy Hook has been linked to them. As video games grow in popularity and

The most extensive argument many have argued toward violent video games affecting one’s behavior can simply be described as that many shooters were fans of violent video games before committing the shootings. A common example people making this argument raise are the Columbine shooters, who were big fans of the video game Doom. While many believe that Doom’s excessive gore and violence led the two teens to perpetrate the mass shooting, that is not the case. What those who argue against video games fail to realize that those who commit these crimes had a history of other conditions. After many mass shootings, researchers often discovered in autopsies that the suspect had a long history of aggression or mental health problems that gaming was not responsible for. Patrick Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson, writers for US News, wrote

The article, “The Truth About Video Games and Gun Violence” by Erik Kain discusses how video games and gun violence correlates. The author opens up with someone by the name of Aaron Alexis who resorted to gun violence while playing video games that contained violence. There is a violent video game that scares parents and behavioral experts. There has been a debate on whether people who play video games later have violent behavior. Throughout the years, video games continue to show images portraying violence.

As the level of violence in video games increases, so does the level of concern for those who play them. Some people are quick to blame school shootings on games just because the kid played a “violent” game. “The topic of videogames and violence can be compared to the chicken or the egg question, which came first, violent games or violent behavior”(Violence and Videogames). However most kids in mass shootings tend to have easy access to guns and are mentally unstable.

Bushman, Brad. Do violent video games play a role in shootings? (18 September 2013). CNN

Rose, Mike. “Video games and gun violence: A year after Sandy Hook.” Gamasutra, 10 Feb. 2014, www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/210322/video_games_and_gun_violence_a.

Can violent video games truly be a cause of real violence in our adolescents? Can they really lead to such terrible tragedies and massacres like the one at Columbine high school? That is exactly what writer John Leo is suggesting in his essay, “When Life Imitates Video.” He starts us off here by pointing out the similarities between the actions taken during the Littleton massacre and the events of video games like the two shooters often played; and he criticizes the plethora of shooting games available today and how realistic they are. These games that are played by so many today, Leo warns, could “blur the boundary between fantasy and reality.”

Violent video games have remained in the spotlight amidst mast shootings in the United States orchestrated by avid violent video gamers. This has raised concerns about the adverse effects these games might have on gamers. Nevertheless, I was raised in a family where video games were an integral part of our daily activities to keep me and my siblings at bay from the violence in our neighborhood. My parents reasoned that allowing their children play video games at home prevented them from being exposed to violence in the neighborhood. I remember being an “active gamer” by the age of six where I started off playing video games that required little planning and/or violence. However, by the age of twelve, I explored more complicated video games that required strategic planning with reasonable violence.

After the elementary school shooting of Sandy Hook in 2012 this issue of violent video games became a hot issue calling for a connection of violence to video games. However, the final investigative report suggested that he was more a fan of nonviolent games (Ferguson, 2015). Video game violence is an issue that continues to be studied due to the inability to come to a general conclusion on whether or not the games provoke violence in connection to mass shootings. With shootings occurring and receiving mass coverage the media and public often seek a person/item to place the blame on. After the tragic events that left people dead or injured one of the topics that emerged was that of video games affects/effects on the person.

Who else plays violent video games at home? Some people can’t find that fine line between what you can do in a video game and what you can do in real life. People in this day and age don’t get that a game is fake and you cannot do the kinds of things you do in a game that you can do in real life without getting shot down or getting into major trouble. If you are able to play a game that robs banks, kills cops, and bystanders, as well as people of power in a game, and you wanted to do it in real life, then you should be locked up for being crazy! Violent video games should not be taken away from minors because it reduces stress and helps with hand-eye coordination; however, some people might disagree and think video games should be taken away

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.

Not only does gaming take up a significant amount of time, but “research show[s] that playing violent video games can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior both in laboratory settings and in daily life” (American Psychological Association). Aggressive behavior hurts relationships by making it hard to get along. Yet, often the question arises whether it is aggressive people or children who are drawn to video games rather than video games causing them to become aggressive. Studies have been done to answer this question. One study found that “compared with a group who had played a nonviolent video game, those who had been engaged in “Mortal Kombat” were more aggressive across the board. They gave their fellow students significantly bigger portions of the hot sauce” (Carey). Examples of increased aggressive behaviors climax when events such as real-life attacks and shootings happen and can be attributed to video games. Now I wouldn’t say video games are the only factor in events like these but it’s hard to imagine they play no significant role either. Take the following drastic event as an example:

Should people be able to play violent video games? Yes, they should be able to because in the article, Violent Video Game Relieve Stress, Depression by Tamiu, it shows an example of violent video games that supported people's’ lives by stating, “‘ In this study, 103 young adults were given frustration task and they randomized to play no game, a non-violent video game with a good versus evil theme, or a violent video game in which they played as the ‘bad guy.’ The results suggested that violent games reduce depression and the hostile feeling in the players through mood management,’ Dr. Fergulon explains. People also have played violent video games to relieve stress and there are other reasons. These violent video games can also improve military uses, relieve stress and depression, and teach history about the world or battles.

Video games that allow players to be “violent” have been around for a longer time period than these newer occurring incidences of mass gun shootings. Mass shootings have become more rampant in approximately the last 20 years, but Pac-Man (a video game that involves the main character killing and eating ghosts, otherwise the main character dies) has been around for almost 40 years. Most people need a scapegoat to help them rationalize why gun violence occurs. I believe all of the bad charges against violent video games are just an instance of a moral panic. The “Encyclopedia of Social Deviance” says, “These panics occur when the reaction of the media… and the general public are out of proportion to the real and present danger a given threat poses to society.” (448). Scott Shackford, author of “Imaginary Guns Don’t Kill People”, explains that when people see instances of gun violence, they tend to blame violent video games. Video games cannot force people to shoot people. Violent video games do not contribute to gun violence; they are shunned so that people can have something to blame.