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Violent video games affect children
Negative effects of violent video games
Violent video games affect children
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The Dangers of Violent Video Games
Today, video games have become very popular. The first video game was created in the year 1958; it was a video game of table tennis. One of the most popular video game categories is violent video games. This has become very popular by many teens specifically teen boys. There are many cons about violent video games and one should be aware of them before he or she buys or plays a violent video game. Violent video games can have a dangerous effect on children especially because children learn by repetition and the violence can affect the child’s learning process, video games are bad for one’s health, and many children do not know what is actually in the real world and what is in the world of video games, which can conclude that children are becoming desensitized by video games.
Opponents argue that violent video games are not at all that bad for a person, the opponents believe that violent video games provide many great mind training tools. Some examples of pros for violent video games that they argue are the repetition of playing video games trains one’s mind to be acting as if the person was actually in a combat or military scene, which is going to increase the United States’ military and make children react better in tough situations (Shapiro 1). This is an advantage of violent video games because it helps parts of the human brain develop and become more aware of military actions (Shapiro 1). Another example of a pro for violent video games is playing violent video games can be good for one’s health because it helps children use the child’s neural resources more efficiently (Shapiro 1). This is a tremendous pro for violent video games because if a child can learn how to use his or her n...
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... mental health. Violent video games can have a very negative effective role on a child’s life because children learn from repetition which in this case the violence can have a negative toll upon the child, they take a damaging effect upon one’s health, and many children are unsure of the effect of what he or she could do if the child brought what he or she was doing in the video game to real life. All in all this is a very important issue upon the society today, because many teens are playing a violent video game right now, and who knows whether the child will take a negative affect out of it and start a school shooting like Adam Lanza, Eric Harris, and Dylan Klebold. Make a difference and be against violent video games because who knows where the next school shooting will occur, and who will be influenced by violent video games and commit the deadly crime!
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
Now a day every video game has something violent going on. Such as in 2010 the top 20 games out in the market were violent related. When a kid sees in a video game that he can beat someone else up and get away with it they think they can do that in real life. This will increase bullying and kids are being taught not to bully. Every kid plays video games even if it’s a racing game or a shooting game. In 2008, 97% of kids from the age of 12-17 played video games. Most M rated games have sexual violence and when a kid sees that in a game and then beats the girl up. The crime rate for rape will increase as it has. A study in 2009 found that it only takes a child four minutes of playing a game to make him have aggressive and violent thoughts going through his head. The critics of violent video game has that bully has increase 32% because of violent video games. Also in the study when a child sees blood when beating up or killing someone in a game he will have more aggressive thoughts than normal.
Therefore violent video games have many harmful effects on the people that play them, violent video games affect the present and the future because they impact children’s mind, behavior, and education. Violent video games are affecting everything that is important for the children. Protect the children from the harmful effects that violent video games have on them.
Not every video game causes post game aggression, but documented in his article, “Players who enacted in-game violence through a heroic character exhibited less postgame aggression than players who enacted comparable levels of in-game violence through an antiheroic character” (Sauer 205). As a graduate of Radboud University, Isabela Granic brings to light the reasons why the youth actually benefit from playing violent video games. For example, in her article, “The Benefits of Playing Video Games,” Granic illustrates the fact that children gain social skills, highly efficient motor skills, and the understanding of the human body as a whole. Noted by the author, “Whereas adolescents and adults often use self-disclosure and direct discussion with close friends to resolve emotional issues, children use play to work them out through pretend-based narratives enacted either alone or with others” (Granic 67).
All of the sources for this essay contain findings from the experiments that deal with violent video games’ effects on adolescents. The first article, Gabrielle Unsworth’s The effect of playing violent video games on adolescents: Should parents be quaking in their boots?, concurs the types of effects of violent video games on adolescents’ aggression, and that these participants show the different levels of angers during the experiment. The second and third articles, Krcmar’s Retaliatory aggression and the effects of point of view and blood in violent video games and Nicholas Carnagey’s The Effects of Reward and Punishment in Violent Video Games on Aggressive Affect, Cognition, and Behavior, are related to each other since they both have similar results that violent video games increase adolescents’ aggressive cognitions. They are all related to each other except the fourth article, Marjut Wallenius’ Digital Game Playing and Direct and Indirect Aggression in Early Adolesce...
In today’s society, highly addicting video games involving strong violence and language, explicit sexuality and crime often lead to inappropriate behaviors. Role playing games or RPGs allow us to step into a virtual world, cutting ourselves off from worldly distractions. Nowadays, the age range for people who play these extremely graphic games are anywhere from six to eighteen and are surprisingly hazardous to young children’s health. A study gave a group of players playing a violent video game the chance to blast a painful sound into their opponent's ear in order to get the upper advantage. They also gave another group playing non violent games, the same opportunity. The study showed that overall the gamers playing violent video games were more prone to inflict more pain on their enemies, unlike the other group who inflicted considerably less pain. Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D who did this study agrees, “violent video games desensitize players to violence, and makes them more violent in real life" (McGonigal). Young adults are exposed to these terrifying images, harming their mental health. In recent events, a young eight year old boy shot his grandmother after playing Grand Theft Auto. This game is the epitome of why young people should not be playing these games. It is comprised of murder, drug and alcohol abuse, criminal behavior, violence and general disrespect for women, and foul language. In summary, young people should not be playing these games in order to save their mental health. Furthermore, television contributes to desensitizing society with it’s ...
The allegation that videogames cause violent behavior in children has been present as long as videogames themselves. Some researchers said that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was one intense gamer. “Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech Shooter was seen by his roomates as odd because he never joined them in video games.”(Beresin) This debate will continue to go on in this country as long as there are horrific crimes that occur. There is much written in the research regarding this issue, and many differing views. The research that is presented in the next few paragraphs supports the theory that it is not the graphic video games that produce aggressive behavior, but other factors in a child’s life that create violent actions.
Ferguson, 2014 -. There are those who believe that playing video games that are violent causes a reduction in brain response to real life violence. This is because the violent game affects a part of the brain hypothesized to cause desensitization. It is then thought that this “desensitization” to violence predicts that those who play these games will become violent themselves later. (Bartholow, Bushman, Sestir, 2006)
The more kills, wounds, hit & runs or attacks the player accomplishes in the game the higher the score and more reward. This action is consistent in most games with a high violent content. Research studies have shown that the exposure of violence in video games does not “turn off” because the game is turned off, but rather the violent behavior displayed in the video game then reenacts and manifests itself in the behavior of the child (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Ballad & West, 1996; Bushman & Anderson, 2002). In study presented by Professor Jeanne Funk in 2004 review 150 fourth and fifth graders and how violent video games lowered the amounts of empathy, a person’s ability to understand another’s feelings, in the player.
Video games are electronic sports which involves user interface and user interactivity. They generate a visual response which helps to provide excitement and entertainment. Video games are played on computers, televisions, or any kind of device with a display screen. People play video games for fun and also because some games are more productive and useful. With growth in technology video games have become very popular in children. Those games can be informative and a brain-builder for children but at the same time it may be so violent that they not only become the reason for the children to be destructive but also vigorously increase anti-social behavior.
One article points out that video games have a big impact on children’s lives and that many of the games played are violent. Researchers have found that “nearly all children spend time playing video games” and studies have found that “8th graders spent an average of 17 hours per week playing video games” (Tamborini 336). Moreover, 68% of the most popular video games contain violence (Tamborini 336). So it is clear that many children have access to violent video games and they have a big impact on their lives simply because of the amount of time spent playing them.
“90% of pediatricians and 67% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children” ("Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?”). Pediatrics and parents are aware that kids that play violent video games see a change in their behavior. Many cases they see the kids with anger problems and causing them to do violent acts. Violent video games have been around for many years where some older titles, such as ‘Mortal Kombat’ and 'Grand Theft Auto’ both are some of the most controversial ones. The video game industry has been growing and with the large amounts of violent video games being produced. “Total US sales of video game hardware and software increased 204% from 1994 to
The concerns of parents are that theses types of games are going to change their child’s life in a bad way. These ideas are true through tedious experiments that prove that violent games produce violent children. The games that cause the most fear are ones that give the players the opportunity to select their own weapon and decide what violent adventures they long to experience. A well known fact is that repetition increases the learning process. For example, when students are studying for a test they will incorporate the use of flashcards. Using the flashcards exposes the child to the information repeatedly until it is memorized. While playing these games, the player learns the patterns of games through repetition. By doing this they are unconsciously learning to act in the same way as the game. In March of 2014, the Center for Study of Violence at Iowa State participated in a study where they followed over 3,000 children over a three year period who played video games. Since the experiment was carried out over a long period of time, it was easy to spot out the effect of the games on the test subjects. The report discovered that the boys who played the hostile games had an increased amount of recorded aggressive behaviors, and although the girls in the experiment played less violent games than the boys, they still displayed violent behaviors (Gentile, 2014). The
Violent video games are special games, which negatively influences to the attitude and behavior. These video games are popular between children and teenagers. Since 1980-s years violent games are in political discussion. Because when teenagers usually play violent video games, they are becoming aggressive and then they face with psychological problems. For this, some people claim that violent games are harmful for society and they affect to behavior and health.
The question is, “Do violent video games influence children to act aggressively?” and “Can repetitive killing train a person to be violent himself?” Although the violence in these video games is fictional, research has proven the violence to lead to more aggressive behavior in children. Violent acts depicted in these games allow young children to believe that killing and fighting is acceptable and fun.