Are Violent Video Games a Cause of the Bad Behavior in Children?
opinion Essay
984 words
Many People have put their attention directly on the influence violent video games have on the bad behavior of children. People believe videogames intensify aggression in children, while others say it can be a safe getaway for a child to express his aggression. Many opinions on this issue are stated still today, and they remain divided amongst the people who claim videogames to be a cause of aggression and those who claim otherwise. A child’s behavior can not be determined by violent video games, but instead is caused by a variety of environmental and domestic factors. It is easy to blame video games on violence, instead of looking at factors such as economic status, familial issues, and exposure to other entities such as television and media. This paper will bring forward the opinions of those who believe in no relationship between violent video games and bad behavior with one counter argument expressing the opinion of those who believe there is a relationship.
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.
Much research makes a claim that there i...
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... and Movies Causing Violent Behavior. Psychology Today, 22 Dec. 2012. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
"Entertainment Merchants Association." Schwarzenegger v. EMA. Entertainment Merchants Association, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Hunter, Congressma D. "Congressman Duncan Hunter: Target Bad Parenting, Not Video Games." GamePolitics News. Game Politics.com, 15 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Makuch, Eddie. "Entertainment Merchants Association." Schwarzenegger v. EMA. N.p., 26 Mar. 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Parks, Allison, Hele Sweeting, Danil Wight, and Et Al. "Do Television and Electronic Games Predict Children's Psychosocial Adjustment? Longitudinal Research Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study." Do Television and Electronic Games Predict Children's Psychosocial Adjustment? Longitudinal Research Using the UK Millennium Cohort Study. N.p., 2 Mar. 2013. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that videogames intensify aggression in children, while others say it can be a safe getaway for children to express their aggression. a child's behavior can't be determined by violent video games.
- Opines that videogames cause violent behavior in children as long as they are played. the sandy hook shooter, adam lanza, was an intense gamer.
- Argues that there is not enough evidence that points to video games alone as the cause of delinquent activity.
- Explains that television and media may be an outside force that contributes to the delinquent behavior in children. dr. allison park's et al found television, but not electronic video games, showed a small increase in conduct problems.
- Explains that violent behavior comes from a lack of good parenting and other factors. in the supreme court case brown versus entertainment merchants association, parents were encouraged to look, play, limit, and control their children's activities during their play time.
- Explains that a three-year study in singapore found that children who played violent video games generally believed hitting someone was acceptable and had more aggressive tendencies than those who did not play the games.
- Opines that there is more research to be done regarding the topic of bad behavior related to video games.
- Opines that the sale of video games is a billion dollar industry, with millions of people playing them, especially young children. the positive effects are rarely mentioned, but when they are, they include an increase in cognitive ability, hand eye coordination, concentration and visual attention.
- Cites beresin, eugene, m.d.'s "inside out, outside in" and schwarzenegger v. entertainment merchants association.
- Explains that schwarzenegger v. ema. parks, allison, hele sweeting, danil wight, and et al. do television and electronic games predict children's psychosocial adjustment?
Related
- opinion
- analytical
- comparative
- explanatory
- Violent Video Games and Bad Behavioropinion essayAt 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.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that video games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd.
- Opines that violence in video games is justified because it is violent but the overall goal is for good. there is only so much the gaming companies can do to stop children from playing them.
- Explains albert bandura's social learning study that shows children learn what behaviors are appropriate and rewarding in a given situation through observation and reinforcement.
- Argues that videogame play may meet reed larson's criteria for fostering initiative in children.
- Explains that addictions come in all forms and will consume a person’s thoughts at all hours of the day.
- Explains that children who come from dysfunctional homes turn to violent videogames to let out aggression or bottled up feelings is a major risk factor for internet and on-line game addiction.
- Explains adachi, paul j.c., and willoughby, teena. “do video games promote positive youth development?” journal of adolescent research.
- Describes dill, karen e. and jody c., “video game violence: a review of the empirical evidence.”
- Explains larson, reed w., toward a psychology of positive youth development. american psychologist 55.1 (2000): 170-183.
- Opines that violent video games are a concern when it comes to young children, and that parents should become more active with their children.
1537 wordsRead More - The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior in Children and Young Adultsanalytical essaySociety has evolved drastically within the last 50 years due to new and ever developing technology. Video games, which were developed in the late 1980’s early 1990’s, are a product of the new life changing technology. Video games, or to be more specific violent video games have been most popular among children and young adults. Parents do not tend to see the consequences that evolve around violent video games; especially kids who play more then ten hours a weeks worth of these games. Only recently has the videogame technology progressed and became more engaging using life like simulations of violence, igniting aggressive behavior in young adult and may in fact desensitize them to violence. Although, some may believe that violent video games do not contribute to any of these factors; research shows that violent games have a profound effect on aggressive behavior in children and young adults coupled with the factors of parenting style, lifestyle, and stages of brain development.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that video games are a product of the new life-changing technology. the videogame technology has progressed and become more engaging, igniting aggressive behavior in young adults and desensitizing them to violence.
- Analyzes how violent video games teach youth that violence is an acceptable conflict-solving strategy and an appropriate way to achieve one's goals.
- Explains why aggression among children is increasing, and why they are choosing to resolve their issues through violence instead of talking them out. video games are showing children how to display their character in the game to reality.
- Explains that violent video games cause aggression in children and young adults, and that children's brains cannot decipher reality from fantasy.
- Explains iowa state psychology instructor and author of the effects of video game violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence. kids are too young to decipher reality from fantasy.
- Explains that many studies have proven that violent video games cause aggression and may in fact desensitize children and young adults to violence. many studies suffer from design flaws and use unreliable measures of violence and aggression.
- Opines that ferguson believes that it is interesting how eager some segments of society are to grab onto this narrative of violence in video games; that in a period of moral panic.
1055 wordsRead More - Effect of Video Game Violence on Children and Teensanalytical essayViolent video games can lead to aggressive and violent behavior in children and adolescents. “Violent media increase aggression by teaching observers how to aggress, by priming aggressive cognition (including previously learned aggressive scripts and aggressive perceptual schemata), by increasing arousal, or by creating an aggressive state” (Anderson and Bushman 355). As more children are becoming exposed violence in video games in the recent years, violence in schools and other locations where children are prominent has increased. “A national crime victimization survey compiled and maintained by the United States Department of Justice, shows that overall crime rates in United States society have fallen. Simultaneously, school- based studies reveal that many violent behaviors have increased among children and adolescents” (“Causes of School Violence” 1). Exposure to violence in video games can lead to aggressive behavior, desensitization, and an increase in crimes committed by children and teens in our society.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that violent video games can lead to aggressive behavior, desensitization, and an increase in crimes committed by children and teens in our society.
- Explains that today's youth is heavily influenced by the media. video games, television, and movies make up a large part of the lives of children in america.
- Explains that many parents overlook the ratings, and allow their children to play games intended for mature audiences. a survey of teens conducted in 2000 reveled that their parents never limited time spent playing video games.
- Explains that video games provide an interactive, accessible way for children to commit virtual crimes and experience violence. they can also be extremely addictive leading to prolonged negative exposure.
- Analyzes gallup poll's 2003 survey to determine the habits of adolescent video game players. the grand theft auto series was also brought under fire.
- Explains that children and adolescents are exposed to violent games more than any other type. video games provide them with visual stimulants that could influence their attitude about a subject, the way they behave, and their moral compass.
- Explains that children are naturally sensitive and caring, but become desensitized when repeatedly exposed to violence. violent video games reprogram a child's innocent conscience to become violent and aggressive.
- Explains that violent video games are an interactive simulator showing young people how to commit acts of violence.
- Analyzes how video games such as grand theft auto and saint's row encourage children and teens to perform acts of hostility by glorifying crime and rewarding players with in-game currency.
- Analyzes how the growing popularity of video games in america is causing a wider group of america's youth to become exposed to extreme violence.
- Cites anderson, craig a., and brad j. bushman, "effects of violent video games on aggressivebehavior, aggression, psychological arousal and prosocial behavior: a meta- analytic review of the scientific literature."
- Cites the washington post, reuters, crf-usa constitutional rightsfoundation, jenkins, henry, and nccev.
1699 wordsRead More - Introduction Violent video games are becoming more popular among children and adolescents of all ages since its debut approximately 30 years ago. This growing popularity is generating an increasing concern that these sometimes very graphic videos and life like characters can have a negative influence on the younger generation. Although never proven, there has been speculation that some of the high school shootings across the country were committed by students who were habitual players of violent video games. Due to these concerns, a non-profit, self-regulatory organization was established in 1994 by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to appropriately rate all video games from EC (early childhood), E (everyone), E10+ (everyone 10 and over), T (teen), M (mature), and AO (adults only). While assessing the efficacy of violent video game ratings, it is unknown how effective these ratings are for the intended audience (Becker-Olsen & Norberg, 2010).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the participants varied in age, sex, ethnicity, and size of groups. the first study used 607 8th and 9th grade students from various schools in the midwest.
- Explains that the first study and fifth study were similar in that they were conducted on adolescents, while the third and fourth studies were similarly conducted in countries outside the united states on children within the same age group.
- Opines that stricter regulations should be enforced to prevent access of violent video games to underage children. parents, mental healthcare workers and politicians need to become more proactive in securing our children’s future in the fight against violence.
- Describes collier, j.e., liddell, p. jr.
- Cites hastings e.c., karas, t.l.
- Describes the effects of video games on gaming.
- Describes lynch, paul j., gentile, douglas, olson, abbie, and van brederode.
- States that polman, h., orobio de castro, b. & van aken, m. a.g. (2008).
- Describes the effects of video game violence on prosocial and social behavior.
- Explains that violent video games are becoming more popular among children and adolescents of all ages since its debut approximately 30 years ago. the non-profit, self-regulatory organization was established in 1994 by the entertainment software rating board (esrb).
- Describes the methods used to determine the effects of violent video games on adolescent aggressive attitudes and behaviors.
- Explains that the studies are analytic, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and tested different hypotheses.
- Compares the results of the first and fifth studies on young adolescent gamers.
- Analyzes the effects of violent video games on children of all ages, ethnicity, and gender. five studies were randomly selected and discussed in this paper.
- Opines that research on the effects of violent video games towards aggressive behavior is important for many reasons.
2491 wordsRead More - Are Video Games Harmful Essayanalytical essayIn today’s society, children are exposed to technology early on in their lives. Many young children engage in video games as early as 5 years old. This exposure to technology has been blaming for leaving impressions in individuals, causing them to develop behaviors that aren’t norms in certain communities. In an age where every common person has either a laptop, a smart phone, or a tablet, the ability to gain access to video games has been made much easier. Video games have become a much more common occurrence in today’s youths. Does this increase in usage of video games necessarily have an effect on behaviors of individuals? Possibly, but not enough to warrant labeling video games as the sole cause of violence in people. In this paper, I will be looking at questions regarding video games and their violence-depicting nature. Do video games specifically influence behavioral development, like violence, in people? Why is the demographic of violent outbursts caused by video games predominantly focused on male, teenage Caucasians? Why are video games being portrayed in a more negative light when compared to other media mediums? These are all questions that I will be looking to answer in the paper.
In this essay, the author
- Concludes that video games can't be held accountable for behavioral development in children, especially those concerning the development of emotions like anger, aggression, and violence.
- Explains kirsh, s. j., the effects of violent video games on adolescents: the overlooked influence of development. pergamon, 8(2003), 377-389.
- Opines that video games are not solely responsible for detrimental behaviors such as violence, and that they are only portrayed in a negative light because of their accessibility.
- Explains how they use primary and secondary research to find the necessary information to support their arguments.
- Analyzes the correlation between violence and video games by asking 7 questions about sex and age. the results are similar to steven kirsh's secondary research on the effects of violence on adolescents.
- Cites karen sternheimer's article "do video games kill?" to analyze and answer their research questions on why video games are portrayed negatively than other mediums.
- Argues that video gaming is too big of a platform to be held accountable for behavioral developments.
- Explains how blaming popular culture for causing social problems is a problem in k. sternheimer's why media is not the answer.
2836 wordsRead More - Violence in Video Gamescomparative essayRecently though, due to horrific school shootings and record sales of violent video games such as the Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty series, video games as a whole have been put under a microscope. The question now is: Are violent video games really such a significant factor when it comes to youth violence? The current research and information points to no. Although some research reveals that violent video games may cause temporary aggression, there has been no evidence that it causes violent crimes such as assault or murder. Christopher Ferguson, an associate professor at Stetson University and researcher into the effect media has on young children wrote an article titles“ Video Games: The Latest Scapegoat for Violence”. In his article, he states:
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the negative impact of video games on youth has been a hotly debated topic since before pac-man ate his first pac-dot.
- Concludes that there was no evidence to support either acausal or correlation relationship between video games and aggressive behavior.
- Explains that the esrb reports that in 2010, the video games industry generated 10.5 billions dollars in sales. call of duty: black ops and red dead redemption sold millions of units.
- Explains that the united states secret service and the u.s. department of education launched a collaborated report called the safe school initiative to investigate past school violence that ended with at least one death.
- Explains that a recently published study conducted by christopher ferguson showed how violent video games affect children with mental disorders.
- Compares the ethnic makeup of students in an urban and suburban school.
- Explains ferguson's study may have debunked this long held claim that children with mental disorders are particularly vulnerable to the effects of media, particularly violent video games.
- Concludes that the association between violent video games and aggression related outcomes in children, even those with elevated mental health symptoms, may be minimal.
- Opines that as the nintendo generation matures, video games will become normalized and part of this generation’s culture in the same way television, movies, and radio have. the esrb has established a simple but effective rating system.
- Cites brad j. and craig a. anderson's article, "video games and hostileexpectations: a testof the general aggression model."
- Summarizes the final report and findings of the safe school initiative: implications for the prevention of school attacks in the united states.
1088 wordsRead More - The Relationship with Violence in Video Gamesexplanatory essayWith Video Games becoming a staple on the world household front, the amount of social impact they have is widespread. “Video games have became a billion dollar industry in North America, with revenues topping almost $20 billion in the United States in 2009 alone” (Bowen, H. J.,). In many different Video Games, violence plays a key role in their overall theme .Violent Video Games (VVG) exposure has been shown to increase aggressive tendencies according to Anderson & Bushman, (2001) but only for short periods of time, 15 minutes or less in a study done by (Sestir & Bushman, 2010). In a study conducted by (Greitemeyer and Osswald (2006) they found no significant effects VVG's have on our society positive or negative. They did however, find that video games can have positive effects on behavior, if the games have pro-social content.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that video games are a billion dollar industry in north america, with revenues topping almost $20 billion in the united states in 2009 alone.
- Explains that tear and nielsen tested vvgs using a pro-social questionnaire before and after game-play. call of duty: black ops ii, and grand theft auto iv were tested.
- Explains that researchers had to include controls which were non-violent video games, such as world of zoo and portal 2, where the controls provided an environment that was inductive for the player.
- Explains that bösche and wolfgang (2009) conducted a study on several adults ranging from age 20-40 that were not receiving any beneficial credits to conduct his experiment.
- Explains that tear's test of relationship violence and video-games shared with each other failed to find evidence linking negative effects to vvg.
- Explains that violent content enhances video game performance. chronic exposure to violent video games is not associated with alterations of emotional memory.
670 wordsRead More - Violence in Video Gamesanalytical essayVideo game violence has been a controversial subject for many years. Even the most simple, classic video games have had this topic pop up, dating back to the 1980’s, games like Space Invaders, Pac-Man, and Donkey Kong. But more especially in modern video games, such as the Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto series. Many investigations attempt to analyze the idea that video games are making people more prone to violence, and even point to violence related events, some of said research information may be faulty. Within these investigations there will be evidence and proof for both parties and analyzing if they may or may not be valid, and considering the people behind the statistics and their claims.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that video game violence has been a controversial subject for many years, especially in classic video games like space invaders, pac-man, and donkey kong.
- Explains that most people in modern countries are aware of the claims of violence on video games, placing blame on them for violent acts done by the youth of today.
- Explains that non-users simply do not understand the subject at hand, while older citizens find entertainment in video games and use it to their advantage to expand their knowledge and memory.
- Explains marc prensky's explanation of video and computer games' explicit learning of how to do something, and argues that video games cause people to become dumb and poor grades in school.
- Explains that video games generate a huge amount of revenue, but violence is still contained in those products. corporations may want to have violence as an appealing selling point. other marketing strategies use curiosity to lure buyers.
- Argues that video games are an easy target that the harmless ones are often marked as violent. pac-man is a prime example of this.
- Analyzes how stanton took issue with a harvard researcher who testified about how the esrb (the organization in charge of rating video games) did not accurately rate the games.
- Analyzes how video games are easy to theorize and make quick judgements of things that are hard for them to understand. video games have probable cause to believe they had a major influence on people to murder or attack someone.
- Analyzes a scene from call of duty: modern warfare 2 where five men walk into an airport checkpoint and open fire. this scene alone has sparked controversy in multiple shootings, one being the sandy hook shooting.
- Opines that mental disorders should be regulated and taken into account for ratings of video games and for violent thought provoking products.
- Explains that children with mental disorders and video games may not be the best combination. autistic characteristics include stereotypy, compulsive behavior, sameness, ritualistic behavior and restricted behavior.
- Explains that asperger's syndrome is a milder version of autism and children with the disorder may not even seem like they have anything wrong with them. many of the shootings and other disasters were linked to the suspect’s mental stability.
- Explains that video games have also acted as havens for organized crime and terrorism. the nsa has recently started to monitor other less popular forms of communication as well.
- Explains that violence from video games is especially noticeable in children, who mimic the things they see on all sorts of media and try to do it without even noticing that they are.
- Opines that video game violence is a subject debated by the many variables that it has.
- Analyzes how violent video games contribute to youth violence. caroline krur, "the 10 most violent video games (and 10 alternatives)" reviews & age ratings. mike masnick.
1793 wordsRead More - The Effects of Violent Video Gamesanalytical essayThe article says that a child's brain can be affected by repeatedly playing certain video games, just like a body can be affected by repeatedly eating certain kinds of food. Furthermore, Doyle says that parental supervision does not seem to affect the association. The study includes talking to children from ages eight to seventeen about how much time they spend playing video games, how much violence is in the video games, and is then followed by asking them questions such as if they would hit another person when provoked, or if it was a morally sound thing to do. The relationship between violence and video games appears to be universal among all types of people.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes kathryn doyle's article, "violent video games may be tied to aggressive thoughts," which suggests a link between violent videos and violent thoughts and behavior among children.
- Analyzes how doyle's article says that a child’s brain can be affected by repeatedly playing certain video games, and that parental supervision does not seem to affect the association.
- Opines that the article misses the fact that people play video games that interest them.
- Argues that children should have more exposure to their parents than any other type of influential media.
- Explains that while video games can influence a child's thinking or acting, it will not make them suddenly become violent. doyle gives too much power to the game and ultimately dismisses the more prominent causes of violence in youth.
631 wordsRead More - The Truth about Video Games and Violent Childrenanalytical essayViolent video games are not training kids to be murderers. The video game industries have been called against and blamed for making kids more aggressive and violent for years. Although recent studies show that violent video games have been useful for kids to get their anger out. Only some kids were found to be aggressive after violent video game play, but they had three specific traits that lead to this aggressive behavior (“Violent...). Not all kids are affected by violent video games, but people do not know this so they continue to blame video games for their kids bad behaviors. Aggressive behaviors do not come from video games, they come from the environment that the kids grew up around (“Do…).
In this essay, the author
- Explains that violent video games aren't training kids to be murderers; they've been blamed for making kids more aggressive and violent for years.
- Analyzes how violent video games have been blamed for tragedies such as school shootings and juvenile crimes.
- Explains that violent video games were found to be less aggressive than those that did not play them.
- Explains that doctor markey's studies showed that the few kids negatively affected by violent video games share similar traits such as high neuroticism, disagreeableness, and low levels of conscientiousness.
- Explains that test of aggression does not relate to criminal violence or real world violence in any way, and the tests for aggression are not yet proven to be accurate.
- Explains that video games help kids experience real world conflicts and death without going into the dangerous environment of real life.
- Explains that 97% of all twelve to seventeen year olds in the us played video games in 2008, which leaves people to believe that videogames are causing violent outbreaks, but there must be an underlying cause that researchers are overlooking.
- Explains that video games are not raising children to be criminals or murderers. they are used as emotional outlets that kids can use to get away from the real world.
1216 wordsRead More