Our nation has changed over the years. There is no question about that. The generation that my grandfather grew up in during the 1930’s and 1940’s has often been called “The Greatest Generation” (Brokaw). Why is my generation not talked about for our inventions and advances in technology? Maybe that the downfall of our generation has been the media and the influence it has on the public? There is no doubt that the media can spin a story into a shocking and scary account produced solely on the intent to sell. This information force-fed to the public can cause fear and hatred to develop within our country and result in gun violence and bloodshed. One reason for the amount of youth violence in America is the violent content in many video games.
The average adolescent spends a major part of the normal week watching or interacting with some form of the media’s products. Video games are one of these media based mediums and have become increasingly popular since the 1980’s. According to a report in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, "Female gamers spent an average of 44 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and four minutes playing on the weekends, and male gamers spent an average of 58 minutes playing on the weekdays and one hour and 37 minutes playing on the weekends" ("Video Game Play Among Adolescents"). What can we understand from this evidence? The fact is that adolescents, male or female, are spending tremendous amounts of time each day sitting in front of a screen with a controller in hand.
Although there is little evidence to conclude that violence in video games directly leads to adolescent gun violence, there are proven studies that show increased levels of anger and aggression in the human brain when...
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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.
Studies on the link between videogames and violent behaviors began in the late 1970’s. The first time a violent video game was introduced and raised some eyebrows about the amount of violence being displayed was with a certain racing video game. “The controversy dates all the way back to Death Race, a 1976 8-bit video game in which cars run over bad guys, turning them into tombstones” (Kelly, 1). The studies between videogames and violent behavior continued into the 1980’s. “In 1984, a study found that arcade games have a “calming effect” and that boys use them to blow off steam. Both studies relied on surveys and interviews asking boys and young men about their media consumption” (Kain, 2). As a result, the link between videogames and violent behavior has been studied for a long time.
Ferguson, Christopher, Adolfo Garza, Jessica Jerabeck, Raul Ramos, and Mariza Galindo. "Not Worth the Fuss After All? Cross-sectional and Prospective Data on Violent Video Game Influences on Aggression, Visuospatial Cognition and Mathematics Ability in a Sample of Youth." Journal of Youth & Adolescence; 42.1 (2013): 109-22. EBSCOhost. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
The first video game arrived on the scene in the 1950’s. It began as a rather simplistic form of entertainment including games like “Tennis for Two” and “Ping Pong”. Fast forward 50 years later and current games advanced extremely beyond the basic oscilloscope. Developed animations have lifelike characteristics; some even mimic the movement of the player’s body. Video games have evolved and with evolution come many concerns about its sometimes violent and immoral contents. This presentation serves to educate whether video games have a negative effect on the behavior of youth. We will highlight both negative and positive aspects of the practice and use statistics to help you make an inform decisions when selecting games for loved ones.
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.
After a long school day, most students find themselves mentally exhausted by an intensive curriculum. Rightfully so, most developing teenagers make an attempt to find an activity to release some stress, and veer away from the rigorous, mental activity of the school day. Hence, most of these children turn to video games. With the recent increase of technological sources, video games has acted as yet another option for after school activity. With admiration for brutal, destructive, and harsh forms of entertainment, it can be seen how violent games can affect the behaviors of young men and women who are constantly exposed.
Video game violence has received a great deal of attention nationwide. In some individuals gaming seems to have replaced music, movies, television, and outdoor activities. Violent video games are extremely popular among teens and adults. Violence is not only seen in video games or on television, it can be seen anywhere from the streets to children’s fairy tales and books. Violent video games are not anything new to most teens. If you really think about it, teens are more than likely smart enough to know better and the difference between what’s real and what’s not. In all reality, it is what it is, a game. Furthermore, according to psychologist Christopher Ferguson, “Although there are some studies that find links between violent games and mild forms of aggression, there are also studies which find no evidence for any links at all.” Also, some investigators found that gruesome video games make teens convulsive and hostile. The deliberation betw...
The least of importance are the studies from Hope M. Cummings from the University of Michigan, and Elizabeth A. Vandewater from the University of Texas, that show video games can make people spend less time doing homework (2007). During the school year 2002-2003 they collected a survey from nearly 1,500 U.S. kids and teens from ages 10 to 19 (Cummings & Vandewater 2007). About 80 percent of the percentage were boys and more than 36 percent of the group reported playing video games (Cummings & Vandewater 2007). Adolescent gamers spent 30 percent less time reading and 34 percent less time doing homework compared to non-gamers (Cummings & Vandewater 2007).
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 demonstrate aggression and violent behavior.
Throughout the life of the video game, there have been cases where video games seem to be the cause of aggression in teenagers. On March 6, 2005, in an article on CBS News it was mentioned that “a multi-million dollar lawsuit was filed in Alabama against the makers and marketers of Grand Theft Auto, claiming that months of playing the game led a teenager to go on a rampage and kill three men, two of them police officers.” (Ed Bradley, CBS News) In another case study, they observed one person playing a non-violent video game and the other person playing a violent video game. After observing their brain scans, they noticed that “[t]eens that played the violent game showed increased activity in the amygdala, which is involved in emotional arousal.” (Kristin Kalning, MSNBC) Since there are many other cases like this, the bigger gaming companies have been making more educational and family-oriented games, so as to create games that are less aggressive or violent. However, many of the games still are extremely violent, so that those who are not addicted to the video games have an interesting game to play.
Over the past 30 years, playing video games has become one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Not only has the video game industry become a multi-billion dollar industry, but it has attracted people from all age types. While video games today are played by both kids and adults, there are many issues being raised regarding the effects of video games. More particular, is the effect that violent video games may be having on children. Some critics argue that video games are direct indicators of child aggression while video game supporters argue that there is no direct link between child aggression and violent video games. While many people have their own personal stances, this issue is unique because it is unfolding everyday. Scientists and researchers all over the world are continuously doing research regarding the effects of video games on children. Even though this remains a field of uncertainty for researchers, parents should definitely be involved in being aware of what it is that they’re children are playing when they play video games.
middle of paper ... ... The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance. Journal of Adolescence, 27. http://www.sciencedirect.com
Social scientists have been examining the effect that video games have on behavior. From the introduction of video games in the 1980s, there have been numerous research studies to this effect (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). The issue has become even more significant in the modern context because these video games have become bloodier and more realistic than ever before. Even though boys play these games more than girls in America, the consumption of video games has generally been high. Carey (2013) indicates that 32% of these gamers are below the age of 18. Therefore, it would be crucial to evaluate the effects that these video games have on the behavior of such children.
middle of paper ... ... Educate your child about violence and video games Set time limits on gaming Encourage your child to do other things besides playing video games. REFERENCES Lieberman, Joe (1997) "Video Game Report Card, 1997" http://www.senate.gov/member/ct/lieberman/releases/r112597a.html. Cesarone, Bernard "Video Games and Children" http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/video.games.html Zarozinski, Michael "Video Game Violence 2001" http://www.louderthanabomb.com/vg_voilence.htm "Fact Sheets: Effects of Video Game Play on Children" http://www.mediafamily.org/research/fact/effect.shtml Children Now "Children and the Media 2001" http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/#violence The "Violence in Video Games" http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/articles/features/violence_92/ The "Video Game Violence" http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/vgv.htm Walsh, David A. Video Game Violence: What Does the Research Say? 1998.
Willoughby, T., Adachi, P. C., & Good, M. (2012). A longitudinal study of the association between violent video game play and aggression among adolescents. Developmental Psychology, 48(4), 1044-1057. doi:10.1037/a0026046