Virtual gunfights and pixelated blood splattering all over the screen. Is this what children should be exposed to? Violent video games are now being put into mass production and becoming more realistic by the second. New game systems are being released along with several games which promote violence such as Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty: Ghost. These video games lead children to believe that randomly shooting a person and stealing a car to get away is normal and fun. "Only ten percent of all video game perpetrators possessed "good" or "prosocial" qualities." (Smith, 2003) This statement proves that video games with such violent nature desensitizes children to violence and promotes such behavior. Therefore, playing violent video games causes children to behave more aggressively.
“About 90 percent of U.S. kids ages 8 to 16 play video games, and they spend about 13 hours a week doing so (more if you're a boy). Now a new study suggests virtual violence in these games may make kids more aggressive in real life. Players of violent video games are more likely to identify with a violent character. People are more likely to behave aggressively themselves when they identify with a violent character.” (Bushman, 2012) Video games are so realistic these days that there are multiple views in which you can play them. Such as Call of Duty: Ghost where you can play as a first person shooter. When this is done, it almost feels as if you are in the game. This makes the player identify himself or compare himself to the character.
Violence can be perceived as normality when it comes to gameplay. Typically, game players spend hours on the game trying to get to the next level or earn the next award. Overexposure of the violent images and real...
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...ked to child aggression. CNN. Retrieved February 11, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/11/03/healthmag.violent.video.kids/index.html?eref=rss_tech
Bushman, Ph. D., B. J. (2012, January 27). Do violent video games increase aggression?. Psychology Today. Retrieved February 12, 2013, from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/get-psyched/201201/do-violent-video-games-increase-aggression
Foster, C. (2012, December 31). Do Violent Video Games Really Cause Violent Behavior?. ReadWrite. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from http://readwrite.com/2012/12/31/do-violent-video-games-really-cause-violent-behavior#awesm=~ovFHsZIQYpnRe9
Bushman Ph.D., B. J. (2013, February 12). The effects of violent video games. Do they affect our behavior?. The Effects of Violent Video Games on Behavior. Retrieved February 12, 2014, from http://ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html
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.
"Do Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
People have always been looking for a reason why horrible things happen. The media is quick to blame video games as the target and cause of many shootings that have occurred, ever since Columbine and Quake. People have been blaming video games for violence for years now, ever since violent video games have been made. News reports blame video games more and more for each shooting, telling the public how this person played video games for x amount of hours a day, and that video games caused him or her to shoot people, and how video games encourage and reward violence. Anti-video game lobbyists have been campaigning to have violence removed from video games, citing resources that they themselves have created as reasons for such, poorly done studies where they confirm that kids are more aggressive through how much hot sauce they put on someone’s fries. While unbiased studies of video games and their links to violence are hard to come by, recent research has shown that video games do not in fact have a casual link to violence, and may even have the opposite effect. Violent video games have nearly no link to violence in teens or adults.
In today’s society, video games have played a huge part in the children and teen demographic. Revolutionizing the future, popular titles have implemented realistic values and experiences to players all around the world. As the quality of graphics improve and the plot thickens, so does the violence, gore, and bloodshed. Individuals who devote countless hours staring at the television screen trying to triumph the top high score and levels do not realize the amount damage and violent acts they are causing whether it is secluded in a virtual world or to their brains. Simulating unarmed fist fights, gun shootings, and war could lead to aggression and actual real-life violent conduct. Violent actions and behaviors in these titles could also desensitize
Children today are exposed to more graphic violence in video games compared to any past generations. This is because the media finds that making a profit, surpasses the lives of the adolescents that play these games. However, over time two set of views formed from the violence in video games. James D. Sauer, is a graduate of the School of Phycology. In his article, “Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure On In-Game and Postgame Aggression,” Sauer, describes that adolescents gain forms of aggression and violence after playing certain games. 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
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.
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).
ScienceDaily, "Could Violent Video Games Reduce Rather Than Increase Violence?" 2009 Web. The Web. The Web. 23 Apr. 2015. The 'Second http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514213432.htm
Jaslow, Ryan. "Violent Video Games Make Kids Aggressive, Study Suggests." CBSNews.com. N.p., 1 June 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.s."
Video games have been a rapidly expanding industry since their inception in the 1970s. Along with their growth have come concerns about violent video games and their effects on aggression and violence in young people. The endless numbers of school shootings have pushed this issue to the forefront. These events brought about the question: do violent video games induce aggression in youth? That’s the question I set out to answer by looking at research. The research shows that there is a link between playing video games and increases in aggression in adolescents. What implications does this fact have ethically? It means that video game producers and distributors need to be held responsible for their releases and the way they end up in the hands of kids.
“As video games have become more violent and more sophisticated and the sales of video games has skyrocketed in the last few decades, youth violence has plummeted,” Ferguson says, citing evidence compiled by various federal agencies (Adams 3). Violence in video games is not a new issue. It has been debated and argued since the release of the first violent video game. As time has progressed, so has the evolution of violence and strong language within video games. Ratings have become more relaxed, and the lines between T (Teen) and M (Mature) rated games has gotten closer together. Violent games are becoming the normal and accepted of all games, and are being demanded by the gaming industry more heavily. Parents have always shied away from these games for their children, regardless of age. However, kids are getting these games whether they are the correct age (17+) or not. Young kids, less than ten years of age are playing horribly violent games and parents are fearing the repercussions. But video games are not to be blamed for child violence. Violence in video games does not cause children to become violent people later on in life.
Thesis Statement: Violence in video games does not affect levels of aggression in people as long as you follow the MSRB rating scale.
Some people believe that violent video games can cause behavioral problems. This is not true; it is only their opinion. They may say people that play violent video games start having behavioral problems, and what was that cause? It is only people and it has no effect on them, only their own actions and their mental health issues. The violent video games for computers and consoles’ sales rate went up, but violent crime offenses went down.
“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 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.