Media Violence and Its Effect on Teenagers

I was then interrupted by reality and it was time to go to school. I paused Grand Theft Auto IV and prepared myself for school, as my brain was making its way back to the real-world. Intense violence, drug abuse, sexual content, foul language, and criminal behavior are some components of violent video games like Grand Theft Auto that fuel the multibillion dollar gaming industry. Recently, there have been concerns about the effects of violent video games on young people who play them excessively. The mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary school, Washington Navy Yard, and in Aurora, just to name a few, have led to a series of media claims that violence in video games causes violence in the real world.

Grossman is a writer of two books on video game violence and thinks that video game is a major cause for violent teen behavior. On 1997 in a Paducah, Kentucky high school shoot out a 14 year boy shot eight people and five where headshots. This was believed to be a effect of the teen playing first person shooter games. The FBI say that trained law enforcement officers only land one out of five shots and this boy had no past experience shooting except for in the game. “Exposing children and adolescents (or "youth") to violent visual media increases the likelihood that they will engage in physical aggression against another person,” said expert Craig A. Anderson.

16, 2007, a highly anti-game protester Jack Thompson linked the shooting to the PC game Counter-Strike. This trend continues later as Mitt Romney as well as Doctor Phil supported Thompson that video games were to blame. It was later revealed that the shooter did not play video games, and these allegations were entirely wrong. This is clear evidence that the idea of video games causing violence is a present idea in our society, especially among high school and college aged individuals committing acts of violence. Video games are often thought to cause these acts of violence when underage or young people are involved because those age groups are seen as a time of development, when individuals still have the ability to be influenced, especially by media.

He actually used the video game Call of Duty to train for his shooting massacre” (Fletcher). Because of Anders addictions to violent video games he has learned to use weapons like in the game and used the knowledge to actually kill people like he does in the video game. Using violent video games to train for a crime is the reason for the actions, young adults getting their inspiration

The playing of violent video games often represents a factor in motivating shockingly violent youth crimes such as high school shootings in the US. People use video games as a scape goat when it comes to violence. Violent literature, television shows, and movies existed long before violent video games. Video games allow people to satisfy their urge to do wrong, but in no way do video games encourage or influence violence. Few violent video games exist compared to the total amount of video games that exist.

In recent years our society has experienced many tragic school shootings in which teens have committed heinous crimes for no apparent reason. The question has become who is to blame or what inspired these attacks on these innocent victims? This question has become an epidemic in our country. We live in a violent world and young people have easy access to it whether it's on television, in music or on the Internet. But with the explosion of media entertainment in recent years, video games have come under scrutiny as to whether or not violence in video games numbs children and teens to the consequences of real-life violence.

Although, there are some strong theories and opinions to why these shooting occur; violent video games. In the articles "Frag Him" by Mike Jaccarino and "Shooting in The Dark" by Benedict Carey, these authors express their feelings on how violent video games correlate with these aggression that could eventually lead to horrific tragedies. Each author have similar and different thoughts regarding this serious matter. In Mike Jaccarino's article "Frag Him", he advocates that video games and aggression are most definitely linked. Violence in video games already heighten one's aggression after playing; but due to the technology we have today, the realism of it all is just making it worse.

Violence in video games is a topic that has always been talked about. It is said that violent video games are one of the largest causes of many violent crimes. Because of its tremendous controversy of whether it’s true or not I decided to do my research on this topic. In Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, Ralph E. Hanson questions whether video games are even considered a “mass medium” (247) and then comes to a conclusion that it is. Like Hanson I also happen to believe that its part of mass media for various reasons.

At this point, If I see somebody having issues with the video game and it seems like it can’t be controlled, I will have to tell somebody so they can get help. It has been so many episodes with teens killing people, even their own parents, over a video game. Yes, video games should generate some type of competitive spirit, but when you start bringing your problems with the video game into the real world, you are going to have problems. This topic had an impact on me because it really shows me how we teens act when it comes to video games. I believe the video game controversies will continue to go on forever.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most controversial games to have ever been released because even though it has a rating classification of R18+ it makes its way into the hands of many younger players via parents, siblings or friends. There are serious concerns that exposure to these violent themes will have effects on developing brains. Grand Theft Auto 5 and games like it actually cause violent behaviour, desensitises users to acts of violence, it causes some users to view the world as a scary and violent place and possibly most concerning is the fact that exposure to violence in games gives users the appetite for viewing further violence. Grand Theft Auto 5 encourages aggressive behaviour and in turn provokes violence. All too often the reports of a mass shooting weave their way through the sensationalized headlines.