Parents and other adults have begun to become more concerned about violent video games due to the increased reality in the games. However, society may not realize how children and teens are affected by these games. In modern times, children and young adults are affected by violent games in a negative way by causing changes in their behavior. The average American child watches 28 hours of television a week and by the age of eighteen will have seen 16,000 murders and 200,000 violent acts (Gallagher). People who defend violent games like to point out that playing the games does not mean all players will go out and commit acts of violence, and that millions of people who play do not demonstrate violent behavior(Hicks). Although that is true, the games that are the most popular happen to show the most violence. In 2008, 298.2 million video games were sold in the United States. Six of the top ten best-selling games exhibited violence, with four of the games rated M for a mature audience, which is for people who are seventeen and older (procon.org). One study found seventy-one percent of the games played by children contained at least some type of mild violence, while twenty-five percent had intense violence and blood. This study also found that children ages seven to twelve play games rated M as a part of their daily routine(Hicks). During the holiday season of 2013, the most popular games sold were Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag, Deadpool, Grand Theft Auto V, Ryse: Son of Rome, Saints Row IV, and The Last of Us. These games have some common themes which are blood, strong language, sexual content, and violence (consumerreports.org). Today's games may be extremely graphic but these violent games can have some positive effects. Accordin... ... middle of paper ... ...eDaily, 15 May2008.web.16 Jan 2014. Jaccarino, Mike.”’Training simulation:’ Mass killers often share obsession with violent video games.”.foxnews.com. Fox News, 12 Sep 2013.web.16 Jan 2014. Korte, Travis.”Violent Video Games, Blamed For Promoting Violence, May Benefit Brain.”. Huffingtonpost.com.The Huffington Post, 18 Jan 2013.web.16 Jan 2014. Nauert, Rick.”Negative Effects of Violent Video Games May Build Over Time.”. Psychcentral.com.Psych Central, n.d.web.16 Jan 2014. Nauert, Rick.”Video Game Lowers Stress Hormone.”psychcentral.com. Psych Central, 24 Oct 2007.web.16 Jan 2014. “Shooting in the Dark”.nytimes.com. The New York Times, 11 Feb 2013.web.16 Jan 2014. “Violence and Video Games.”.videogameaddiction.org. n.p., n.d.web.16 Jan 2014. “Violent Video Games Stress People Out, Make Them Aggressive”.hearthmath.org. n.p., n.d.,web.16 Jan 2014.
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 ...
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. These easily accessible forms of entertainment are lightly regulated by parents and the government; children and adolescents are exposed to extremely violent media everyday. “By the time the average American child reaches seventh grade, he or she will have witnessed 8,000 murders and 100,000 acts of violence on television. Some people say so much violence on television makes American society- including its children- more violent” (“Causes of School Violence” 1). Among the violent media, video games are the current trend. Although video games are rated by ESRB (the entertainment sof...
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.
Since the 1970 video games have become more popular than ever before. Generating 11.7 billions of dollars of sells every year or more, the video game industry is considered one of the largest industries in this century. However, video games have been a topic of controversy. With the sales of violent video games going up and the increased violence in schools and teenagers, video games are always to blame. Many people speculate that video games are the cause on why many teenagers have developed aggressive and violent behavior, are desensitize to violence, and the increase violence in schools and public places. In contradiction, video games have little or no fault in teenagers’ violent behavior and shouldn’t always be blamed.
Desensitization from video games creates a biological response that leads to a lack of empathy and more aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, violence in video games is rewarded, making one more likely to repeat the behavior in real life. Finally, video games allow people to take on roles, and along with one’s inability to separate reality from fantasy, people will take on these roles in real life, leading to many of the recent mass shootings. The debate on video games and violence will carry major significance over these coming years. Although violent video games will not necessarily be banned, there might be moves to educate parents about the dangers of violent video games so that their children can be monitored in the games they choose. However, the debate will not be completely solved. Video games are a multimillion dollar industry and the companies may pay psychologists to agree with their sentiments, prolonging the debate. Although video games are some of the most popular items in the world to own, one must take caution in purchasing them, especially violent
Violence has been around for quite a long time. Fights and wars are the interest of today’s society of entertainment. People are more likely to see a movie, where protagonists kill bad guys, over a romantic movie, where a typical girl finds her “knight in shining armor.” This also applies to how teens feel when playing games. Teens have a sweet tooth for violent games, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops, Kill zone, Infamous, and other violent rated games. These games are like vocabulary words in a teens’ language. A recent discussion has been brought up from the Industry of Coombes Class (ICC). A worker has noticed a few news reports stating that games have influenced shooting sprees or murders in the community. Not only that but also parents are being persuaded to ban their children from playing games. The question is “Are games really influencing teens’ bad behaviors?” Well, violent games have been said to be the cause of teens’ violent acts, but this is not true. Many times this has been proven wrong by scientists and psychologists.
Violent video games are undoubtedly a legalized drug to children and teens, numbing their thoughts and reprogramming their minds. Like a drug, it desensitizes them, and makes them more prone to violence. This idea of violent video games was not a phenomenon until the later 20th century, and evolved from racing into enemies, to free-for-all drug abuse and sexual/physical violence that most youth know and play today. These games have a detrimental impact on teens, making them eat more, become more aggressive, and wash away their morality. Although some may try to argue with reality, countering that its helps them socially, similar to the idea of teens taking drugs, violent video games reduce their overall health and need to be taken care of.
Violent video games and violent adolescent behavior, is there a connection? Millions of violent video games are sold around the United States, millions more are sold overseas, but the numbers of violent crimes, that could be associated with violent video games is low. Assault, robbery, burglary, rape and murder occur daily. The drug industry accounts for the majority of these crimes. The cases not related to drugs, fall into a number of categories, including Psychological Disorders. Disorders that can cause violent behavior are psychotic or anti-social behavior, depression, schizophrenia, delusion, disassociation, and any others recognized by a Psychologist.
I can see where the adults are coming from when they say that these games are more violent, because they are more graphic. The increase of graphic violence is also a factor that has been looked at. Now that computers are “evolving” the amount of things they can do with games also increases. As c...
Violence across the nation has become an overwhelming, terrifying problem. One rising issue within the nation today is violent video games. Video games that show acts of violence can take a toll on those who play it and encourage those same acts inside of their everyday life. However, another issue that does not only affect the people involved and an entire community, but the whole country is gun violence. In Rebecca J. Rosen’s article “Violence is Contagious”, she compares violence to a disease, as it spreads quickly and infects humans of the nation. Violent video games and gun violence are directly related with each other.
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.
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.
“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.
A survey of 1,102 adolescents found that 97 percent had played video games in the past day. Although most parents checked the censor’s rating before consenting their child to obtaining it, 50 percent of boys and 14 percent of girls favored games with an "M" (mature) or "AO" (adult-only) rating, which suggests a high degree of violence. Social scientists believed that children are more probable to mimic the actions of a character with whom they identify. In violent video games, players participate as a character, and even choose which weapons they’ll use while fighting other characters. Similarly, repetition increases learning. Video games involve a great deal of repetition. If the games are violent, then the effect is a behavioral preparation for violent activity. Violence in society is not solely caused by violent media. But research shows that continuous exposure to violent media causes people to believe that violence can be an acceptable, positive way to solve problems.
“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