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The impact of video games on teenagers
Is crime in juveniles linked to violent video games
The impact of video games on teenagers
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Newton, Connecticut; December 14, 2012; 20-year-old Adam Lanza entered Sandy Hook Elementary school and opened fire. He took the lives of 20 children ages 6 and 7 as well as 6 adults, including his mother before turning the gun to himself. Lanza was a fan of first-person shooter video games, with more than 83,000 ‘kills’ and 22,000 ‘headshots’ on his video game account (Bates). Many believe that Lanza’s violent video game use and military obsession caused him to commit this crime but, did it really? Lanza was mentally ill with schizophrenia and refused to take his medication, the video games did not cause him to do what he did, his mental health issues primarily caused the destruction that took place. Therefore, why do people consider violent video games to cause violent behaviors among children and teens?
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association take a strong stance against adolescences and teens playing violent video games. According to the American Psychological Association, 90% of children in the United States play video games. Between the ages of 12 and 17, the number rises to 97%.
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The total sales of video games and consoles increases 204% from 1994 to 2014, reaching $13.1 billion in 2014. At this time, murders by juveniles acting alone fell 76% and violent crimes decreased 37%. The arrest rate of juveniles in 2013 was 38% below that of 1980 and 63% below that of 1994 (the peak year of juvenile violence). The number of high school students involved in at least one physical fight decreased 43% since 1991 and 25% since 2013, criminal victimization in schools dropped by more than half from 1995 to 2011. An August 2014 peer-reviewed study found that: "Annual trends in video game sales for the past 33 years were unrelated to violent crime... Monthly sales of video games were related to concurrent decreases in aggravated assaults."
Video games. They provide an escape from reality to explore worlds and realms beyond our own. However there is a lot of controversy surrounding wether or not video games are good for you, many people are under the impression that video games turn kids and adults alike into mindless zombies hellbent on violence but in this essay I aim to convince you that not only is this untrue but that video games are actually beneficial. I’d also like to mention that too much of anything is bad for your health,for example extremely high quantities of broccoli can be toxic.
The shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado killing thirteen students and teachers shocked the world. “They were video gamers who seemed to be acting out some dark digital fantasy. It was as if all that exposure to computerized violence gave them the idea to go on a rampage – or at least fueled their urges” (Carey 1). The shooters of this incident learned their deadly skills from video games. Seventy percent of children ages eight to eighteen have access to violent video games at their home. “Boys who play Teen or Mature-rated games for a minimum of 40 minutes a day may witness over 180 incidents of aggression per day, or 5,400 incidents per month”(Smith, S.L., Lachlan, K.A., & Tamborini, R). Children that play violent video games at such a young age and experiencing such violent actions will start to increase in aggressive thoughts, feelings, and aggressive behavior.
What ever happened to the simple games like Mario Kart 64, Baseball, Football and Sonic the Hedgehog? In the book The Sociology of War and Violence the author states, “Our popular culture, novel, history textbooks, mass media, art, games, children’s toys and many other everyday outlets are saturated with images and instruments of violence” (Malesevic). There has been a huge rise in violence in the media culture today. Television shows, movies, video games, etc. have all become more violent today than they have ever been in the past. Kids used to play these simple games and were fine with that, but now they only care about them if they have violence, killing and destruction. Today’s video games are being created to be based around nothing but
However, many observations and research from various professionals prove otherwise. If video games were the cause of violence, then it would be common sense that an increase total sale of video games would increase the total number of crimes, would it not? Yet, according to ProCon, a nonpartisan, nonprofit, California-based websites that present research, pro and con statements, and studies on questions related to all debates, the total sales of video games hardware and software combined had a 204% increase from 1994 to 2014, while violent crimes had a 37% decrease in the exact same period of time. Living in today’s society, it is common sense that teenagers are the most likely to play video games, which would also be logical that an increase total sale of video games would cause teen violence to catapult. However, ProCon presented data from the National Center for Education Statistics, showing an overall 18% decrease in high school students who had been in at least one physical fight. There’s a common saying that numbers don’t lie; in this case, instead of skyrocketing as to how they were supposed to due to an extreme increase of video games sales, these numbers have plunged, which would discredit the claim of teen violence due to video
Video games are widely popular as a form of entertainment for young children and teenagers in the United States, and many of these games contain forms of violence. Because this causes exposure to such graphic images for many children, there has been a concern that these violent forms of entertainment affect these children. Numerous studies conducted by groups of psychologists have been directed on this particular issue, leading to evidence both for and against this claim. This is an issue which parents should acknowledge, as it greatly impacts their children. Therefore, parents must become aware of the issue of violence in video games and monitor their children’s access to such games because history as well as numerous studies and statistics to have shown that they have negative effects on children, causing desensitization due to the exposure to such intense images.
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.
Some people believe that violent video games aren't harmful to young boys and girls. In a recent study, "Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media than the average person in the general population"(Jenkins). That means that they consume less video games as well. However, even though they consume less media right before their crimes, they may have played many violent video games when they were younger. In another study, Christopher Ferguson said "We found that depressed mood and association with delinquent peers were the strongest and most consistent risk factors for youth violence across outcome measures"(Ferguson). This shows that violent video games aren't as bad as depression and delinquent peers at creating violent. Although that may be true directly, some delinquent behavior is caused by violent video games. So even if they didn't play video games, then the delinquent peers probably did, so they were still affected by violent video games. Although some people believe violent video games to be fine for children, those kind of games aren't because they can cause aggressive behavior.
Although video games can have no urges in young adults and children to commit violent crimes because most all video games are fictional and not based on real life events or moments in history .An example to prove this is “We found that game sales related to a decrease in crimes, and especially violent crimes.” (Carey). This can tell us that because of the increase in sales of video games which lead to a decrease in crimes because of how the games are fictional, so they had no effect on teenagers or people who bought the game on how violent they would become from playing the games. Meanwhile, there are a higher percentage of young adults and children that do play the games such as GTA. An example of how video games can have negative effects on the people who do play the violent games is “In surveys about 80% of High School age boys say they play video games most of which are thought to be violent” (Carey). The quote taken from a survey can tell us that the 80 percent of high school age students that play video games can be connected to the non-fictional aspect of the game by the students committing the crimes or violent actions because of the misconnection between real and fake, so they are then to commit more violent actions in the future. In conclusion that high school age students playing non fictional games will be promoted to violent crimes in future places and
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.
There are several variety game systems for different age groups. Some people may say that video games cause violence, there has been school shooting that the tabloids says there is a link between video games. From the Columbine High School massacre, and Sandy Hook School shooting .Other people will argue that playing a video game with a violent rating will not do any harm to a person. It's fun and it's competitive without having to be physical. It all depends on the person who is playing.
Do video games cause violence? Violence in our real world caused by playing a video game that has guns in it or even death. Some people say they do and others don't. Here are my three reasons why video games do not, have not, and will not cause violence.
Due to the availability of news and media in today’s technologically advanced society, many people are aware of the violent acts that are committed every day all throughout the world. In addition, the technological advances of today’s society have continued to fuel one of the most successful industries of the present day: the video game industry. Many people have been eager to blame the video game industry for the violent acts that are committed throughout the world because the video game industry has continued to target an audience that seemingly craves an increasing amount of violence, and they criticize the video game industry for its complete lack of restrictions on the sale of violent video games to teenagers. However, although some experts believe that playing violent video games may perpetuate a violent disposition in a teenager, it has been demonstrated that
Violent video games have become more realistic every year. Children spend about 40 hours seated in front of a screen killing cartoon characters. It has been debated whether minors under the age of 18 should play violent video games that contain physical harm, killing, and sexual assault. In the contrary, people say video games increases the capacity of learning of children, but violent video games cause great damages. Although there are an increase learning skills playing video games, violent video games should be prohibited to minors because it changes an individual behavior, physical, and brain.
Violent 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.
With fast growing technology has made video games better. It has created a getaway place where one can role play and forget about the reality. But as video games become more popular it also becomes more and more violent. Playing hours of violent video games so impact the mind and behavior of young teens and children. Violent video games can cause aggressive behavior in children and teens. Children and young teens play hour of violent video games learn to be more violent and more demanding. They also seem too distant themselves form others and to be in their own world. This can cause interference with reality, being confused between the virtual world and