Violent Video Games are the Root Cause of Youth Aggression

Technological advances have engineered many new forms of entertainment, one of the most popular being video games. Video games have come a long way since they were first introduced to the mainstream audience during the 1960’s and 1970’s and have drawn a large amount attraction among people of all ages and culture. However it wasn’t until the Play-station was released that violence became a concern to parents and politics. The level of violence in video games have been in a matter of controversy dating all the way back to the classic games like Pacman and Space Invaders and with the advancement of technology, eventually pushing into more modern and realistic games like Grand Theft Auto 5 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. These games are evolving and changing every year by introducing new graphics, realism, sound effects, and scenarios. The increase of youth aggression, addiction, coupled with acts of life imitating art, justifies that violent video games should be banned.

To begin with, in recent years psychologists have confirmed that violent video games are the root of youth aggression. This trend is increasing pretty fast and it is damaging the society that humans live in today. In a study conducted by Gentile, Lynch, Linder & Walsh (2004, p.6) "adolescent girls played video games for an average of 5 hours a week whereas boys averaged 13 hours a week. The teens that play violent video games for extended periods of time show aggressiveness, are more prone to confrontation with their teachers, are more likely to engage in fights with their peers, and see a decline in school achievements.” As stated, children who play violent video games over a prolonged period of time are more likely to be aggressive and hostile. Teenagers who regularl...

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...s the brain and encourages it to keep playing and since most of these games give rewards all the time, they are never ending games, eventually leading to addiction. And lastly, adolescents who regularly play violent video games find violence, guns, and blood attractive and seductive, hence screwing up their minds by confusing themselves with the real world and the virtual world. It is disastrous, mind boggling, and sad, that in today’s technological world, the hobby of playing video games has attracted the youth and old alike as they play games from the simple "Tetris" to the overly brutal and sadistic "Grand Theft Auto" series and saying "It's fun, it’s just a game, and I'd never do this in real life." Parents, teachers, psychologists and even politicians conclude that the violent video games influence is not for the better of society, it is indeed the opposite!