In recent news many people have tried to explain the behaviors of teens acting violently. Whether it be school shootings or assaults on peers or elders it seems today that teens have been acting out more frequently than usual. Many people have concluded that the cause of all of this violence is the exposure to violent video games. During my research I have found that this is not the case. “Playing video games could be compared to smoking cigarettes. A single cigarette will not cause lung cancer, but smoking over weeks or months or years greatly increases the risk. In the same way, repeated exposure to violent video games may have a cumulative effect on aggression.” (Suciu 1). While playing violent video games over long periods of time during the ever-impressionable period of adolescence may cause negative effects in the long run. Playing Violent video games does not have a direct correlation between immediate violence among teens.
There are many factors that relate to teenage violence, social violence including bullying, physical fighting, criminal assaults and even homicide. The media often draws a link from the playing of violent video games to the suspects of school shootings in the United States (Grohol 1). “Other primary arguments against a cause-effect relationship between game violence and real-life violence focus on much wider trends than the occasional horrific school shooting. Some experts point to the fact that while violent video game sales are on the rise, violent crime rates in the United States are going down” (Layton 1). Identifying violent video game media as the “bad guy” in crime stories may also be easier for people than figuring out for themselves the complicated overlap of nature-nurture factors that produce ...
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...hooters that didn't play video games." (Layton 1).
Works Cited
Grabmeier, Jeff. "Research and Innovation Communications." Violent Video Games: More Playing Time Equals More Aggression. Ohio State University, 10 Dec. 2012. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Grohol, John M. "In New Study, Video Games Not Tied to Violence in High-Risk Youth | Psych Central News." Psych Central.com. Psych Central.com, 27 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Layton, Julia. "Do violent video games lead to real violence?" 24 March 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. 17 November 2013.
Soave, Robby. "The Daily Caller." The Daily Caller. The Daily Caller, 23 May 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
Suciu, Peter. "Violent Video Games Do Not Lead To Violent Lifestyle." Teenagers And Violence Not Linked To Video Games. RedOrbit.com, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
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.
Paulson, Ken. “How obscene is video game violence?” USA Today. USA Today, 2 November 2010. Web. 24 October 2011.
The article “Do Video Games Kill” written by Karen Sternheimer addresses the widespread question; are video games the cause for “young killers”? (220) Sternheimer believes concern for the influence of video games may have on youth is spiraling out of control. She puts most of the blame for this out of control concern on the media. She also writes some about the politicians and the Juvenile Justice System. Sternheimer suggests that there are other factors to blame for violent behavior: poverty, the neighborhood, unemployment, family violence, divorced parents and mental illness (218). While it may be that juvenile crimes have declined, and personal backgrounds effect actions, it cannot be proven that video game violence has no to little effect on
"Do Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
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.
Nauret, Rick. “In new study, video games not tied to violence in youth”. psychcentral.com. 15 Nov 2013.
Lately there have been increasing amounts of people that say that violent video games are causing a number violent actions. To some extent this is true, but there are also studies that say games help people release their aggression in an appropriate way. I would tend to agree with the later.
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.
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.
Although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it. I am focusing on violent video games and how they affect juveniles because I feel that this issue needs to be looked at in the criminal justice community. It is an unnecessary distraction to blame the actions of a disturbed youth on a form of entertainment that has been used by millions of people without incident. A review article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly found that many studies which claim to indicate an increase in aggression due to video games are, in fact, biased! Once the bias is taken into account, the studies no longer find any correlation between youths who play violent video games and youths who demonstrate aggression and violent behavior.
Gentile, D.A., & Anderson, C.A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. In D. Gentile (Ed.) Media Violence and Children (pp. 131-152)
Costikyan, Greg. “The Problem of Video Game Violence is Exaggerated.” Video Games. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2003. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2005.
Jaslow, Ryan. "Violent Video Games Make Kids Aggressive, Study Suggests." CBSNews.com. N.p., 1 June 2011. Web. 13 Dec. 2013.s."
“Contrary to the claims that violent video games are linked to aggressive assaults and homicides, no evidence was found to suggest that this medium was a major (or minor) contributing cause of violence in the United States.” (Markey, 290)
While many different case studies have been done all over the world, scientists have yet to prove that there is a direct correlation between violent video games and child aggression. Since the start of this quarter, this has been an issue that I have been doing extensive research on. Despite looking into several scholarly sources, I was surprised to see that many of my findings were pretty consistent with one another. For the mort part, what I found through my research was a bunch of statistics from case studies and the interpretation of those statistics from renowned scientists. In many cases, statistics and studies showed slight indications that violent video games have an effect on c...