The Real-World Effects of Virtual Violence: Perspectives on Video Games and Mass Media

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There is no doubt of the fact that video games are becoming more realistic and violent, nor that they are becoming much more beautiful and engaging in the way they look. What many people doubt, though, is whether they have a profound effect on a person’s character or not. Aggression as a result of video games seems to be a nebulous issue among much of the public. The research is there, but it is fragmented and covers many different issues that could (and are) problematic as far as video games go.

This paper will provide a survey and balanced evaluation of current research and thinking by experts on the short and long term effects of video games, specifically violent actions and themes, on individuals as well as society as a whole. Specific attention will be paid to the 1st person shooter and how the participant is looking through the eyes of “the killer” or taking on a detached role that could potentially desensitize an individual.

This is significant because of the long-term effects that these games and other entertainment forms could possibly have on at-risk individuals and modern culture and society. Short term studies have been done but we can’t quite fathom the long-term effects that will be felt in the future.

Since the first child picked up a stick to use it as a sword, violence has become more and more prevalent in culture. As children grew up, make-believe violence of the kind that they practiced grew up as well. Eventually toy guns were the new violent toy, and so on. In the last few 20 years, however, a new form of violence in “play” is becoming a more popular pastime than ever before.

In the early 1970’s the first games like Pong, Computer Space, and Galaxy Game were released to the public. While these ...

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Hartmann, Tilo. "It's Ok to Shoot a Character: Moral Disengagement in Violent Video Games." Journal of Communication 119th ser. 60.94 (2010): 94-119. Print.

Schmierbach, Mike. ""Killing Spree": Exploring the COnnection Between Competitive Game Play and Aggressive Cognition." Communication Research20.10 (2010): 1-19. Print.

Schneider, Edward, Annie Lang, Mija Shin, and Samuel D. Bradley. "Death with a Story: How Story Impacts Emotional, Motivational, and Physiological Responses to First-Person Shooter Video Games." Human Communication Research 30.3 (2009). Print.

Shibuya, Akiko, Akira Sakamoto, Nobuko Ihori, and Shintaro Yukawa. "The Effects of the Presence and Contexts of Video Game Violence on Children: a Longitudinal Study in Japan Simulation Gaming." Simulation Gaming 26.11 (2008): 5-28. Simulation Gaming Journal. Web.

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