Video Games and Violence

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One of the main concerns with respect to violence in video games compared to other media is the fact that games are immersive, and interactive. They are repetitive, and based on a reward system which is a proven psychological component of classical conditioning discovered by Ivan Pavlov. This argument however has been going on since the days of the comic book in the 50's, and because of the graphic violence portrayed in them, parents blamed them for their children's bad behavior.

It seems that blaming games, and other media in this way is quite a lazy view to take. Subsequently, it is really using game manufacturers as a scapegoat, while ignoring the bigger issue, the person who has committed this act of aggression or violence, and other issues that have brought them to this point. Apparently, according to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the panic over video game violence is twice as harmful as it misdirects energy that could be used in helping kids with problems, and allows them to fester to the point where they break down, and act out in aggression.

A more appropriate question would be "Do violent games inspire the gamer to cause violence"? If the game does make a person commit violence, then are they mature enough to be playing it in the first place? Does this mean though one learns to be violent from playing a violent game, any more than watching a violent film, or listening to an aggressive Hip-Hop or Rap song, and have a long term effect to make the player violent and aggressive in real life, where they may otherwise have been non-violent. A prison in Missouri seem to think that they do affect the player, as since 2004 they have been the first to remove them from prison privileges. Whether or not this has r...

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Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. S., Smith, J. and Tosca, S. (2013) 'Video Games and Risks', Understanding Video Games, Second Edition. New York: Routledge, pp 255-277.

Springer. (2013) Video games do not make vulnerable teens more violent. Available at: http://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1433942-0 (Accessed: 29/12/2013).

Wendy Stogner. (2007) Do Video Games Cause Violence in Children?. Yahoo Voices. Weblog [Online] 23rd May. Available from: http://voices.yahoo.com/do-video-games-cause-violence-children-359143.html?cat=25. [Accessed 29/12/2013].

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