Violent Video Games: The Negative Effects

680 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Does playing video games cause aggression in teens

On April 20, 1999, two adolescent boys walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, and shot 12 of their classmates and a teacher. Then, they killed themselves. When authorities investigated, they found that the boys had played thousands of hours of a video game that had been set to occur in their high school. They used yearbook pictures to create the game's virtual victims. The event that took place at Columbine High School is only one of many tragedies that have taken place due to the influence of video games. Violent video games should not be played by children and teens because they gain early exposure to extreme violence, mature themes, and explicit language.
In almost all video games, there are weapons of some sort. Even Lego brand video games feature weapons and a large amount of killing. Many children and teens accept this violence because their characters regenerate when killed. Christopher Bartlett, a psychologist at Iowa State University, led a research team made up of 47 undergraduates. Bartlett had a group of students play “Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance” for 15 minutes. Then, the students had to dole out hot sauce to a fellow student who did not like spicy food, but had to swallow the sauce. Compared to a group of students who had played a nonviolent video game, those who had played “Mortal Kombat” gave their fellow classmate much larger amounts of hot sauce (Carrey). More than 3,500 studies have shown the close relationship between video games and violent behavior. All but 18 studies have proved this to be true. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), violence that is shown without suffering is more likely to mimic violent behavior because the violence is, in a sense, meaningless (Eakes)...

... middle of paper ...

...angerous.

Works Cited

Carey, Benedict. “Shooting in the Dark.” The New York Times. The New York Times,
11 Feb. 2013. Web. 4 May 2014. science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html?pagewanted=1>. Eakes, Pamela. “Do You KNow What Video Games Your Children Are Playing?” The Video
Game Revolution. PBS, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. videogamerevolution/impact/violence.html>. Park, Alice. “Children Who Hear Swear Words on TV Are More Aggressive.” Time. Time,
24 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 May 2014. children-who-hear-swear-words-on-tv-are-more-aggressive//>. Park, Alice. “Little By Little, Violent Video Games Make Us More Aggressive.” Time. Time,
24 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 May 2014.
how-violent-video-games-change-kids-attitudes-about-aggression/>.

Show More
Related

  • Violent Video Games and Bad Behavior

    1537 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • School Shooters Direct Connection to Violent Video Games

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dylan Klebold, Eric Harris, Adam Lanza, Steven Phillip Kazmierczak, and Seung-Hui Cho all have a few things in common, they are all school shooters that have killed and injured a combined total of 149 human beings and are or were believed to be avid violent video game players, who also committed suicide immediately after carrying out their attacks. To the public, school shooters seem to share a direct connection to playing violent video games and that playing them leads to violent behavior. Violent videogames have become a highlight in the media and national debate for this very reason but, there is no scientific evidence to support the existence of a causative connection between participants of violent videogames manifesting violent behaviors. The media provides biased information that misleads citizens into believing that said link is well established and accepted. I argue that parents should make responsible and well informed decisions in regards to their child’s videogame activities in spite of the lack of scientific research.

    Read More

  • Parents Fear That Children Are One Click Ahead Summary

    444 Words  | 1 Pages

    In her article “Parents Fear That Children Are One Click Ahead”, Amy Harmon(1999) claimed that the two boys who killed 13 students in the Columbine high school shooting played violent video games. She is hinting at the fact that people who play violent video games, mostly boys, it might teach them to be violent in real life. Amy starts off the article by talking about a parent that cracked down on her children's internet use due to the findings of the internet history of the two boys that were the shooters of a high school shooting. The parent sat her two children down and had a heart to heart with them and found out all she could know about what they have learned on the internet.

    Read More

  • Violent Video Games and The Human Psyche

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to Valadez and Fergusion (2012), “The effects of violent video game exposure, both positive and negative, on various behaviors are still highly contested within academia and the general public” (p. 608). Violence in video games is often wrongfully perused as a topic of extreme criticism pertaining to an individual’s act of violence in today society. Examples of such would include the shooting that occurred in April 2007 at Virginia Technical College; where Jack Thompson and Philip McGraw asserted that violent video games were the ultimate cause of the tragic incident, but further investigation suggested that Seung-Hui Cho had never played any such games (Valadez & Fergusion, 2012). Since the early days of mankind, society has often enlisted the service of a scapegoat in the attempt to correct the unethical or immoral conduct of a few individuals; violence in video games is no exception to this type of social misconduct. Possibly, one may want to consider human nature and its unyielding desire to be competitively better than the next person; compared to an individuals need to be excessively violent regardless of visual representation of violence in the first place. Although many will argue the effect that violent video games have on the human psyche; the research is far too inconclusive for one to make an educated assessment of the provided information.

    Read More

  • Video Game Industry and Violence

    1359 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1998, the US software industry sold $6.3 billion worth of video games (see Unknown).  Not bad for an industry that didn't exist 25 years ago!  Yet despite its continued growth, all is not well in the video game industry.  School shootings in Littleton, Colorado; Pearl, Mississippi; Paducah, Kentucky; Conyers, Georgia and many other towns have shocked the nation (see Malcolm).  Understandably, grieving parents and sympathetic citizens are searching for a cause for this "outbreak" of youth violence.  It is natural to assume, "when children, the symbol of innocence, commit the severest of crimes, then something must be going wrong with society." (see Maker)

    Read More

  • Violent Video Games and their Effects on Children.

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Video Games have been around since the early 1940s. Meaning people have been playing video games for at least the last 74 years. Based on research the first violent video game came out in 1976 known as Death Race. This game was described as sick and disturbing. Death Race was a driving game and you received points when you ran over people. Think that is violent, imagine the violence in the video games 28 years later. Violent video games affect the present and the future because they impact children’s mind, behavior, and education.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Violent Video Games: The Effects Of Violent Video Games?

    732 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children today are exposed to more graphic violence in video games compared to any past generations. This is because the media finds that making a profit, surpasses the lives of the adolescents that play these games. However, over time two sets of views formed from the violence in video games. James D. Sauer, is a graduate of the School of Physiology. In his article, “Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure on In-Game and Postgame Aggression,” Sauer, describes how adolescents gain forms of aggression and violence after playing certain games.

    Read More

  • The Violence of Video Games

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many views as to whether video game violence causes children to behave violently. Many children play violent games because that is what most people are playing and they feel that they need to do so as well. Violence is not only in video games but also in all other forms of media because that is what sells and what will make entertainment companies more money.

    Read More

  • Downside of Technology Exposed in Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

    652 Words  | 2 Pages

    In today’s society, highly addicting video games involving strong violence and language, explicit sexuality and crime often lead to inappropriate behaviors. Role playing games or RPGs allow us to step into a virtual world, cutting ourselves off from worldly distractions. Nowadays, the age range for people who play these extremely graphic games are anywhere from six to eighteen and are surprisingly hazardous to young children’s health. A study gave a group of players playing a violent video game the chance to blast a painful sound into their opponent's ear in order to get the upper advantage. They also gave another group playing non violent games, the same opportunity. The study showed that overall the gamers playing violent video games were more prone to inflict more pain on their enemies, unlike the other group who inflicted considerably less pain. Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D who did this study agrees, “violent video games desensitize players to violence, and makes them more violent in real life" (McGonigal). Young adults are exposed to these terrifying images, harming their mental health. In recent events, a young eight year old boy shot his grandmother after playing Grand Theft Auto. This game is the epitome of why young people should not be playing these games. It is comprised of murder, drug and alcohol abuse, criminal behavior, violence and general disrespect for women, and foul language. In summary, young people should not be playing these games in order to save their mental health. Furthermore, television contributes to desensitizing society with it’s ...

    Read More

  • Are Violent Video Games a Cause of the Bad Behavior in Children?

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Violent Video Games Do Not Cause Violence

    3044 Words  | 7 Pages

    video games often warp their sense of reality. The kids think that if they shoot a person in a game and nothing really happens then nothing will really happen if they shoot a person in real life. When video games first became popular, people may not have seen this as much of a problem because games were not very realistic. With the advancement of technology, however, video games are becoming more and more realistic. If video games become more realistic, children will forget what is real and what is simulated; a child seeing somebody violently murder another human being in a video game will have the same effects as seeing somebody murder another human being in real life. Witnessing these brutal acts of violence either will traumatize or desensitize them to violence. However, this is contradictory to the “Play is labile” theory (Schroeder 4), which will be discussed, in further detail.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay

    2029 Words  | 5 Pages

    “90% of pediatricians and 67% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children” ("Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?”). Pediatrics and parents are aware that kids that play violent video games see a change in their behavior. Many cases they see the kids with anger problems and causing them to do violent acts. Violent video games have been around for many years where some older titles, such as ‘Mortal Kombat’ and 'Grand Theft Auto’ both are some of the most controversial ones. The video game industry has been growing and with the large amounts of violent video games being produced. “Total US sales of video game hardware and software increased 204% from 1994 to

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Video Games

    2121 Words  | 5 Pages

    The concerns of parents are that theses types of games are going to change their child’s life in a bad way. These ideas are true through tedious experiments that prove that violent games produce violent children. The games that cause the most fear are ones that give the players the opportunity to select their own weapon and decide what violent adventures they long to experience. A well known fact is that repetition increases the learning process. For example, when students are studying for a test they will incorporate the use of flashcards. Using the flashcards exposes the child to the information repeatedly until it is memorized. While playing these games, the player learns the patterns of games through repetition. By doing this they are unconsciously learning to act in the same way as the game. In March of 2014, the Center for Study of Violence at Iowa State participated in a study where they followed over 3,000 children over a three year period who played video games. Since the experiment was carried out over a long period of time, it was easy to spot out the effect of the games on the test subjects. The report discovered that the boys who played the hostile games had an increased amount of recorded aggressive behaviors, and although the girls in the experiment played less violent games than the boys, they still displayed violent behaviors (Gentile, 2014). The

    Read More

  • Effect of Violent Video Games on Teenagers

    1061 Words  | 3 Pages

    Violent video games are special games, which negatively influences to the attitude and behavior. These video games are popular between children and teenagers. Since 1980-s years violent games are in political discussion. Because when teenagers usually play violent video games, they are becoming aggressive and then they face with psychological problems. For this, some people claim that violent games are harmful for society and they affect to behavior and health.

    Read More

  • Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence

    1447 Words  | 3 Pages

    The question is, “Do violent video games influence children to act aggressively?” and “Can repetitive killing train a person to be violent himself?” Although the violence in these video games is fictional, research has proven the violence to lead to more aggressive behavior in children. Violent acts depicted in these games allow young children to believe that killing and fighting is acceptable and fun.

    Read More

More about Violent Video Games: The Negative Effects

Open Document