...Violent Video Games and Young People. (2010). Harvard Mental Health Letter, 27(4), 1-3. With the number of video games out there, I am finding that the majority of them have some level of violence within the game playing. Some concerns about the violent video games are that the child becomes fully engrossed in the game and its characters. The child is the one making the decisions to inflict violent or aggressive behavior. An opposing view is the popularity of these types of violent video games versus the actual crime rates. The popularity of the games is increasing whereas the violent crime rate is decreasing. If the games caused aggressive behavior, wouldn’t the crime rate be going up as well? Edwards, S. (2010). Game Plan. On The Brain, 16(3). 3-4. Retrieved from http://hms.harvard.edu/public/news/2011/013111_bickham_olson/index .html Controversy over violent video games dates back even further than most people are aware of and it seems that we still have the same questions. First, if I let my child be exposed to or even play violent video games, will they start showing signs of aggression? Second, are video games beneficial because they teach cognitive learning skills? While a child plays any video game they are using and improving their hand-eye coordination in addition to planning skills that will help with childhood development. Finally, does the duration of playing violent video games make an overall difference? Hastings, E. C., Karas, T. L., Winsler, A., Way, E...
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...Issue #5: Do Video Games Encourage Violent Behavior? One of the biggest controversial issues in today’s society is whether or not video games encourage violent behavior. Two sides of the argument are from Craig A. Anderson (an expert on the effect of violence in television and film) and Henry Jenkins (from PBS kids). One side says exposing children and adolescents (or “youth”) to violent visual media increases the likelihood that they will engage in physical aggression against another person. (2003). Now the other side says, the primary audience is not children, that the violence is not increasing in society and that concerns about isolation, desensitization, and violence are overblown. Now starting with the people who say yes, that video games encourage violent behavior have really good facts to back up their argument. Some facts are violent games require you to be one with the character you’re playing. That’s a very good fact, because games like Call of Duty for instance, requires you to play as a soldier in first person, the only thing you see is the gun you decide to pick up. Another game I can think of is the Grand Theft Auto series of games, you play as once individual and you do missions with him where you have to kill. The story modes are really lengthy and you tend to gain a kind of personal relationship with the character even though it is just a video game. You start getting mad when the character gets mad and from personal experience (I play Grand Theft Auto...
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...There are many myths and facts that surround the connection between video games and crime rate. A common misconception is that violent video game research has come up with varying results. It is true that some studies have brought back results have been less than significant but most test results yield faulty statistics on occasion. The importance is that in the overall scheme the results share four key common and consistent effects. The four effects are as follows: increased aggressive behavior, increased aggressive thoughts, increased physiological arousal, and a decrease in pro-social behavior. The increases in aggressive behavior and thoughts not only take into account players of all ages but also of a wide variety of violent actions. The aggressive behavior that has been seen from children and adolescents are simply increases in understood normal behavior such as: biting, pinching, pushing, pulling hair, or in worst cases there have been school fights documented. Regardless of what age group one might be incorporated with, video game violence has an effect. The term physiological arousal refers to subtle or spontaneous increases in heart rate and sweating. This symptom differs from person to person but it is mostly seen when the player experiences a situation that is reminiscent of the game. The term pro-social behavior refers to the tendency of a person to help another. Even though some games that have an E for everyone rating, they are still allowed to have cartoonish or...
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...Video Game Youth Violence Lorren Livingston RES/110 November 20, 2012 Dr. Helen Holt Video Game Youth Violence Many believe video games can majorly contribute to child violence [,] which have caused a great deal of controversy. With violent video game sales climbing, violent games have become a part of a child’s everyday life. Most video games depict some type of violence. One of the biggest selling games in XBOX history, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a violent first person multiplayer game (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence, 2012). Given the amount of people that are playing this game, seventy-three 73-out of 100 players have stated they are between the ages seven to thirteen (See appendix A). There are also four different types of factors in video games that can contribute to violence. With children playing this game as frequently as adults, could a lack of video game restriction be causing more violence? Have retailers and parents turned a blind eye to this growing problem? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is, as stated before, a very violent military shooting game. There is no incapacitating of enemies or sneaking around a five man squad. It is kill or be killed. This is an obvious form of art, no matter how graphic it may be. Violence like this has been created for a long time now, even before computers. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was a violent book. Humans have been created in a Darwinian manner, and each person has a want...
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...Daniyar Sarzhanov Lacie Meier ENC 1102 5 April 2015 Are Violent Video Games Killing Children? It is a misconception that video games make people violent. One might not usually think of the positive sides of playing video games. However, many examples prove that video games can be beneficial. A lot of people are led to believe that video games make people violent and cause crimes. Even though millions of people are playing violent video games, mass killings are still a statistical anomaly. Politicians and the media utilize the controversy of violent video games for their own interests rather than those of the public. Video games are a form of creative expression and should not be demonized or used as a scapegoat for our population’s deeper mental traumas. Video games have positive effects. A study conducted by Shawn Green & Daphne Bavelier from Center Visual Science, University of Rochester, show that people who play a lot of action video games benefit from improved “hand-eye coordination and visuo-motor skills, such as resistance to distraction, sensitivity to information in the peripheral vision and ability to count briefly presented objects, than non-players” (“Action video game modifies visual selective attention”). Video games that incorporate advanced motion detection, such as Microsoft’s Kinect or Sony’s PlayStation Move, provide both physical and mental exercise. Furthermore, a study conducted by Doctor Cheryl K. Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health...
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...Violence in video games and the effects on youth Bilton Lands Com 156 5/26/13 Violence in video games continues to get worse, but what does this mean for the youth of today? As the violence in video games gets more graphic people continue to wonder if the youth of today can understand the difference between fantasy violence and real violence. Some experts believe it is up to the parents to teach the difference between fantasy violence and real violence (Cullotta, 2012). With more and more video games coming out, this is getting harder and harder for parents to be able to shield youth from. But does this mean that the violence is really an issue? There are studies out there that show, as video game sales go up, violent crimes continue to go down (ProCon.org, 2013). “Exposure to violence in media, including television, movies, music, and video games, represents a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. (ProCon.org, 2013). Does this help prove that it is just video games that causes the violence in youth? ProCon.org continues to go on and say, extensive research evidence shows that media exposure to video games, can contribute to aggressive behavior and violence, along with nightmares and the fears of being harmed. Craig Anderson PhD. the director of the center for the study of violence, states through ProCon.org that there is a significant link between violence in video games, and the behavior which causes violence in youth (ProCon...
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...video games cause violent behaviour so they should be banned With computer technology quickly evolving gamers are now able to have a much more realistic experience when playing video games than they would get 5 years ago, and with these major improvements we have also seen a rise in the popularity of games which can be described as violent, disturbing and brutal. This rise in popularity has also lead to some controversy. Experts and especially parents believe that some games are way too violent for kids to be exposed to and think that something should be done to regulate the sale of these kinds of games. Gamers (including kids) believe in none of this, in fact they may even sometimes see violent video games were the must beat, attack and kill their opponents as a way of releasing violent urges, is this not a great way of releasing your anger, in a digital world? If parents don’t think so then there are many other, although they may include destroying the house or causing fist fights in the playground. Personally I view violent video games, not just as a way of distracting myself and having fun, but I also find it kind of therapeutic, I am able release all the anger and anguish which tends to built up over the day, for me it is an essential necessity. Besides this, video games have other positive aspects; your kid may be forced to master a certain ability which he/she needs to overcome and obstacle which they didn’t have before. For example, in the ‘Tom Clancy’ games teamwork...
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...Research Paper Final Draft October 12, 2014 How does video games affect youth negatively? One of the main concerns that have constantly been raised against video games is that most of the games feature aggressive elements. This has led many people to assert that this may have a detrimental effect on individuals who play such games. Despite continuing controversy for over 15 years, there has been little in the way of systematic research. The one consistent finding is that the majority of the studies on very young children - as opposed to those in their teens upwards - tend to show that children do become more aggressive after either playing or watching a violent video game. Research suggests that children and teens that playing and watching video games over an extended period of time tend to be more aggressive, are more prone to struggle in school, and more prone to be obese or overweight. One of the ways that the videogames affect children and teens that play and watch for an extended period of time is that they tend to be more aggressive. In “Children, Adolescents, and Television,” it has been stated that even more important than the amount of time spent playing video games is the content of games played (2001). Research shows that up to 90% of all video games contain some sort of violent content and in a survey of 213 adolescents, 99% of boys and 84% of girls said that at least one of their current video games has violent content. Some experts assert that there is...
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... English 110 R75 October 18, 2013 Video games: a boon, not a plague We all have that one day of the week where we just want to cut loose from the burden of work and assignments. This “free” day would be used to engage in leisure activities which would reduce stress such as playing video games. However, the video game industry has come under heavy fire from the mainstream media, whom claim that there is a direct link between video games and violence amongst gamers. Despite the numerous reports that claim it is directly related to violence, video games are beneficial because they enhance the cognitive flexibility and teach moral lessons. Video games are games that are played by electronically manipulating images produced by a computer program on a monitor or any other display. Video gaming has become increasingly popular because some people feel the need to “escape” from the harsh reality, and dive into their fantasy realm that is video games. Whether players take the role of the great detective they dream to be in “L.A. Noire” and bring criminals to justice, or a Dark Lord of the Sith and spread fear across the galaxy in “Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic”, they indefinitely found their place and enthusiasm in video games. As a matter of fact, certain genres of video games are now played as a competitive sport; Counter-Strike (First Person Shooter), Starcraft (Real Time Strategy) and even the football simulated game of FIFA are now played as a competitive sport...
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...Huy Tran English 1301 11/13/12 (1510) The M Game Effect Technology has been an ever-developing innovation in our society. We make use of it for a variety of things. One of those things is for our entertainment. Gaming has been one of the more popular forms of entertainment as the decades have passed due to its evolving nature. Video games are played by people all over the world ranging from young children to even senior citizens. Given the audiences that have been amassed, the different types of video games are regulated into ratings due to their content material by an organization that specializes in this area for gaming. Now imagine the idea where video games intended for a mature audience fell into the hands of younger children. Video games with themes of constant violence or that of which rewards the players for taking part in acts of violence. This is where most of the controversies regarding video games fall upon, raising the suspicion of parents and scientists alike. Since many of the negative aspects of video games are put in the control of children at such a young age, do kids suffer as a result of graphic contents in video games? Such incidents could possibly play a role in the emotional, behavioral, and intellectual aspect of kids who are exposed to contents like the violence and suggestive themes within the video games that are played. It has been believed by many supporters that playing violent video games that involves shootings and killings would lead children...
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...Violent Games: Single Benefit-Double Harm By Dan Nguyen Rhetoric Research Prof. Melody Heide 15 April 2013 One day, I visited a far relative; and when I came into the house, I was startled by the shouts of her kids, “Kill him,” “Die,” “Screw you!” Those kids were playing video games, and they were screaming bad words to each other’s face. I looked up to the screen and saw an extremely gory image of a violent game. I could tell the excitement on the kids’ faces, and when I greeted them, they did not even reply to me. That incident made me think about all the articles of how violent games affect children. Whereas school violence becomes more and more serious, violent games without close control from the government and families is one of the main reasons. Just because of a small contradiction, students can go straight to a fight, acting like some gangsters, and in the worst case, deathly accidents happen. Do violent games lead to violent behaviors? Do they have bad effects on children and society? Many people nowadays would reject those questions and provide various reasons to prove that violent games are good in general. If we take a look on both sides of the problem, video games are great products of entertainment technology that can bring some good effects, but in most of the cases, the bad effects infringe the good effects, especially for violent games, and that’s why we should limit children playing those by banning violent games for all minors in all states. ...
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... Abstract It is said that video game makers advertise their violent games, to young children and that that leads to violence among the youth. I believe that companies market their games in general, and when it comes to ones deemed violent, they are careful not to market to children. I also believe the games cannot be blamed for the children being violent. I play violent video games and so does my son, and we are the least violent people you will ever meet. At some point we as parents have to stop blaming games, movies, TV, or any other type of media for the violent actions of our kids. Marketing is everywhere, and no matter how well you control it, kids will see it, especially in this day and age of information. My son and I play video games all the time and some of our favorite are the ones considered violent. The Grand Theft Auto series of games are some of the best if you like video games. It isn’t the best because of the violence but because the content of the game and what you’re allowed to do. You can roam free in this world and explore things and basically do things as you want or you can do specific missions. We will continue to play these games and if they are violent then so be it. We are with the majority of people who understand these are just games and they do not makes us any more violent then we already want to be. The truth is we give our kids access to the internet by phones, computers, tablets, and every other electronic devise, and...
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...Violence in Video Games: Examining Violence and Competitiveness as Predictors of Verbal Aggressiveness Sean D. Badeer, Kathrine L. Lukes, Sarah A. Oltjenbruns, & Sergio D. Orozco Wayne State College Wayne, NE April 11, 2013 Abstract Violence in video games is the topic of much debate and controversy in the public arena. For this reason, it has been a heavily researched topic in areas of psychology and communication (Jeong, Biocca & Bohil, 2012). Much of the research on the topic examines the relationship between the violence in video games and aggression. However, despite the large community of research on the topic, researchers in communication have yet to examine the relationship between video game competitiveness and verbal aggression. Competiveness is a factor that must be considered if there is to be an accurate depiction of the impact of video games on aggressiveness (Adachi and Willoughby, 2011). The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of competitiveness and violence in video games on verbal aggressiveness. Furthermore, this study examines the relationship between verbal aggressiveness and attitudes toward violence. In the results of the study, the correlation between competitiveness and verbal aggressiveness was found to be significant. The correlation between video game violence and verbal aggressiveness was not significant. Furthermore, no significant correlation was...
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...Violence in Media As young adults, we experience the exposure of violence in all mediums of communication, such as TV shows, movies, video games, and music lyrics. We may have stopped counting how many crime investigation shows are in primetime or how many ways of killing people are in the Saw series. We just keep consuming those materials and even look for more violence as excitement. As we become so obsessed with the genre, we may have forgotten the importance of awareness to the issue. Statistics give us a better idea about the big picture. According to Media Education Foundation, researches indicate that about 89 percent of the top-selling video games contained violent content, almost half of which was of a serious nature. Two-thirds of Hollywood films released in 2001 were rated “R.” (Media Violence Facts, 2005) In September 2000, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that 80 percent of “R” rated movies, 70 percent of restricted video games, and 100 percent of music with “explicit content” warning labels were being marketed to children under 17. With this amount of exposure, researchers estimated that by the time the average child is eighteen years old, they will have witnessed 200,000 acts of violence and 16,000 murders. (TV-Turnoff Network, 2001) Those numbers reminds us to think about the issue. Is it too much? What effect does it have on our life, especially for children and adolescents? As we are still looking for the correct answers, multiple cases have showed...
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...violence is and is not, at what point do we decide what is better for our children to see, violence on television or video games and movies. We see in the news all the time reports about children shooting up schools, like Columbine, and Sandy Brook elementary. In both cases the media and video games were to blame for these tragedies, people have always been tied in their thoughts about why these things happen. At what point do we take responsibility for the way we raise our children? And at what point do we stop the media from depicting horrible images that may cause harm to our children? The Studies on Violence Several theoretical models describe the psychological mechanisms through which media violence can influence later behavior. Fundamentally, the psychological process all rely on learning. With repeated exposure to media violence, one can guess that one will be more aggressive. Many studies have been done the effects of media violence and videos games on the young human mind. Most of the studies done show that after time of playing violent video games many children’s aggressive side came out more. One study that was done showed that aggression could even arise 3-6 months later after the child was exposed to the game. Though it is equally possible in these studies that people who are more aggressive tend to navigate to more violent video games and movies. With that thought that people who tend to be more violent who gravitate to violent sources, why are those...
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