...Shining a New Light on Video Games More often than not video games are viewed in a negative light by society. These negative views are reinforced on a regular basis by the media through news stations, television shows, and movies. They are often used as a scapegoat for being the cause of some of the violence happening in recent times such as mass shooting etc. Video games are also often blamed for other problems such as causing obesity, leading to anti-social behavior or leading to aggressive behavior. In spite of the stereotypes gamers face, there is research that shows that video games can have many positive effects such as promoting positive youth development. When watching television shows and movies, people who play video games are often stereotyped as obese kids and young adults who live off of energy drinks and potato chips and never leave their computers or consoles. One example of this stereo type can be found in the television show South Park. In the episode Make Love, Not Warcraft, the four main characters have become addicted to playing the popular...
Words: 1509 - Pages: 7
...Rubin addressed are demonstrated in particular in today’s media, which reinforces gender inequality and objectification, through the depiction of women as hyper-sexualized, weak, and unskilled. This negative depiction of women exists especially in the gaming community, in which many have criticized the negative portrayal of women as sexist and severely problematic. Video games like Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption portray women in an almost exclusively violent and sexualized manner, which serves to reinforce the never-ending sexism and gender biases that society has upheld for centuries. Society as a whole can change the perception of gender and how women are perceived, but leaps towards progressive ideas need to be made first, starting with the video game industry as a whole. Throughout history, women’s roles have primarily been domestic – staying home and being responsible for the care of her husband and children. As Warnke points out (4), this is not a result of sex but, rather of gender. Society, culture, and especially economics have been the primary driver behind the reinforcement of gender stereotypes particularly for women. Joan Wallach Scot’s analysis of French garment jobs during the 1840’s serves as an example of the historical gender identities that were constructed for women. During the 19th century,...
Words: 1646 - Pages: 7
...programmed to die. A common stereotype brought up against those who enjoy the appeal of video games are that the violent games contribute to violence in society. The stereotype is that by playing so many violent games, especially now with so many games with more realistic graphics and more blood and gore that it is influencing the many that play these games into becoming violent people, violent people such as murderers,...
Words: 595 - Pages: 3
...Select character tells the story of a woman who plays his husband’s video game and in the process of playing through the entire game, gets told by the department of defense that the country needs her. Throughout the story, her husband is watching her play the game and is chastising her on what she is doing and telling her what she should be doing. The husband portrays the stereotype that females who play video games don’t know what they are doing and need constant help to get through the game. The woman has been playing the game for some time now and has developed her own way of how she wants to play it and while she tries to explain to him that she knows what she is doing and that she has done this before, he doesn’t bother to listen to her and instead continues to tell her what she should be doing. This is a...
Words: 770 - Pages: 4
...One of the fastest growing industries in the world is the video game industry, where $24.8 billion was projected to be spent on video games globally in 2013 (Park & Lee, 2011). Resulting from this growth is a growing community of video game players, or gamers, generating new ways to interact and socialize. During the early years of video games, many games had the objective of obtaining a high score, where the champion could display their three initials—until someone surpassed it. Many video games were in an arcade machine form, where strangers and friends would gather around one machine and watch others play. Video games began to evolve, and with the evolution of games, came the evolution of the gamer, and the evolution of the social aspect...
Words: 1107 - Pages: 5
...brings over and over that the persons should not play video games, for diverse reasons, already because they can damage the sight as well as isolate the people of the real world and saying to come to a point where the only thing that people only want to play video games. Moreover, the opinions or inferences from the video games, the purpose of the essay is a linked topic to videogames, the group of interest especially I belong, Girl Gamers, the situation to be a woman and gamer, continues nowadays being something controversial. However the gender nature of gaming is not a stereotype itself, although it may contribute to females’ gamers to be seen in a wrong perspectives and beliefs towards playing video games. Body Gaming has been consider more able or adaptable for men/boys rather than women/girls. Nowadays there are more female gamers in the industry; around 44% of gamers are female and 55% are male (Entertainment Software Association, 2015). The world in general has done to itself, different perceptions or inferences, to certain, extent badly groundless due to the fact or even, the possibility of seeing women or girls to play video games. It is true that nowadays not only this question as this one, but in any other area, the tastes or the hobbies already do not qualify as anything for woman or anything for man, but with the time and the conscience of other persons inside a society, returns to these "stereotypes" something from the past, giving welcome to a more opened...
Words: 1247 - Pages: 5
...the world we live in today people are judged by their gender everyday, which affects their performance in their everyday life. Although any sex can be a victim of gender stereotypes, the main gender type that is targeted negatively are females because they are considered to be “delicate” and “weak, while men are seen as more “bold” and “strong”. As a result of this, the question that will be focused on is “why do gender stereotypes affect the performance of individuals?”. Gender stereotypes can affect a person's ability to do things to their full potential such as education, competing in sports, or even something as small as playing video games. One reason why gender stereotypes affect the performance of individuals is because of the pressure...
Words: 1601 - Pages: 7
...Just Video Games "Man dies in Taiwan after 3-day online gaming binge" (Hunt, 2015). One of the most significant things that are constantly and rapidly evolving is technology. Technology has a direct impact on the social, economic, political, and cultural life. Nobody these days can do the daily responsibilities without using transportation or without their phone. Technology has become part of everything in the life. This rapid development has many advantages, but unfortunately it also has some disadvantages. Currently, the most important advantages is using technology in the educational process. On the other hand, technology has also some negative impacts especially on the kids. The worst disadvantage of using technology is that...
Words: 1340 - Pages: 6
...Week 2 DQ 1 How does Racial and Ethnic Groups define prejudice? Do you agree with this definition? Why or why not? Prejudice is describes in the text as “a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, such as a racial or ethnic minority” (Schaefer, 2012, pp. 35). The question asks how do racial and ethnic groups define prejudice, and although I could not find an exact answer to that question, I believe this would accurately describe how both of those groups would define the term prejudice. The description above does accurately describe the term for me. I agree with this definition because it deals with attitudes towards an entire category of people and involves attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs, not actions as stated on page 35 as well. I had never been exposed to any prejudice except from my Grandfather that had been through a war. I recognized his attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs as prejudice. It was how he grew up and it was obvious that those were passed on to him at an early age. I grew up in a very conservative part of the country and moved far away when I was in my early twenties. The part of the country I moved to had so much racial prejudice, I went into a bit of culture shock from others attitudes, thoughts, and beliefs. What I experienced was the exact definition in my first paragraph of the work prejudice. Week 2 DQ 2 Racial profiling is frequently in the news and is a prime example of stereotyping in action. How does racial profiling relate to...
Words: 1508 - Pages: 7
...is known to be a male dominated art form and it is very difficult for females to become successful without having to conform to the preconceived notions about women in the music industry. In the Hip-hop world many male artists have created stereotypes for both men and women and their place in the Hip-hop music (NHP 06-11-2012). For some male artists these stereotypes have made success more achievable while, on the other hand, these stereotypes have made it harder for female MCs to rise to success. There’s no denying that Hip-hop stereotypes are an important component of Hip-hop performance (NHP 06-13-2012) in fact many artists today feel the need to utilize these stereotypes in order to get ahead in the game. For example, Big Sean is one talented MC in mainstream Hip-hop that doesn’t refrain from having half naked women dancing around in his music videos. His videos emphasize the most popular stereotypes which refer to women as “hoes”, “bitches” and “gold-diggers” (NHP 06-13-2012). Although these names are degrading and disrespectful to women, it is quite unfortunate that they have become acceptable in the music industry. It is also unfortunate that an artist’s work is based on the number of video vixens they have dancing in their videos; but that’s what sells. These notions have definitely shaped the perspective of the MC by creating this idea that MCing is a “male sport” and the only role women have to play in the Hip-hop world is to serve as accessories to men, and nothing...
Words: 826 - Pages: 4
...Introduction In recent years there has been a significant increase in video gaming among young adults. They are a unique form of entertainment that allows it's users to become interactive. According to an 2014 article entitles The Impact of Video Games, 97% of teens play video games, making the video game industry a dominant force in the lives of many adolescents (2014, Norcia). A 2010 survey hosted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that children ages 8-18 devoted 7.5 hours daily to video gaming. Of the children surveyed, less than half stated that their parents had rules about what games they could play. By parents, video games are frowned upon as time wasters. Many experts blame video games for why some children become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior. On the other hand, there are experts who believe that there are a large amount of benefits from children playing video games. Prevalence Although there has been a large study on violence in video gaming, there has been very little addressing the stereotypical content and its impact on its players. A stereotype is defined as a assumptions that help convey ideas or image of a particular person or thing. In gender roles, compared to female characters, males appear more frequently and engage in achieve leadership roles quicker. In games such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, there is always a male character. In a 1998 study, women in video games were perceived as sex symbols, prizes, and victims. In Grand Theft...
Words: 1686 - Pages: 7
...Many are quick to judge people who play video games as “violent”. When actually no study has ever shown that these games result in direct violence. It also is not true because video games keep criminals off the street, is an escape for people from the real world, and it actually makes society less violent. Role playing games with simulated violence are diverting for kids. This is why. These video games keep criminals busy when they would usually be breaking the law. Overall crime rate in the US has sharply decreased as video games soar. Criminals will be too busy to go out and commit crimes. A Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker says, “We are actually living in the safest period in the history of history.” Many gamers are using these games...
Words: 300 - Pages: 2
...Samantha Forsee Honors English 11 October 2015 Period 8 Amanda Todd: Suicide, Social Media, and Stereotypes People make mistakes, some bigger than others, and due to social media these mistakes can become bigger messes than they really should, and they never fully go away either. Video-Chats, a harmless environment, except when a video-chat becomes a horrific game, such as when an older man begins to chat with an 11 year-old minor. Amanda Todd at the age of 11 was sent down a route of bullying, stereotypes, and sexual extortion, due to a man who knew enough to manipulate her into showing him her breasts, a small action, that caused so much commotion.("Amanda Todd's Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide, Self Harm") Amanda Todd struggled after...
Words: 507 - Pages: 3
...Steven Johnson makes the argument in the articles "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" and "Your Brain on Video Games" that typical bad stereotype associated with TV shows and playing video games are false. Controversially, what is supposed to be "bad" for the younger generation is actually good. In Johnson's article, "Watching TV Makes You Smarter," it says, "...you have to recall a passing remark uttered earlier regarding a character who belongs to a completely different thread." This is referring to the E.R. TV show, and a young girl needs a liver transplant. Her blood type is AB, and a brain dead patient has the blood type AB. The organs were going to be harvested and the transplant could occur. Blood type AB people are known as "universal recipients"...
Words: 393 - Pages: 2
...these same issues when seeking mental health treatment. Mental health can ultimately be defined with regard to societal norms, as for the African American community mental health may constitute as the sanity of individuals. Those in the black community that partake in notions such as skin bleaching, and hating their own race, are often overlooked in showing attributing factors of poor mental health. Racism serves as such a significant role in the outcome of an individual’s mental state, as all-inclusively racial stratification for African Americans shown through research produces mental health issues and psychopathology. Referencing the correlation between race and mental health there are several stereotypes that can be associated with this concept. To better elaborate, some stereotype examples may imply how African American men are always aggressive, or that African American...
Words: 1512 - Pages: 7
