Anthony Gross Durden Rough Draft Feb. 23rd 2012 For decades it has been argued whether or not video game violence has any link to adolescent anger and behavior problems. More than half the world’s adolescents reported having at least one video game console in their bedrooms. (2010) This has nearly tripled since 1992 when only 18 percent of teens had access to a gaming console in their homes. It’s believed that with the introduction to violent video games the aggression levels in teens has risen. This is because video games are much more interactive then movies and television which gives teens a more real control of a character that is committing these violent and crime based acts.
The results of a longitudinal study tracked 700 male and female youths over a fifteen-year period. They found that those who as children were exposed to violent television shows were much more likely to later be convicted of crime. All other possible contributing environmental elements such as poverty, living in a violent neighborhood and neglect they were factored out of this study. Researchers also said that media violence can affect any child from any family
Many studies and statistics will back up both sides to this debate leaving the controversy still being debated. This paper will cover three articles that cover both sides to this debate as well as some statistics that will still not prove which side is correct. Video games such as shooting games that demonstrate violent behavior have been linked to many violent acts that teens and children have done. The Columbine high school shooting that took place in 1999 the victim’s families blamed video games for the acts of the shooters (Cate, 2013). Every bad experience or violent act that has been seen in the public somehow will get linked to violent video games causing the violent acts of the people that do the crimes.
The first of these is “Observational learning and imitation”. This shows that children may imitate violent behaviour they observe on television, especially if real people are involved and the child can identify themselves with the character. Phillips’s study of 1983 supports this theory; he examined crime statistics for a 10 day period following televised boxing contests and found an increase in violent crimes such as murder, yet when compared with statistics after an American football championship, no rise in aggressive behaviour was found. Despite identification of the aggressor being integral to this theory, Bandura’s research showed that a moderate level of aggression was found even though the protagonist was in a cartoon, where a decreased sense of character identification must occur with the child. Secondly, “Cognitive Priming” refers to the activation of aggressive thoughts and feelings and explains why people act more violently than normal after viewing a violent television show.
Instead of being active and playing sports, kids are inside eating fatty foods and playing video games. This is the first generation where the life expectancy has gone down in hundreds of years because of kids being overweight and obese. If kids aren’t getting exercise and are just sitting around playing video games it obviously isn’t good for their health. Ever since video games became popular in the 80’s overweight kids have became more and more popular and it’s got to stop. Once kids start playing more than around 1 hour of video games on a daily basis it starts to become second nature to play video games.
Is the amount of violence in the media a problem? To begin to answer this, you must first know what media violence is. Examples of violence in media are kids playing first person shooter games such as Counter-Strike, a television report relaying the details of a gruesome rape/murder case complete with photos, the latest action movie with the hero slaughtering his enemies with an ice pick. Media violence’s effects are impossible to escape because media violence is not limited to one form of media, it is present in every form of media, books, television shows, movies, websites, music, theatre productions, and video games. Is it the frequency of violence in media which is problematic?
Violence in Mass Media: Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence? Tracy Brown January 18, 2013 English Composition III Dr. Kay South University Recent shooting tragedies have sparked the controversial topic of whether playing violent video games has contributed to the increasing youth violence in today’s society. Video games are a very popular form of entertainment for today’s youth, which in turn has raised the question whether playing violent video games causes negative effects on children; this will be the topic addressed. Most popular video games feature aggressiveness or violence as the primary theme in the game but most parents do not restrict the types of games they are allowed to play. Critics of violent video games argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflict.
Violent Video Games and Their Affect on Children Men, women, and children of all ages and varied backgrounds have been playing video games since the first mainstream gaming system, Atari, became available. Whether played on a gaming system or computer, these video games have consistently gained popularity and have infiltrated almost every home. While the first video games, such as Pong, offered safe and simple entertainment; the more modern games frequently include graphic violence. Players of these games have been exposed to incredibly realistic violent scenes; this increase in exposure to violent imagery is often blamed for the increase in aggressive behavior in children. However, there are those that are of the opinion that video games have not affected childhood violence.
Influence of Visual Media Paper Melinda Whitfield HUM176 7/27/2014 Janet Swiggart University of Phoenix Entertainment media has shaped American culture and values in many ways. The television is now playing babysitter to our children our children spends more time with the internet, video games and their smart phones than with their parents. If you allow your children to watch television, you should present to provide guidance and perspective. Researcher James Hamilton notes that “large literatures exist on the impact of television violence on society… the laboratory evidence firmly establishes that violence on television causes children to be more aggressive, children learn scripts of behavior from television that lead them to be violent in later life” (Channeling Violence, pp.6,30). “More than 1,000 studies have established links between television violence and behavior that emerges later in life” (U.S. News & World Report, Sept. 11, 1995, p.66).
Child Sexual Abuse and Crime Child Sexual Abuse, child maltreatment and crime are prohibited all around the world. “Child maltreatment, which includes both child abuse and child neglect, is a major social problem. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, over a million children are victims of maltreatment and sexual abuse annually. Over half a million children suffer serious injuries, and about 1500 children die, making child maltreatment the leading cause of deaths from injuries in children over a year old. In addition to this appalling immediate toll, child abuse is thought to have many harmful long-term consequences” (“James Poterba 1”).