With the simple click of a remote control, children can virtually get involved in violent acts of shooting and killing. All of the violence in the media can have a negative effect on children, and impact them in many different ways. An example of violence in the media can be seen in video games. Video games were first introduced to us in the 1970s as a source of entertainment, but have taken a turn for the worse in recent years. "Today, most children play real-time, first-person shooter games in which the player views the world through the eyes of the video game character that they control" (Signorelli 2).
Violent Video Game Exposure Violent video games have become risky and harmful to children in today’s society because it increases aggressive behavior, affects their social life and increases laziness. Children today are playing many different kinds of violent video games that seem to have an impact on their behavior and mental abilities. Video games need to be restricted to the more mature age groups that can handle the aggression and entertainment held in games. If parents around the world limited their children’s time playing video games would it have a positive effect on them? Researchers have given that answer in their survey’s and facts that they have found.
More and more people, especially adolescents, play violent video games. Is exposure to violent video games positive or negative to adolescents? The answer is obvious on the basis of the following example: two kids wound their classmates by shooting when imitating the scene in a violent video game called Doom (Shin). Violent video games have negative effects on adolescent players. The first negative effect caused by exposure to violent video games is an increase in aggressive behavior of adolescents.
“Exposure to violent video games increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior in both short-term and long-term contexts” says Daniel Willens. Children today are pretty much immune to the reality of real life killing; they think that it is acceptable to kill another person without any punishment involved. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rates games based on how good or bad they are for children, like EC-early childhood, E-everyone, E10+-everyone 10+,T-teens,M-mature, AO-adult only, RP-not yet rated. These are the game guides set in place to tell parents which games are acceptable for their child at a certain age. Second, sexual content is also a big factor.
Does it really numb one’s responsiveness for violence? Do children who play violent video games grow up and become offenders? There hasn’t been much research on that topic, but whatever was studied suggests that youth exposed to violent media tend to become more aggressive adults. “The smaller video game literature has found that playing violent video games causes increases in aggressiveness behavior, aggressive affect, aggressive cognitions, physiological arousal, and decreases in prosocial behavior” (Carnagey, Anderson,
So why is it only video games that take the blame. So if violence breeds violence, does sitting a child infront of a tv watching cartoons which portray slapstick violence will affect the child, if this is true then every child who was exposed to cartoons between 1937 and 1999 will be an overly aggressive, violent teenager or adult as every cartoon in this time period displayed violence to some degree. Violence through video games, does however recive and impact, people who were exposed to video game violence were de-sensitised from violence this was
It then continues because of games like Mortal Kombat, Night Trap, Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and Call of Duty. People have failed to look past the violence of video games and realize that they help promote brain growth and development, they create a healthy outlet for aggression, and most people who become violent have experienced violence. Studies show that playing fast paced action or violent video games helps improve skills in vision, attention, and aspects of cognition. It is said that video gamers have a specific kind of vision called, “contrast sensitivity” meaning they have the ability to see subtle shades of gray. That might not sound like an improvement but it helps driving through fog; enabling you to see cars that are ahead of you.
Violence in Video Games Ever since the 1970’s, video games have captivated billions of young children and middle-aged people alike around the world in arcades and at home. For the most part, video games have received positive feedback from consumers and officials. That is, until the first violent video games were created during the mid-1990’s. Violent games have always been a topic of controversy, and all the more outstanding when shootings supposedly influenced from these games occur. From the Columbine shooting in 1999 that pointed fingers at id Software’s Doom and Wolfenstein 3D, two of their biggest titles at the time, to the recent Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, where there have been unconfirmed reports of the shooter being a fan of Treyarch’s Call of Duty franchise and Bungie Studios’ Halo series, violent video games have always been another target in the crosshairs of government officials and unnerved parents alike (ProCon).
Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may reduce violence by serving as a substitute for unrestrained play, and by providing a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings. I believe that the latter is true.
Times when children would spend their entire free time playing with peers in the streets have mostly gone. Modern children and teenagers prefer calmer forms of entertainment, such as watching television, or in a large degree, playing video games. Although video games can contribute to a child’s development, many of them, unfortunately, are extremely violent. , There are a lot of games propagating murder and violence, such as Gears of War, Halo, Grand Theft Auto, and so on. They are popular and are being advertised everywhere, making teenagers willing to play them; the fact that are they marked by the ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) does not help much.