Do violent video games lead to actual violence and increased aggression? Some feel that they don’t have any correlation while others feel that they are a direct cause. I believe that that violent video games increase aggression & violence because these gaming systems are mostly played by young children who are easily influenced and create a thin line between reality & fiction. According to Pediatric Nursing volume 26 issue 6 most children of both genders prefer games with violent content. When electronic video games were first introduced in the late 1970’s, they were basic animated interactive games such as Atari’s Pong.
Video games have become prolific and it is very rare that a teenager will not be in possession of a game console, be it a PS3 or Xbox. There are many different genres, popular ones among them being First Person Shooter, Simulation and Role Playing Games (RPGs). As with many forms of entertainment, there are both positives and negatives effects to consider that are caused by playing video games. Most of the bad effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain. Violent video games have the most negative psychological effects including: decreased socialization, increased aggressive thoughts, behaviors, and feelings.
She also writes some about politicians and the Juvenile Justice system. Sternheimer points to other possible reasons for the violent acts of the youth such as, the home life. While it may be that juvenile crimes have declined and personal backgrounds effect actions, it cannot be said this proves video game violence has no effect on youth. Sternheimer begins by explaining how video games violence has become a “folk devil” (204) to explain unexplainable happenings of youth shootings and this is just the one to follow the many other explanations the media and politicians have given for problem youth. She then brings up the issue of unnerving newspaper headlines such as “Bloodlust Video Games Put Kids in the Crosshairs” (205).
“Guns, Lies, and Video” Summary Rhetorical Analysis In Karen Wright’s “Guns, Lies, and Video” she addresses several arguments about the topic of violence in video games and the affect that they have on children and young adults. One of Wright’s opening statements is about how parents distinguish between virtual violence and physical violence and actually justify their children’s interaction with video games. She also states that there are studies that actually show the link between violence in the media and the aggressive ways their viewers respond to their messages. Wright also mentions how there was a time when video games truly were harmless, but now that they are more aggressive, people tend to get the message that violence is tolerable and funny. She also admits that one of the problems with video games is that there is no standard for rating video games, so any content that is profitable is acceptable.
The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) defines violence in video games as, “Scenes involving aggressive conflict. May contain bloodless dismemberment.” They also base ratings on violent references in games. Game ratings vary from “eC” meaning the game is appropriate for young children to “Ao” meaning adults only with prolonged scenes if intense violence with blood and gore. Any rating above “eC” may contain varying amounts of violence, either cartoon or fantasy, or simulated to be real. Playing
In many games, kids are rewarded for being more violent. The act of violence is done repeatedly. The child is in control of the violence and experiences the violence in his own eyes including killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting. This active participation, repetition and reward are effective tools for learning behavior. Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (Main #2) Too much video game playing makes your kid socially isolated.
However, as games become more realistic, the question of if violence and adult content that is portrayed in games could potentially have a negative consequence on its user. There has been much speculation on whether or not video games over the years are causing children and teenagers harm. Experiments have been conducted to show a link between video games and aggressive behavior. Sure it’s easy to point a finger at something to be the cause of children committing criminal activity, such as the media, but where are the facts. Despite these accusations, I would tend to argue that games are not as harmful as so many may think, but instead very beneficial.
If this is the type of violence that can be expected from games that are not known for being particularly violent, then what can we expect from those that are more graphic? Now, video games are not the only thing that can be blamed for violence, movies can be blamed as well; however, movies are a little easier to keep our kids from
More ways of playing violent video games are created each year, but most of us have this question in mind. Do violent video games influence young people to act aggressively? Overplaying video games can have many disastrous effects on teen limiting gameplay can have multiple positive effects. Sitting in front of a TV screen shooting people can incite young players to act violently. Repetitive killing can train them to act aggressively.
The wasted time could be used in activities to help in their growth and development as well as coping with life’s challenges. It all depends on the amount of video game exposure and play time (Matt, 2013). Excessive playing of video games especially by young children encourages competition that one must win to move so as to progress. In addition, continued playing of these games makes users aggressive as most of them are usually ‘unforgiving’; for example, if one gets shot and ‘dies’ while playing Call of Duty, the situation cannot be reversed. The aggression can pass on to their real world lives (Douglas, 2011).