It is not uncommon to hear others claim that violence in the media is directly correlated to violence within youth. However, the article “Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior” coauthored by Eugene Beresin and Steve Schlozman exposes the truth; the concept of violence in media relating to violence in real life does not have scientific backing. Nonetheless, it has been shown that children prone to violence chose to play engage in violent media sources at a higher level than those with a less violent history. The article “Violent Video Games and Movies Causing Violent Behavior” successfully and convincingly uses Aristotle’s and Toulmin’s concept of argument to state that there is no evidence that violence within media directly affects children.
In the United States we have the highest homicide rate, but we do not have the highest amount of violent media consumption. If violence were to be linked to violent media, particularly violent video games, countries such as Japan would be expected to have higher rates of homicide. In the Washington Post, Fareed Zakaria expresses “the Japanese are avid video game players and have a homicide rate close to zero” (Schlozman, and Beresin). Japan is one of the highest consumers of video games and yet do not have significant amounts of violence. The amount of homicides within the US and Japan are almost polar opposites, something that Schlozman and Beresin prove and explain through the use of Aristotle’s logos concept. Violence continues within the United States even though “…the rate of video game use of all kinds is actually decreasing in the United States, and many of the top selling games are decidedly non-violent” (Schlozman, and Beresin). Therefore, even though correlation...
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...watching. If violence within media does effect the amount of violence within a society, there is not a single source of the violence within the media causing the outburst therefore this violence would not only be linked to video games. Schlozman and Beresin, the experts are unable to make solid evidential correlations between violent games and movies to violence within life, then the public should stop believing they are capable of making those same correlations. Although, when all is said and done, the evidence does not show a correlation, but it also does not completely get rid of the possibility of a correlation. We must all take caution when immersing ourselves and those around us in in violent content, because there is no way to rule out possible correlations within the foreseeable or even far off future; circumstances and knowledge are ever changing concepts.
The article “Do Video Games Kill” written by Karen Sternheimer addresses the widespread question; are video games the cause for “young killers”? (220) Sternheimer believes concern for the influence of video games may have on youth is spiraling out of control. She puts most of the blame for this out of control concern on the media. She also writes some about the politicians and the Juvenile Justice System. Sternheimer suggests that there are other factors to blame for violent behavior: poverty, the neighborhood, unemployment, family violence, divorced parents and mental illness (218). While it may be that juvenile crimes have declined, and personal backgrounds effect actions, it cannot be proven that video game violence has no to little effect on
According to John Davidson's essay Menace to Society, "three-quarters of Americans surveyed [are] convinced that movies, television and music spur young people to violence." While public opinion is strong, the results of research are divided on the effects of media violence on the youth in this country. Davidson wrote that most experts agree that some correlation between media violence and actual violent acts exists, yet the results are contradictory and researchers quibble about how the effects are to be measured (271). Moreover, Davidson is not convinced that the media is the sole problem of violence, or even a primary problem. He points out that other factors, such as "poverty, the easy accessibility of guns, domestic abuse, [and] social instability" may have a greater impact on a child becoming violent than the influence of the media (277). Even though other forces may be stronger, media violence does have some adverse effects on the members of society. If senseless violence on television and in movies had no effect, it would not be such a hotly debated topic. What type of effects and whom they affect are the most argued aspects of the discussion.
People have always been looking for a reason why horrible things happen. The media is quick to blame video games as the target and cause of many shootings that have occurred, ever since Columbine and Quake. People have been blaming video games for violence for years now, ever since violent video games have been made. News reports blame video games more and more for each shooting, telling the public how this person played video games for x amount of hours a day, and that video games caused him or her to shoot people, and how video games encourage and reward violence. Anti-video game lobbyists have been campaigning to have violence removed from video games, citing resources that they themselves have created as reasons for such, poorly done studies where they confirm that kids are more aggressive through how much hot sauce they put on someone’s fries. While unbiased studies of video games and their links to violence are hard to come by, recent research has shown that video games do not in fact have a casual link to violence, and may even have the opposite effect. Violent video games have nearly no link to violence in teens or adults.
From the beginnings of the industry, violence in video games has been an issue of discussion. From the pixilated weaponry in 'Space Invaders' to the myriad of weapons in 'Unreal Tournament 2003,' games have evolved over the years. Newer games are more real. Their environments are more immersive. Small details such as rain drops or a falling corpse are now realistically detailed in the games we play. Because of this, some people believe that this level of realism is desensitizing our kids and making them violent. Fueled by the school shootings of a few years ago, these people are calling for the censorship of video games and regulation of the industry by the government. Based on bad research and faulty logic, these people seek to squash the freedoms of adults because of a perceived danger to children. Freedom of speech, in the form of video games, should be preserved because it does not harm our children and it furthers freedom.
“The Columbine shooters played violent video games; that has to be a factor in their decision to brutally murder their classmates!” Society is quick to point fingers and approach unknown situations with a causal mentality that often results in a false accusation of an innocent bystander. With the advent of the video game era, psychologists have debated their effect on the minds of their youthful audience. Throughout the multitude of studies and the perpetual debate, society still lacks an absolute answer. With this knowledge, when it comes to video games and their impact on the minds of children, researchers must consult a wide variety of subjects with an open mind about the potential outcomes. I conducted my research by examining my personal experience, analyzing studies refuting both sides of the argument, trying to view the American fascination with violence through an outside perspective, and reviewing the thought processes that lead the members of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) in order to gain a full perspective of the issue. What correlation exists, if any, between violent video games and the violent tendencies that children exhibit after exposure to said media? Throughout my research, I have discovered that a trend does exist, but it manifests after the child has encountered puberty because of the heightened levels of testosterone that accompany this phase of development, and the trend relies heavily on other factors in a violent disposition. The age factor generally fails to exist in the violent tendencies argument; this is intriguing in that the majority of violent videogames are targeted toward an older audience. In order to truly understand the violent tendencies of mankind, we must first analyze these ...
According to the American Psychological Association, there is not sufficient evidence to prove that violent video games are the cause of violence and crime in real life. The only correlation between violence in video games and real life, is that those that play violent video games are slightly more aggressive, not violent. More studies and research is needed to determine a better path and to create more knowledge on the subject.
Many People have put their attention directly on the influence violent video games have on the bad behavior of children. People believe videogames intensify aggression in children, while others say it can be a safe getaway for a child to express his aggression. Many opinions on this issue are stated still today, and they remain divided amongst the people who claim videogames to be a cause of aggression and those who claim otherwise. A child’s behavior can not be determined by violent video games, but instead is caused by a variety of environmental and domestic factors. It is easy to blame video games on violence, instead of looking at factors such as economic status, familial issues, and exposure to other entities such as television and media. This paper will bring forward the opinions of those who believe in no relationship between violent video games and bad behavior with one counter argument expressing the opinion of those who believe there is a relationship.
In a research analysis of Media and Violence, studies show that “Although the typical effect size for exposure to violent media is relatively small ... this ‘small effect’ translates into significant consequences for society as a whole” (“Media and Violence: An Analysis of Current Research”, 2015). This states violent behaviors can come from the smallest variables, or clips from videos, which is why it is important for parents to control what their kids see, read, and watch, and limit the amount of violence exposure.
If we assume that from 2013 to 2017 one hundred thousand violent crimes were committed in the United States, we can divide that by the number of copies sold and we will see that we will get a very small percentage of crimes per copy sold. C. According to the article, Violent Video Games and Real-World Violence: Rhetoric Versus Data, published on 2014 by the American Psychology Association, when there are releases of a popular violent video game, the amount of homicides and assaults committed during the next three months either decreases or stays the same. 1. If we look at these sets of graphs, we can see that this claim is true with June-July being the months that have the most homicides and aggravated assaults being committed while video game sales are on the low side.
I personally believe that violent video games do not lead to criminal behavior among juveniles. Because, I personally play violent video games, and my actions do not match the ones that are portrayed in video games. My personal view about the relationship between violent media and violent behavior is that the media does not always influence bad behavior. The media does not control the mind of everyone. Some people may have an effect
“Contrary to the claims that violent video games are linked to aggressive assaults and homicides, no evidence was found to suggest that this medium was a major (or minor) contributing cause of violence in the United States.” (Markey, 290)
Some people believe that violent video games can cause behavioral problems. This is not true; it is only their opinion. They may say people that play violent video games start having behavioral problems, and what was that cause? It is only people and it has no effect on them, only their own action and their weak mental health issues. The violent video games for computers and consoles’ sale rate went up but violent crime offense went down. Video games are for players to have fun without causing any harm while they are playing. Why do they believe that behavior problems were caused by violent video games? They do not seem to realize that television and movies also have violent scenes. Some examples of popular violent movies include First Blood, Expendables, Dark Knight, Spiderman, and Superman. All action movies have shooting, explosions, and fighting. Horror movies are filled with violence as well, such as Halloween, Scream, and Saw. Horror shows and movie are showing stabbings and serious harm. Even Television shows, like the Three Stooges, Cops, wrestling and America's Funniest Videos! Children's cartoons have violence as well; Disney animated films, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Watership Down.
Towards the end of the 70’s one popular game called “Death Race” encouraged players run people over using cars. At the time many experts believed that this would lead to spikes in behavioral problems, and even violence(kain). Since then many parents and legislators of called to have violent video games censored, heavily regulated, and even outlawed. Every time the public declares war on violent games scientist and psychologists conduct studies which rarely find any evidence supporting this public outcry. Most of this panic over violent video games holds no merit because the research does not support the hypothesis. A common point many supporters use to show that violent video games cause violence, is the fact that almost all mass shooters in the United States have played violent video games. People who use this argument as a reason to claim the games caused the behavior are overlooking several confounding variables; people with antisocial or aggressive behaviors are more likely to choose the violent games to begin. This means that the kids who made these games infamous, were not turned by the games, instead they were drawn to the games. Also, as of February, the game Grand Theft Auto had sold over 60 million copies(Macy). Saying violent video games create violent people ignores the other tens of millions of people who have played the game and never acted
In the 2014 editorial, “Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?”, Steven Markoff supports the claim violent video games cause violent behavior. He speaks to a curious audience of all ages. The article uses logos throughout creating a set opinion on the topic.
Are video games a negative or positive influence on children’s behavior and actions? Several studies have been pointing out that exposure to violence on television, movies, video games, cell phones and the Internet increases the risk of violent behavior in the viewer, like to grow in an environment filled with real violence increases the risk of violent behavior. Plentiful of the research on current media have focused on the violence spread by TV for experts in developmental psychology and John Murray of Kansas State University, United States, it is difficult to conclude otherwise than that violence on television has increased levels of violence and aggression in the society, and that video games have an effect even more powerful. Violent video games are more distress, than the films of the same sign and that the images of violence shown on television because they are interactive, because they use a technology environment that allows the user total immersion in the situation, while producing new objects cultural. The reason is that video games are not limited to violence to show a passive spectator, but require the person to connect with the character and act for him, while violence in film and television images whose exposure is limited only to visual perception. The video game violence has long-term real effects. Children exposed to high levels of violent entertainment can become more aggressive and develop a tremendous face the suffering of others, also increases the likelihood they interact and respond to violence in their social environment. In violent video games as success is clearly defined as killing or take, and failure as die or loses the good and evil as the wicked: they, different from us, it is just revenged, I mate,...