Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
essay on the dangers of gaming addiction
media violence effects on society
video games and their effect on society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: essay on the dangers of gaming addiction
Many of the young people of today’s generation have played video games, whether it is Candy Crush, Flappy Bird, Mario, Sonic, Call of Duty, Minecraft, or Skyrim. Almost every electronic device is capable of running games. As advancement in technology increases, the video game industry will also advance. More and more of the next generations are bound to be affiliated with video games. There is a debate whether video games cause people to be violent, especially in adolescents. There has been much research done to come to a conclusion to this question. Not only did Armadi Tansal write an essay to help answer this question, but there has been an online debate about it also. These two pieces of writing may differ in many ways, such as purpose, audience, style, language, appeals, and credibility, but they both help to justify if videos games cause violence.
Analyzing Different Genres
Personal Essay
Armadi Tansal wrote an essay titled, “Modern Warfare: Video Games’ Links to Real-World Violence.” This essay can be found in the textbook “Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond” (Tansal, p. 342). The name itself informs the reader what the essay is about. It compares the violence from Modern Warfare to real-world violence. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a first person shooter video game published by Activision. Tansal starts off talking about his friend “John” a college student who plays extensive hours of video games that are rated M for mature. Tansal compares John to research conducted by Craig Anderson. According to Tansal, violent video games have no affect on his friend. He claims that John is surprisingly calmer than before he would play violent video games. Anderson on the other hand disagrees. He conducted a research where he ...
... middle of paper ...
...s differ in many ways, they both have the same purpose. Their purpose was to establish if video games cause violence. The use of language, style of writing, appeals, credibility, and intended audience all differ because of the type genre they both are. Different genres are used to help others understand a purpose in a different way. Not everyone is same. Everyone is different and they all have their own ways of understanding. The more genres there are, the more variety of people will understand the same purpose.
Works Cited
Anonymous. [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/opinions/do-violent-video-games-cause-behavior-problems
Faigley, L. Tansal, A. (2011). Writing: for college and beyond. Modern warfare: video games’ link to real-world violence. (pp.342-345)
Lamb, J. Society opinions [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.debate.org/about/
Proceeding my perusal of articles and research, written by authors with scientific credentials or otherwise, I have concluded that video games are no more to blame for the ebullition found in today’s society than any other possible cause. However, the incessant brouhaha as well as the negative notoriety surrounding media and video games refuses to cease or let up. These claims—for or against video games—are ultimately subjective and inconclusive and very little can be confidently derived from them. Granted, the violence found in our youth is growing rapidly, and there must be external reasons for that, but using video games as a scapegoat will not rectify anything.
One would be hard-pressed to find a household without any video gaming devices. In fact, over eighty percent of American households some sort of gaming device. On top of all that, violent video games have surged in popularity, occupying over 50% of the 30 top video games sold in 2015 (Kain). In light of recent mass shootings, video games are routinely accused as the culprit that influences one to violence. Researchers all over the world have tried to establish a causal relationship between video games and violence. Some researchers have come to the conclusion that video games, specifically violent ones, spark aggression. However, other researchers have come up with the opposite conclusion, that the studies that portray video games as detrimental
One of the fastest growing sectors in the United States economy, with sales over six billion dollars in 2012 is the video gaming industry ("Games: Improving the Economy’). Technical innovation has given the video industry power to create exciting realistic worlds, turning video games into the vast entertainment business that it is today. Setting sales records, Violent Video Games (VVG) are now a common staple in many households. One of the most argued topics in media studies, investigation on the impact violence has on society from mass media continues to rage on. Parents look to the media for reliable studies to confirm or distinguish the effects VVG has on children. Even more menacing than violence on television or in movie theaters, VVG have created enticing graphic worlds created to slaughter fellow players. Modern video games allow players to take an active role within the game. Enticing players to engage in realistic assault scenes that are meant to be entertaining. Worthy playing is then rewarded with: trophies, bonus points and extra lives.
According to Valadez and Fergusion (2012), “The effects of violent video game exposure, both positive and negative, on various behaviors are still highly contested within academia and the general public” (p. 608). Violence in video games is often wrongfully perused as a topic of extreme criticism pertaining to an individual’s act of violence in today society. Examples of such would include the shooting that occurred in April 2007 at Virginia Technical College; where Jack Thompson and Philip McGraw asserted that violent video games were the ultimate cause of the tragic incident, but further investigation suggested that Seung-Hui Cho had never played any such games (Valadez & Fergusion, 2012). Since the early days of mankind, society has often enlisted the service of a scapegoat in the attempt to correct the unethical or immoral conduct of a few individuals; violence in video games is no exception to this type of social misconduct. Possibly, one may want to consider human nature and its unyielding desire to be competitively better than the next person; compared to an individuals need to be excessively violent regardless of visual representation of violence in the first place. Although many will argue the effect that violent video games have on the human psyche; the research is far too inconclusive for one to make an educated assessment of the provided information.
Studies on the link between videogames and violent behaviors began in the late 1970’s. The first time a violent video game was introduced and raised some eyebrows about the amount of violence being displayed was with a certain racing video game. “The controversy dates all the way back to Death Race, a 1976 8-bit video game in which cars run over bad guys, turning them into tombstones” (Kelly, 1). The studies between videogames and violent behavior continued into the 1980’s. “In 1984, a study found that arcade games have a “calming effect” and that boys use them to blow off steam. Both studies relied on surveys and interviews asking boys and young men about their media consumption” (Kain, 2). As a result, the link between videogames and violent behavior has been studied for a long time.
Children today are exposed to more graphic violence in video games compared to any past generations. This is because the media finds that making a profit, surpasses the lives of the adolescents that play these games. However, over time two set of views formed from the violence in video games. James D. Sauer, is a graduate of the School of Phycology. In his article, “Violent Video Games: The Effects of Narrative Context and Reward Structure On In-Game and Postgame Aggression,” Sauer, describes that adolescents gain forms of aggression and violence after playing certain games. Not every video game causes post game aggression, but documented in his article, “Players who enacted in-game violence through a heroic character exhibited less postgame
However, varying core aspects of video games have ignited the prevailing collective interests, including the intent of lawmakers. Conversely, the core purposes of video games is perceived to instigate differing implications ranging from; formulating competent scholarly video plays to act as tutoring, as well as inspiring models in intellectual environs. As noted by Ferguson & Rueda (2010), this might also make aggressive gaming progressively more insecure when contrasted to the scary television scenes. Alternatively, the invention of modern ultraviolent film games over the 1990s, as well...
All the blame for the current state of teenage violence cannot be placed on video games; they are only an amplifier of the behavior (Anderson, 2011). The games reward violent actions and convey the message that violent responses are appropriate and effective (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). Rewarding the players for doing violent actions leads to the players having thoughts of doing violent actions outside of the game. Long-term players of these games feel the satisfaction of doing violent actions, causing them to think that it is alright for them to do some of the actions in the real world (Anderson, 2011). There are a couple extreme examples that show this theory. Such as, “the 1993 game ‘Doom’ belonged to the ‘first person shooter’ genre and was played by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold before they went on a shooting rampage at Columbine High School in 1999” (Porter & Starcevic, 2007). The same is said about the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Adam Lanza, the shooter, was known as a devoted Call of Duty player (Keim, 2013). Teenagers can relate differently to the games, where some find them as a ...
The greatest of importance are the studies from the ISU Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Craig Anderson, that show video games that are violent can make people have violent behavior (2010). Anderson and his team tested the effects of violent video game play on the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings of the individuals by using meta-analytic procedure (2010). New longitudinal data which provided further confirmation that playing violent video games could make some people violent were included in the research (Iowa State University 2010). Anderson said that they were not huge effects but also not small ones (2010). Violent video game effects are significant in both Eastern and Western cultures in males and females, and in all age groups, which was the analysis of Anderson’s work (2010).
One article points out that video games have a big impact on children’s lives and that many of the games played are violent. Researchers have found that “nearly all children spend time playing video games” and studies have found that “8th graders spent an average of 17 hours per week playing video games” (Tamborini 336). Moreover, 68% of the most popular video games contain violence (Tamborini 336). So it is clear that many children have access to violent video games and they have a big impact on their lives simply because of the amount of time spent playing them.
At this day in age we bask in the luxury of having easy access to advanced technology at our disposal. From the World Wide Web, to cell phones, music, movies and video games the human race has thought of any and everything to keep us entertained. Over the years studies have shown reasonable concerns regarding the long-term effects of video games. These games can desensitize gamers to real life violence, which is usually seen in the younger crowd. The studies especially hit on the games containing player-on-player violence. Though these games are extremely entertaining and can get kids to settle down for a while, if not properly supervised, they can produce adverse effects. Other studies have shown that video games can be used as way to yield positive outcomes such as, good problem solving skills, cooperation in a group and the ability to flow. Although there has been psychological research on children learning through the actions of others some believe that children are automatically able to distinguish between what is just a game and what is reality. The longer they are allowed on their game system the more they become convinced that their games are real. Some researchers believe violent video games can channel the aggression of the child but the parents are to blame for what happens to the child after playing an excessive amount over a period of time. Children can become preoccupied with these violent video games which have been proven to be the cause of poor social skills, uncontrollable aggression and a false reality.
The arguments that video games does not have a causational effect toward real life violence are less publicized. In an article about video games Christo...
The twenty-first century has opened the doors to many innovative and popular media advancements, including video games. Ever since their birth, video games have received unjust blame for many of the problems that corrupt our youth. In Karen Sternheimer’s “Do Video Games Kill?,” she presents many common misconceptions that video games receive claiming that they create violent behavior, and provides counter arguments to these accusations. Given the inaccurate depiction of violence related to videogames, Sternheimer effectively exposes the media for their faulty reports on this topic, and offers other factors as to why video games should not be perceived as “folk devils” (214). In response to the inaccurate depiction of violence related to videogames,
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.
In a society driven by technology, video games are becoming more popular each and everyday. People of all ages enjoy video games in their free time; these games allow the player to become an athlete, a soldier, or a professional fighter at the tip of their fingers. The biggest problem with these video games is that they are becoming too violent. In today’s society, children often brag about the new video game they bought, and the number of people they have managed to kill while playing these games. Video games have become realistic, causing them to intrigue a larger amount of children. Many of these violent video games encourage killing and fighting of enemies, or strangers in the game. Each year a new game system, and hundreds of video games are released, and millions of kids go out and buy them and spend hours playing. Video games have a large effect on school performance and time spent with family. Children would prefer to play their games than sit down and talk with their parents (Saleem, 2012).