Introduction
In recent decades, attention has been placed on the influence of violent videogames on the aggressive behaviour of individuals. While some scholars believe that videogames increase aggression amongst children in particular, others claim evidence on the catharsis hypothesis where videogames are argued to be a safe outlet to express aggression (Berger 2002). Although many theories have emerged regarding the influence of violent videogames, the debate continues to be divided between those who claim its destructive nature and others who claim that videogames cannot be solely blamed for the aggressive behaviour expressed by young people. This essay therefore aims to examine different arguments raised in the literature regarding the moral and social issues that are associated with violent videogames.
The Debate about the Influence of Violent Video Games
In recent times, the nature of video games have become an important topic of debate as politicians in the UK and America argue that videogame playing increases aggression, particularly in children (Freedman 2001; Berger 2002). Despite the absence of scientific consensus, there seems to be a rising concern that videogames can in fact lead to ‘real life’ violence. In 1993 the British Parliament showed concern over the dangers of games such as Mortal Kombat, in 1997 similar questions were raised about Grand Theft Auto, where the aim of the game is to steal cars, shoot people and engage in criminal activities. Videogames have also been blamed directly for the school massacres in the United States, where teenage murderers were reported to be avid players of violent videogames such as Doom and Duke Nukem. As a result, parents of the children murdered filed a $130 millio...
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...re Phenomenon. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.
Freedman, J. (2001) Evaluating the Research on Violent Video Games, Toronto: University of Toronto. http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/freedman.html (Accessed 18th April 2006).
Galloway, A.R. (2004) Social Realism in Gaming. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, Volume 4, Issue 1. http://webct.londonmet.ac.uk/SCRIPT/SM2007N/scripts/serve_home (Accessed 18th April 2006).
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Poole, S. (2000) Trigger Happy: The Inner Life of Videogames. London: Fourth Estate Limited.
Rollings, A. & Adams, E. (2003) Andrew Rollings and Ernest Adams on Game Designs. USA: New Riders Publishing.
“Most reported effects of videogames – particularly in the popular press – appear to centre upon the alleged negative consequences… Research has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem,” (Griffiths p. 47), states Mark Griffiths in his article, “The educational benefits of videogames”. When people think of video games, they often tend to think about the negative side effects that video games can have on a person. Will Wright in his article, “Dream Machines” also defends video games by providing positive effects that video games have on those who play them. Wright presents
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
The allegation that videogames cause violent behavior in children has been present as long as videogames themselves. Some researchers said that the Sandy Hook shooter, Adam Lanza, was one intense gamer. “Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech Shooter was seen by his roomates as odd because he never joined them in video games.”(Beresin) This debate will continue to go on in this country as long as there are horrific crimes that occur. There is much written in the research regarding this issue, and many differing views. The research that is presented in the next few paragraphs supports the theory that it is not the graphic video games that produce aggressive behavior, but other factors in a child’s life that create violent actions.
Desensitization from video games creates a biological response that leads to a lack of empathy and more aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, violence in video games is rewarded, making one more likely to repeat the behavior in real life. Finally, video games allow people to take on roles, and along with one’s inability to separate reality from fantasy, people will take on these roles in real life, leading to many of the recent mass shootings. The debate on video games and violence will carry major significance over these coming years. Although violent video games will not necessarily be banned, there might be moves to educate parents about the dangers of violent video games so that their children can be monitored in the games they choose. However, the debate will not be completely solved. Video games are a multimillion dollar industry and the companies may pay psychologists to agree with their sentiments, prolonging the debate. Although video games are some of the most popular items in the world to own, one must take caution in purchasing them, especially violent
Whether violent media content leads to real-life violence is always debatable. And in recent years, school shootings have made video games a new focus of public concern and scientific research. In public opinion, video games cause more aggression in comparison to traditional violent media contents because video games have more features of interactivity, "due to the active engagement and participation of players" (Hummer and Wang et al. 137). But more and more reports tell us that video games are not the main cause of school shooting issues; rather it is the negligence of parents, schools, and communities.
Reilly describes video games as violent regardless of the age, gender, and culture. Reilly explains that video games today are nothing but fuel of aggressive behavior. Reilly does one experiment that s...
Anderson, Craig A., and PhD. ” Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions.” American Psychological Association (APA). N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.
Gentile, D.A., & Anderson, C.A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. In D. Gentile (Ed.) Media Violence and Children (pp. 131-152)
Dill, Karen E. and Dill, Jody C. “Video Game Violence: A Review of the Empirical
As we hear about shooting sprees at local high schools, people immediately begin to lay blame for the event on the video gaming industry. Critics then use these events to raise their voices against the violence that is portrayed in many of the popular video games. Critics proceed to try to ban the sale of these video games without having any real proof of their accusations. Video games do not contribute to youth violence because there is an excellent rating system in place, the simulated violence provides an outlet for aggression, and the research that critics use is flawed.
In the book “Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents: Theory, Research, and Public Policy,” the authors relay the general information concerning the history of violence in video games as well as the beginning of the issue of violence in video games (Anderson, Gentile, and Buckley 2007). They state that it was “during the 1990s that violent games truly
Since violent video games, like Mortal Kombat, were created, adolescents who play these games become more aggressive than before. To me, playing violent video games is unsafe for these people since they have the negative influence on these people. I believe that researching on that topic would help us get the sense of what problems to avoid. I wish to know what are the possible effects of violent video games on adolescents’ aggression. The independent variable is violent video games, and the dependent variable is adolescents’ aggression. My hypothesis is that adolescents who play violent video games become very aggressive than those who don’t. For this essay, I would like to present the findings from each article that will answer the topic I selected.
“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)
4. “The Link Between Video Games and Violence” by Rahul Massey. Published by Schorlarly Research Paper 2009. Published by Find Knowledge NY V127900. http://www.grin.com
Several studies display that video games with violent content are related to more hostile behavior in teens. This is a concern because most of the popular video games contain violence. Part of the upsurge in aggressive behavior is connected to the amount of time children are permitted