One of today’s most debated topics is whether violent video games cause bad behavior. This topic has been researched for almost 30 years and there are still major opinion differences. Many psychologists say violent video games do cause bad behavior, and claim that games such as Manhunt, Grand Theft Auto, and Modern Warfare, desensitize people to violence, making it a norm in society. Others disagree, claiming that these games, although they can be very violent, can help people develop critical thinking skills. (Nonviolent video games are preferred for this though). The truth is, violent video games do both; studies indicated that some games increase aggressive thought, feelings and behaviors in both the long and short term. But, studies also show that some benefits include visual attention to the periphery of a computer screen, improve adults contrast sensitivity, and some games require team work, which helps develop collaboration skills.
Why do some like video games while others despise them?
As stated before, video games can cause many problems, and many benefits, which explains why people either love them, or hate them. Video gaming is very repetitive, and that’s what makes them such good teachers. Douglas Gentile, author of the article ‘Video Games Affect the Brain-for Better and Worse’ says, “. . . repetition is one precondition for long-term potentiation—the strengthening of brain-cell connections (synapses) through repeated use that is thought to underlie memory storage and learning.” That being said, violent video games that involve strategy can increase the amount of critical thinkers in the world. However, the fact that video games are such big influences on their players is exactly why so many people in society are ...
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... nor bad. Rather, they are a powerful form of entertainment that does what good entertainment is supposed to do—it influences us.”
Works Cited
Glazer, Sarah. Video Games Do they have educational value? SAGE Publications., 2006.
Richard Gallagher, Ph.D., interview by AOK. Video Games: Cons and Pros (n.d.).
Violent Video Games - Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects. Washington D.C., June 8, 2004.
Craig A. Anderson, Ph.D. FAQs on Violent Video Games and Other Media Violence (2009).
Phil, Dr. "Children and Violent Video Games." 2009.
Renolds, Rodney. Tech Topics - Kids and Violent Video Games (n.d.).
Douglas A. Gentile, Ph.D. Video Games Affect the Brain—for Better and Worse. The Dana Foundation, 2011.
Knorr, Caroline. "The 10 Most Violent Video Games (And 10 Alternatives)." common sense media, 09.
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.
"Do Violent Video Games Cause Behavior Problems?" The Premier Online Debate Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2014.
Strutter, John D. “Norway mass-shooting trial reopens debate on violent video games.” CNN. Cable News Network. Apr. 2012. Web. April 6, 2014
Many people believe violence in video games result in violent outbreaks and unhealthy behavior in real world. Since the first Nineteen Eighties, violence in video games became a part of a political issue leading advocates to create theories that these styles of games are corrupting society. Studies have been created to seek out if there's a link between violent video games and violent behavior. Are these video games shaping today’s generation of youths to be violent? I believe that there's no correlation between violence in video games and violence in our society. I think this first of all, improves a large form of general skills, secondly, there are several alternative factors that contribute into creating society violent and finally, crime rates decrease because the quality of those forms of games increase.
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.
Although violent video games are thought to encourage real world violence, they actually help to prevent it. I am focusing on violent video games and how they affect juveniles because I feel that this issue needs to be looked at in the criminal justice community. It is an unnecessary distraction to blame the actions of a disturbed youth on a form of entertainment that has been used by millions of people without incident. A review article published in The Psychiatric Quarterly found that many studies which claim to indicate an increase in aggression due to video games are, in fact, biased! Once the bias is taken into account, the studies no longer find any correlation between youths who play violent video games and youths who demonstrate aggression and violent behavior.
By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video game...
Adams, Jill U. Effects of Violent Video Games. The Los Angeles Times. May 3, 2010.
Over the past 30 years, playing video games has become one of the most popular hobbies worldwide. Not only has the video game industry become a multi-billion dollar industry, but it has attracted people from all age types. While video games today are played by both kids and adults, there are many issues being raised regarding the effects of video games. More particular, is the effect that violent video games may be having on children. Some critics argue that video games are direct indicators of child aggression while video game supporters argue that there is no direct link between child aggression and violent video games. While many people have their own personal stances, this issue is unique because it is unfolding everyday. Scientists and researchers all over the world are continuously doing research regarding the effects of video games on children. Even though this remains a field of uncertainty for researchers, parents should definitely be involved in being aware of what it is that they’re children are playing when they play video games.
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 actions and their mental health issues. The violent video games for computers and consoles’ sales rate went up, but violent crime offenses went down.
“Violent Video Games – Psychologists Help Protect Children from Harmful Effects.” Psychology Matters. Mar. 2008
middle of paper ... ... Educate your child about violence and video games Set time limits on gaming Encourage your child to do other things besides playing video games. REFERENCES Lieberman, Joe (1997) "Video Game Report Card, 1997" http://www.senate.gov/member/ct/lieberman/releases/r112597a.html. Cesarone, Bernard "Video Games and Children" http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/video.games.html Zarozinski, Michael "Video Game Violence 2001" http://www.louderthanabomb.com/vg_voilence.htm "Fact Sheets: Effects of Video Game Play on Children" http://www.mediafamily.org/research/fact/effect.shtml Children Now "Children and the Media 2001" http://www.childrennow.org/media/video-games/2001/#violence The "Violence in Video Games" http://www.gamezero.com/team-0/articles/features/violence_92/ The "Video Game Violence" http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/vgv.htm Walsh, David A. Video Game Violence: What Does the Research Say? 1998.
The concerns of parents are that theses types of games are going to change their child’s life in a bad way. These ideas are true through tedious experiments that prove that violent games produce violent children. The games that cause the most fear are ones that give the players the opportunity to select their own weapon and decide what violent adventures they long to experience. A well known fact is that repetition increases the learning process. For example, when students are studying for a test they will incorporate the use of flashcards. Using the flashcards exposes the child to the information repeatedly until it is memorized. While playing these games, the player learns the patterns of games through repetition. By doing this they are unconsciously learning to act in the same way as the game. In March of 2014, the Center for Study of Violence at Iowa State participated in a study where they followed over 3,000 children over a three year period who played video games. Since the experiment was carried out over a long period of time, it was easy to spot out the effect of the games on the test subjects. The report discovered that the boys who played the hostile games had an increased amount of recorded aggressive behaviors, and although the girls in the experiment played less violent games than the boys, they still displayed violent behaviors (Gentile, 2014). The
Nowadays, video games are frequently accused of having detrimental effects on children and adolescents. The main arguments against video games are that they lead to addiction, that they provoke violence, and that they impair social development. Whether or not such claims are true has not been determined with certainty as scientific studies have produced contradictory results. Nevertheless, video games also have beneficial effects, which tend to be underrated, as they do not receive the same level of media coverage that adverse ones do, and are thus unknown to the general public. Some of the positive effects of playing video games on mental development include: stimulating analytical thinking, improving concentration, and encouraging planning and anticipation (“Video game controversies”).
Kotz, Deborah “Do violent video games have an upside for kids?” Boston.com The New York Times, 29 November 2013 Web. 06 April 2014