Video Game Violence Essay

“It is clear that the causal relationship between televised violence and antisocial behavior is sufficient to warrant appropriate and immediate remedial action… There comes a time when the data are sufficient to justify action. That time has come” (Berkowitz, Leonard). Approximately forty-two years ago, Surgeon General published a warning against violence in the media. While violence in television is still a big problem today, a new and worse problem has arisen: video game violence. Unlike in television, people are able to interact through the video games as if they were the ones hurting and/or killing the victims. This is a huge concern for society because youth are being taught that violence is accepted in this day and age. Although

During youth many teens feel as if they are alone. When they play a video game, they identify with the characters in the video game and learn and retain the aggressive thoughts and behaviors that they see (Norcia, Andrea). Maintaing these thoughts and behaviors, also leads to future violence. By allowing juveniles to play in a simulated environment as if they are the ones causing harm, the video game intensifies their aggressive proclivity. These effects have been seen all across the nation. Recently, an 8-year-old boy living in Louisiana shot an elderly woman in the head after playing “Grand Theft Auto IV”, a Rated-M video game (Mosbergen, Dominique). This particular video game has been known to create violent inclinations due to the fact that it is all about killing people and stealing things. It was also noted that in the game, people are shot in the head, much like the little boy did to the elderly lady, unlike in real life, such as in the army, where they teach to aim for the chest instead. This incident was appalling, but sadly, not the only one to occur. A more famous occurrence was that of Sandy Hook Elementary in New Haven, Connecticut. Adam Lanza, a 20-year-old man, took the life of himself, his mother, 20 children, and 6 faculty members at the 2012 shooting of Sandy Hook Elementary. During an investigation, it was noted that Mr. Lanza was rarely seen due to the fact that he spent much time in his basement playing violent warfare video games, such as “Call of Duty”(Kleinfield, N. R.). There is an obvious correlation here between the violent video games and the actions which they produce. While it is unknown if his obsession with violent video games was the cause of Mr. Lanza’s motives, it is known to have been a big influence on him. Violent inclinations in youth are shown to correlate with violent habits in youth that lead to despicable