“Violence: Not a Game” Since the beginning of recorded history, humans have diverted themselves with activities that amuse and serve as an escape from daily stress. From the Mesopotamian Age’s chess-like board games, to modern day’s NBA 2K17, games have proven to be universal, supplementing the sometimes taxing routines of people’s lives for centuries. In 2013, an industry study from Spil Games found that nearly 1.2 billion people play video games world-wide, a testimony of the ever growing videogame industry. However, like any universal concept, videogames carry much controversy, namely the violent content often found in the more recent action games. There have been numerous studies to determine the consequences of prolonged exposure to media …show more content…
For instance, some factors that increase learning of any behavior are active participation, repetition, and a reward system. Videogames inherently contain all three of these factors- videogames require active participation, not just passive observation like TV and reading. They also encourage players to regularly play, prompting them with time limits on challenges, engrossing plotlines, or rewards. It is commonly known that rewards encourage the behavior that the subject was rewarded for. Violent videogames reward violence by giving the player points for killing, sometimes awarding bonus points for more violent or widespread attacks. This combination motivates players to learn the behavior taught in the game, posing a risk to certain …show more content…
Exposure to any type of violence can have adverse effects, however the nature of the videogame encourages accelerated learning. Learned behavior implies acceptance of such behavior, and acceptance leads to ignorance of a behavior’s potentially harmful implications. As Craig Anderson, a PhD in psychology and member of both the American Psychological Society an American Psychological Association once wrote-“Repeated media violence exposure increases aggression across the lifespan because of several related factors. One, It creates more positive attitudes, beliefs, and expectations regarding use of aggressive solutions. Two, It creates aggressive behavioral scripts and makes them more cognitively accessible. Three, It decreases the accessibility of nonviolent scripts. Four, It decreases the normal negative emotional reactions to conflict, aggression, and violence.” This passage signifies the collective study results of the extensive research of American Psychological Association Task Force on Violent Media, where the group found a connection between violent videogame play and increased aggression. One APA researcher, Mark Appelbaum concluded that- “…The link between violence in videogames and increased aggression in players is one of the most studied and best established in the
In today’s society, highly addicting video games involving strong violence and language, explicit sexuality and crime often lead to inappropriate behaviors. Role playing games or RPGs allow us to step into a virtual world, cutting ourselves off from worldly distractions. Nowadays, the age range for people who play these extremely graphic games are anywhere from six to eighteen and are surprisingly hazardous to young children’s health. A study gave a group of players playing a violent video game the chance to blast a painful sound into their opponent's ear in order to get the upper advantage. They also gave another group playing non violent games, the same opportunity. The study showed that overall the gamers playing violent video games were more prone to inflict more pain on their enemies, unlike the other group who inflicted considerably less pain. Kelly McGonigal, Ph.D who did this study agrees, “violent video games desensitize players to violence, and makes them more violent in real life" (McGonigal). Young adults are exposed to these terrifying images, harming their mental health. In recent events, a young eight year old boy shot his grandmother after playing Grand Theft Auto. This game is the epitome of why young people should not be playing these games. It is comprised of murder, drug and alcohol abuse, criminal behavior, violence and general disrespect for women, and foul language. In summary, young people should not be playing these games in order to save their mental health. Furthermore, television contributes to desensitizing society with it’s ...
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.
Since the 1970 video games have become more popular than ever before. Generating 11.7 billions of dollars of sells every year or more, the video game industry is considered one of the largest industries in this century. However, video games have been a topic of controversy. With the sales of violent video games going up and the increased violence in schools and teenagers, video games are always to blame. Many people speculate that video games are the cause on why many teenagers have developed aggressive and violent behavior, are desensitize to violence, and the increase violence in schools and public places. In contradiction, video games have little or no fault in teenagers’ violent behavior and shouldn’t always be blamed.
The American Psychological Association has conducted research pertaining to the effect violent video games play on children. In this article the APA discusses how some of their research has made it evident that violent video games may cause some children to be far more aggressive to their peers, but the same games seemed to have a positive affect on other children. The research that was conducted by the APA in this article shows that the violent video games alone have little or no effect on a child, but instead it is a mix of certain personality traits of the given child that make a child more susceptible to the violence that is presented to them when playing video games. The research presented in this article also shows some of the positives that come along with the activity of playing video games. These positive effects range from the usage of video games in a hospital enviro...
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.
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
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 second reason video games are an issue is that videogames have been linked to a variety of mental and physical ailments. The most common physical health problems tend to be arthritis from barely moving the fingers while using a keyboard or game controller, and a variety of eye problems due to constantly staring at the game screen. The most frequently occurring mental problems range from delusions to schizophrenia and becoming desensitized to violence. Keegan says that "repeated exposure to violent images can make people less sensitive to the effects of violence" (1). All of these ailments, both mental and physical, can and will occur in many people, but this statement only holds true if the player spends much of his or her free time playing video games. The essay “Violence and the Media: A Psychological Analysis,” shows how the number of hours spent watching a television program may be more influential than the nature of the program itself (Javier 4). While this statement refers ...
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.
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.
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...
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The question is, “Do violent video games influence children to act aggressively?” and “Can repetitive killing train a person to be violent himself?” Although the violence in these video games is fictional, research has proven the violence to lead to more aggressive behavior in children. Violent acts depicted in these games allow young children to believe that killing and fighting is acceptable and fun.
A survey of 1,102 adolescents found that 97 percent had played video games in the past day. Although most parents checked the censor’s rating before consenting their child to obtaining it, 50 percent of boys and 14 percent of girls favored games with an "M" (mature) or "AO" (adult-only) rating, which suggests a high degree of violence. Social scientists believed that children are more probable to mimic the actions of a character with whom they identify. In violent video games, players participate as a character, and even choose which weapons they’ll use while fighting other characters. Similarly, repetition increases learning. Video games involve a great deal of repetition. If the games are violent, then the effect is a behavioral preparation for violent activity. Violence in society is not solely caused by violent media. But research shows that continuous exposure to violent media causes people to believe that violence can be an acceptable, positive way to solve problems.
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