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Effect of video games on youth violence
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A Russian immigrant walks off a boat to embrace his cousin in a long awaited hug. Niko holds his breath as he notices the stench of alcohol on his cousins shirt. “Welcome to America Niko!” he exclaims as he hands Niko a freshly lit cigar. Driving peacefully through streets filled with gangs and hookers Niko embarks on a new life filled with cocaine, murder and sex. The opening credits roll : Grand Theft Auto IV.
Grand Theft Auto is one of the most notorious franchises in the entire video game industry. There are plenty of video games on shelf with violence, sex and drugs but GTA has one aspect that few other games achieve: it’s just so darn fun.
Video games have been on the rise for decades now. In the 80’s, the release of the gore infested Mortal Kombat sent shivers up parent’s spines forcing a rating system similar to the rating system used for movies. Technically an M-Rated game is only available to a consumer 17 or older, much like an R-rated movie. The largest difference however is that if a parent wants to bring an underage child to an R-rated movie, they must watch the movie together, but rarely does a parent know what their child is playing beyond the brief synopsis of the rating in the bottom corner of the package.
The release of Grand Theft Auto put the ESRB – the association that rates any commercially sold video game – on the spotlight. So much of a deal was made over a video game where the protagonist could hire and then murder a hooker that the state of California attempted to force laws to limit the sale of the game to reduce the amount of youth playing it (USA). Throughout the world, mostly in Europe, many countries refuse to sell certain games, or ban certain content.
But the question is why? While some people believe that video games are just good clean fun, others believe that these games greatly affect our generation in a negative way, increasing aggression and sometimes pushing consumers to the edge causing events like the forever notorious shootings in Virginia Tec.
Over the past few decades, over twenty legitimate studies have been conducted – both correlation and experimental – showing an association between aggression and violent video games (Kirsh). There is compelling evidence that video games are responsible for up to ten percent of the aggression in the youth of our generation (LA). Studies have also shown t...
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Adams, Jill. “The Effects of Video Games.” LA Times [Los Angeles] 3 May 2010: 1+. Print.
Biskupic, Joan, and Mike Snider. “Supreme Court Rejects Ban on Violent Video Games.” USA today [Washington DC] 27 June 2010: 1+. Print.
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Kirsh, Steven. “The effects of violent video games on adolescents: The overlooked influence of development.” Aggression and Violent Behavior 8.4 (2002): 377-389.sciencedirect.com. Web. 5 Nov. 2011.
Hamilton, Audrey. “The Effect Of Violent Video Games On Teens.” Medical News Today: Health News. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2011.
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.