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Violent video game effects on children and adolescents
Video games influence violence research study paper
Whether violent video games have a direct impact on children's behavior
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Stop Blaming Video games! Video games have become one of the most widespread products of entertainment in the world; they have shown a broad variety of art styles. Some of them are cartoonish, while other ones are very realistic to the point of simulate possible real life situations. Moreover, videogames offer an interactive way of entertainment where players take the role of the main character. Nevertheless, video games have shown that they can offer entertainment for more mature audiences displaying violence and gore to the public. Some studies have suggested that there is a relation between violent videogames and behavioral disorders. However, there is not an actual study that have linked this relation. There are several reasons why video games don’t cause violence.
One reason video games don’t cause violence is that there are no solid proves. According to Michael D. Gallagher “The myth that video games cause violent behavior is undermined by scientific research and common sense”. According to FBI statistics, youth violence has declined in recent years as computer and video game popularity soared. There have been and increasing of 204% in Total US sales
According to Amanda Lenhart “it seems that gamers are social people” (qtd. In Irvine). 90% of kids between 12 and 17 years old played some king of video game, with very little differences between gender and race. Most of kids play video games often and their choice of video game were diverse as their tastes for music or TV program. Some of the most common video game gender were racing, sports and action. Older kids are able to get videogames that are rated for mature audiences and most of this kid listed at least one of these games as their favorite. This proved that kids are violent just by playing video games and there is a huge amount of kids playing video
The article “Do Video Games Kill” written by Karen Sternheimer addresses the widespread question; are video games the cause for “young killers”? (220) Sternheimer believes concern for the influence of video games may have on youth is spiraling out of control. She puts most of the blame for this out of control concern on the media. She also writes some about the politicians and the Juvenile Justice System. Sternheimer suggests that there are other factors to blame for violent behavior: poverty, the neighborhood, unemployment, family violence, divorced parents and mental illness (218). While it may be that juvenile crimes have declined, and personal backgrounds effect actions, it cannot be proven that video game violence has no to little effect on
Now a day every video game has something violent going on. Such as in 2010 the top 20 games out in the market were violent related. When a kid sees in a video game that he can beat someone else up and get away with it they think they can do that in real life. This will increase bullying and kids are being taught not to bully. Every kid plays video games even if it’s a racing game or a shooting game. In 2008, 97% of kids from the age of 12-17 played video games. Most M rated games have sexual violence and when a kid sees that in a game and then beats the girl up. The crime rate for rape will increase as it has. A study in 2009 found that it only takes a child four minutes of playing a game to make him have aggressive and violent thoughts going through his head. The critics of violent video game has that bully has increase 32% because of violent video games. Also in the study when a child sees blood when beating up or killing someone in a game he will have more aggressive thoughts than normal.
In 2008, 97% of twelve to seventeen year olds in America played video games, thus fueling the domestic video games by $11.7 million. Ten out of the top twenty best-selling video games contain violence. Many of these violent video games have been accused of incidents that include crime, bullying, and behavior problems. As the popularity of violent video games increase, more people become victims of behavior problems such as depression, aggressiveness, and addiction. Although video games were intentionally created for entertainment purposes, through studies and experiments it has been established that they are factors of behavior problems because of the active interaction people demonstrate while playing video games.
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.
People have always been looking for a reason why horrible things happen. The media is quick to blame video games as the target and cause of many shootings that have occurred, ever since Columbine and Quake. People have been blaming video games for violence for years now, ever since violent video games have been made. News reports blame video games more and more for each shooting, telling the public how this person played video games for x amount of hours a day, and that video games caused him or her to shoot people, and how video games encourage and reward violence. Anti-video game lobbyists have been campaigning to have violence removed from video games, citing resources that they themselves have created as reasons for such, poorly done studies where they confirm that kids are more aggressive through how much hot sauce they put on someone’s fries. While unbiased studies of video games and their links to violence are hard to come by, recent research has shown that video games do not in fact have a casual link to violence, and may even have the opposite effect. Violent video games have nearly no link to violence in teens or adults.
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.
According to the American Psychological Association, there is not sufficient evidence to prove that violent video games are the cause of violence and crime in real life. The only correlation between violence in video games and real life, is that those that play violent video games are slightly more aggressive, not violent. More studies and research is needed to determine a better path and to create more knowledge on the subject.
Video games, with violent content, do not cause violent behavior. However, in the case of an individual experiencing, violent, disruptive, and dangerous behaviors, video games may contribute to an outburst of violence.
Lately there have been increasing amounts of people that say that violent video games are causing a number violent actions. To some extent this is true, but there are also studies that say games help people release their aggression in an appropriate way. I would tend to agree with the later.
“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)
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 demonstate aggression and violent behavior. (Ferguson, 2014)
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.
“As video games have become more violent and more sophisticated and the sales of video games has skyrocketed in the last few decades, youth violence has plummeted,” Ferguson says, citing evidence compiled by various federal agencies (Adams 3). Violence in video games is not a new issue. It has been debated and argued since the release of the first violent video game. As time has progressed, so has the evolution of violence and strong language within video games. Ratings have become more relaxed, and the lines between T (Teen) and M (Mature) rated games has gotten closer together. Violent games are becoming the normal and accepted of all games, and are being demanded by the gaming industry more heavily. Parents have always shied away from these games for their children, regardless of age. However, kids are getting these games whether they are the correct age (17+) or not. Young kids, less than ten years of age are playing horribly violent games and parents are fearing the repercussions. But video games are not to be blamed for child violence. Violence in video games does not cause children to become violent people later on in life.
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 action and their weak mental health issues. The violent video games for computers and consoles’ sale rate went up but violent crime offense went down. Video games are for players to have fun without causing any harm while they are playing. Why do they believe that behavior problems were caused by violent video games? They do not seem to realize that television and movies also have violent scenes. Some examples of popular violent movies include First Blood, Expendables, Dark Knight, Spiderman, and Superman. All action movies have shooting, explosions, and fighting. Horror movies are filled with violence as well, such as Halloween, Scream, and Saw. Horror shows and movie are showing stabbings and serious harm. Even Television shows, like the Three Stooges, Cops, wrestling and America's Funniest Videos! Children's cartoons have violence as well; Disney animated films, Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Watership Down.
In a society driven by technology, video games are becoming more popular each and everyday. People of all ages enjoy video games in their free time; these games allow the player to become an athlete, a soldier, or a professional fighter at the tip of their fingers. The biggest problem with these video games is that they are becoming too violent. In today’s society, children often brag about the new video game they bought, and the number of people they have managed to kill while playing these games. Video games have become realistic, causing them to intrigue a larger amount of children. Many of these violent video games encourage killing and fighting of enemies, or strangers in the game. Each year a new game system, and hundreds of video games are released, and millions of kids go out and buy them and spend hours playing. Video games have a large effect on school performance and time spent with family. Children would prefer to play their games than sit down and talk with their parents (Saleem, 2012).