Is There a Link between Violent Video Games and Violent Behavior

The main argument of this article is that video games have a direct link to short term and long term aggression. The author presents this argument by providing studies from peer reviewed articles that all conclude that video games do cause an increase of aggression. The main point of this article is to answer the question, “Do violent video games lead to aggression.” The article is about the effects of violent video games leading to aggression. The author uses recent examples, like the Sandy Hook and Washington Navy Yard shooting. In both of these examples, the author cites that both shooters had a history with playing violent video games. The author uses a study which selected individuals to play violent video games for a certain period of time. The study would then compare the results to a group who played non-violent video games. The study concluded that violent video games cause a direct link in aggression due to humans reenacting the actions the characters within the video games perform.

“According to data recently released by The NPD Group, in 2012, U.S. video game software sales reached $6.7 billion (174.8 million units) and computer game sales were $380 million (13.2 million units)” (Improving Economy). To many, the violent video game industry has turned all adolescents into mass murderers. However, they’re absolutely wrong. Very seldom do adolescents who play violent video games commit acts of violence, and the ones who do usually have a mental disorder. Instead of blaming the tragedies that occur on violent video games, the news media should explain to people that a large percentage of young males play violent video games, indicating that the two are uncorrelated. They should alternatively research other possible solutions to the crisis. In lieu of negatively affecting people’s lives, video games could potentially improve their lives!

Prolonged scenes of massive violence, graphic sexual content, and animated blood are examples of statements that the Entertainment Software Rating Board uses to depict the content in over fifty- five percent of the video games rated yearly. The debate of whether the aggressive nature of these video games influences youth violence in our country has been heatedly battled for decades. Since the mid 1980’s, it has been suggested that high profile cases of violence are due to an aggressor’s excessive video game use. However, much like a cold case the type of connection between video game use and youth violence remains without a definite answer. Most believe that video game use negatively influences child aggression acts in our country. Others firmly declare that video games provide a realm of opportunity for child development. Ultimately, it is impossible to say that video game use affects every child the same way. New studies suggest that video games do not affect every child that plays a game. Although violent video games are innocuous for the majority of adolescents between the ages of twelve and eighteen, the effects of these games are aggravated in those with pre- existing antisocial or depressive traits.

Violent video games are contributing to violent behaviors in the youth and teenagers of America. Youth violence is a seemingly increasing problem in the United States. Juvenile centers are gaining new residents each day.This violence is brought on by an increase in video game violence. Many of the newly developed games are killing simulators which train players for real world violence. There seems to be a lack in evidence against video games. “According to the federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low” (Jenkins 32). So called links between video games and youth violence are said to be found, but these links are coming from people who solely research media violence.

In today?s world more and more teens are playing video games. Many people think its effecting the way teens behave. There are reports that mature video games are the cause of shootings, but there is much more evidence that entails a different cause. In ?10-Country Comparisons Suggest Little Or No Link Between Video Games And Gun Murders? written by Max Fisher states ?Data suggest a slight downward shift in violence as video game consumption increases?. This suggest that video games have a positive effect on gun violence. School shootings have been blamed on violent video games but there are many other things not included, like they may have been bullied at school or a mental issue. So some of the blame is left not answered for. The amount of video game consumption in America is much like other places in the world that has significantly fewer gun deaths. (Kain, Eric Violent Video Games 2015) According to Kain and Eric,? The number of violent youth offenders in the United States fell by more than half between 1994 and 2010 while video game sales doubled

There are multiple cases of adolescent violence – particularly school shootings – that have been linked to the play of violent video games. While many people argue that violent video games have caused teenagers to commit violent acts towards the people around them, there is no evidence to suggest that the video games were the actual cause. There is only evidence that suggests the play of violent video games assisted these killers in their accuracy with their guns and desensitisation towards the original decision to fire a gun.

First, violent video games can cause many behavior changes. According to Issue 2836 of “US Today Magazine”, “... 67% of parents and 90% of pediatricians agree that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior among children.” Also the article states that from the opinions of researchers, 8 out of 10 agree that violent video games make children angrier or more aggressive. These results mean that more than half the people who debate this topic say it is true teens or children who play violent video games

Studies show that exposure to violent video games affects the behavior of children.Some have vandalized, beat someone up, took part in bullying someone.As many as 97% of US kids age 12-17 play video games, contributing to the $21.53 billion domestic video game industry. More than half of the 50 top-selling video games contain violence. Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts. Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent video games may provide a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings and may reduce crime.

First, misconceptions and flawed studies have guided the public into believing that video games are the root of vicious adolescent crime. Past studies have indicated that in fact a link does exist between violent video games and violent crime; however, these studies have apparent issues. Many of these studies, failed to prove a legitimate cause and effect between the two variables. The largest problem is that these studies base their findings off means of testing aggression in children that do not correspond with violent in reality. For example, one study evaluated aggression by timing the duration in which someone would inflict a loud noise at another person. In reality, it is extremely difficult to assess a person’s aggression in a simulated experiment that will produce legitimate results because it is not a realistic scenario in the real world. Furthermore, the consequences of afflicting someone with a loud sound are not equivalent to the consequences of committing a mass shooting. Another major misconception is that school shootings are a direct effect of playing violent video games. The issue with that philosophy is that it fails to account for other variables that can lead to violent outbursts such as personality traits, genetics, and home environment. Overall, these misconceptions blame video games as the sole problem, distorting the view of video games

Numerous studies have been done on whether violent video games affect an individual to become more aggressive and mentally unstable. Violence is ubiquitous in today’s modern society and we are constantly exposed to violence through the media, movies and video games. Video games have been around since the 1970’s when Atari first introduced the game called Pong. Pong was a simple and non-violent game that caused no major concern from the public. Then in the 1980’s there was some controversy when Pac –man was released because of the violence. Then in the 1990’s the graphics

For several decades, the idea of violence in the popular media influencing a young generation to violence has been hotly debated. Since the introduction of violent video games in the 1970’s, for example, the shooting games Empire and Maze War from 1973, people have noticed that violent video games induce violent behavior in players, especially in teenage males. Despite people seeing the negative influence of violent media earlier as well, only in the last two decades has video game violence come to the forefront as video game popularity has increased. With the growing influence of digital technology, people began to notice increasingly aggressive displays on the part of adolescent players. Moreover, the computer and game consoles became the most cherished adolescent toys, and violent video games their favorite pastime. Meanwhile, parents started to worry about their children’s activity, and whether violent video games lead juveniles to infractions of the law and to negative changes in their behavior.

Statistically, it is difficult to correlate a direct behavioral effect of playing violent video games. Effectively evaluating violent behavior in children after playing video games has a great number of variables including environmental and cultural influences. Violence is no new concept to human beings regardless of age. Until recent years when school shootings and other extreme violent acts appeared in the media, no one was paying attention in great detail. Now society seeks a scapegoat for their children’s behavior and poor choices. The blame seems to have shifted from the parents and toward the teachers,

Over the years, the popularity of computer and video games has grown. Specifically violent video games make up more than 50 % of the top selling games. These games include violent themes that involve guns, crime, blood, and gore. There is an ongoing belief that these types of games are to blame for the many acts of violence in society and have encouraged America’s youth to act out in aggression. Several organizations, such as the PTC (Parents Television Council) have moved to discourage the development of violent games while also pushing for stronger regulations when purchasing such games. There is also debate among parents and concerns on how games can negatively influence their children. So is there a direct link between video games and violence? The truth is video games do not encourage violence in society based on several factors which include scientific studies, statistics on crime, and prevention measures adopted by game publishers.

The advances in technology over the past few years have been remarkable. There are many reasons that most children between eight to eighteen, in different parts of the world, especially in the U.S have started playing video games, including violent video games. Video games were first introduced in 1970. Since then, they have become a favorite activity and past-time for many of today’s youth and children. While many of the games are educational or based on heroes, others allow players to rob or even murder innocent bystanders using a wide variety of weapons. “Violent” games were defined as those in which intentional harm is done to a character motivated to avoid that harm. Violent video games are popular with male and female children, adolescents, and even adults. These types of games have been successfully marketed to youth and are easily obtained regardless of age. Violent video games can have negative effects on various parts of children’s lives. Violent video games should be banned because they cause behavioral, mental, and physical problems in children.

Herb Kohl, who is an American businessman and politician and is a former state senator of Wisconsin had once said “We cannot and will not ban the creation of violent video games. But, we can prevent the distribution of these disturbing games to children, where their effects can be negative.” It is true that violent video games are causing aggression in children, but the responsibility to protect them is their parents. Research on the connection between violence in games and violence in real life is still in its infancy (Peckham). The negative thoughts on games are actually caused from a “moral panic” but in truth, video games are having positive effects on the population such as reducing crime rates and shootings.