Video Game Violence Causes Children example essay topic

There are many views as to whether video game violence causes children to behave violently. Many children play violent games because that is what most people are playing and they feel that they need to do so as well. Violence is not only in video games but also in all other forms of media because that is what sells and what will make entertainment companies more money. 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.

When computer games first came out they weren't all like "Pong", one of the first game to appear. Most of the original games had violent intention, like "Invaders" where you weren't welcoming the aliens with open arms. Another games that I consider somewhat violent and was also a big favorite, "Pac-man". The fact that Pac-man went around eating ghosts and any thing else on the screen shows violence at some level.

The whole idea that new games are more violent than old is absurd. I can see where the adults are coming from when they say that these games are more violent, because they are more graphic. The increase of graphic violence is also a factor that has been looked at. Now that computers are "evolving" the amount of things they can do with games also increases. As computers become faster and the amount of RAM (random access memory) rises the better the gaming experience and the higher quality graphics. The disadvantages of higher quality graphics are that the major industries want to push violence because it sells.

The original rating system that was put in place doesn't work anymore because parents don't monitor what their kids play. The only way the rating system work is when parents are conscious of them and pay attention to them. systems can only work if they are strictly enforced not only by store owners but also parents. Parents are the main cause of inappropriate games getting into young children's hands. The fact that the government put a rating system on games says that they don't want these games getting into the hands of minors. Gaming companies were the first to use ratings but some others didn't bother so the government stepped in. Gaming at some level can be addictive but can also be used to relive stress or, if the gammer is truly addicted to the game, can cause stress.

Most people who buy games find them to be the number one most exciting thing to do at home, more than 40% of people would rather play computer games. Not long after the Jonesboro Arkansas school shooting Governor Huckabee, of Arkansas, said that violent games should be monitored more closely than they currently are. Huckabee set in motion a campaign to stamp out violence for one-week; this included television shows and games. Huckabee wants to limit the access of violence to children, because he believes that when children see violence they become desensitized and in some cases it becomes hard wired into them. The National Institute on Media and the Family (NIMF) One of the children's watchdog groups praised the 5-year-old voluntary rating system. NIMF also criticized the truly gory games for being so graphic with blood and guts.

"The fact that they are called 'games' probably leads some parents to believe there is no need for supervision", Said Dr. David Walsh president of NIMF. Some people are now calling the violent games "kill-for-fun murder simulations", which in some cases this is true but not always. Representatives of the major gaming industries say that the current rating system should be enough to keep the most violent games out of young children's hands. "Ninety percent of games are bought by adults", says the president of Interactive Digital Software Association (IDS A), Doug Lowenstein. To counter that I say that children don't buy the games because they don't have any money to buy them with. All parents need to do is have an interest in the kind of games there kids are playing.

Some of the major software companies seem to be marketing to children by use of advertising in children's magazines. The Supreme Court should outlaw this kind of advertising. Though we live in a society where violence is the norm it shouldn't be pressed to kids at a young age, they must be mature enough to handle violence. As a teenager I see violence everywhere because violence is what sells and what gets ratings. This trend should change because the more violence we see the more violent people become, the Domino Theory. The top ten most violent games also have the sick names like "Flesh Feast" and "Blood".

Both games have a lot of blood and gore in them, which seems to attract a lot of attention. Because of the gore in such video games there may need to be tighter standards on what can be published. This would require government intervention at some level, which may cause a lot of people to be upset but also it would limit the number of violent games getting into children's hands. The government should set restrictions against software companies and retail sellers of the games.

Such laws by Congress would allow companies to know their limits as far as the kind of games they can market to children. This could also limit the amount of gore that would be allowed in games, it might also add more realism to older players. This realism could come from just the general environment that the game takes place in or from the way the game flows. A game that will come out soon "Dues-Ex" will set new standards for games with in depth environments.