Violent Video Games example essay topic

Videogames Don't Kill People, People Kill People Every generation has pointed a finger at the recreational pastimes of young persons, accusing that these activities lead our nations youth astray and induce violent or antisocial behavior. Novels, music, TV, movies, and now the finger is pointing straight at one of the newest and quickest growing youth pastimes; video games. This particular pastime differs from others in their reality and scope for direct participation, therefore allowing the crusty old curmudgeons to conclude that playing them leads all young people to commit acts of violence. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether or not there is a direct link between violent tendencies and video games.

Some tests claim there is a definite link, others refute it, but both often show very shaky statistics. Most tests simply prove inconclusive. According to an article by Anne D. Walling, a recent study by Drs Bentley and Van Een wyk shows that: Rates of adolescent violence, homicide, weapon carrying, and other markers of antisocial behavior fell consistently during the period when violent video games became ubiquitous, more graphic, and more realistic. (1) This would suggest that youths are using video games as a form of escape. Instead of being out on the streets committing acts of delinquency, they are instead at home, safely playing video games. Walling also provides the combined results from twenty-nine other individual studies of this topic.

The studies all varied greatly in design and quality, preventing any firm determination from being reached. Children of middle school age and younger showed no association between video games and aggression in girls, and both increases and decreases in aggression among boys. Studies of high school students predominately dealt with boys, often using self-report. Both calming and arousing effects were again reported, and no consistent relationship was drawn between violent games and actual behavior. In college students and young adults, results were yet again mixed, but calming effects were more common, particularly if the prior mood was hostile or aggressive (2).

So-called experts like to point their fingers at Eric Harris as an example that violent video games do indeed create violent children. Harris was one of the two teens who opened fire on his classmates at Columbine High school in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, killing thirteen people before shooting himself. According to an article from Current Events, Harris had a self-modified version of Doom, a "Mature" rated game. However, it has since been proven that Harris had a very traumatic home life and a not-so-nice social life ("The Games Kids Play", 2). Such factors, Walling states, .".. are more predictive of youth violence and delinquency" (1). According to Gamespot's Shahed Ahmed, research conducted by several psychologists on the short-term effects of violent video games on kids, recently told the.

".. American Psychological Association that inborn traits are more likely to induce aggressive behavior in children than the direct affect of violent games" (1). Ahmed goes on to explain the experiment in detail. Twenty-five boys and ten girls were given questionnaires, so as to determine their gaming habits.

The children were then allowed to play both violent and relatively non-violent games for a period of fifteen minutes. Afterwards, they were presented with hypothetical situations and were judged on their responses to said scenarios. The researchers were able to conclude that playing violent games does not induce aggressive behavior in the short term. However, they did note that children who were inherently aggressive chose to play the more violent games (1). Many parents and teens argue that no normal kid would be transformed by a video game's violence.

Teens are smart enough to differentiate between reality and fantasy. In an interview, Evil Dead and Spider-Man star Bruce Campbell gave his opinion on violent video games: As long as humans can make the distinction between reality and fantasy, we " re gonna be fine. If you don't want your kid exposed to it, don't get it for him. It's that simple. I think it's funny in this country that we get freaked out about sex, but violence is OK. You can cut a breast off, you just can't kiss it.

("Violence is A-Ok", 1) On a related note, the Surgeon General has made his stance on the matter known. The verdict; there is no link (Varanini, 1). And how has the video game industry reacted to all the negativity directed towards them by parents? Justin Chin, president of Infinite Machine, a video game developer, was recently quoted during a summit concerning violence in games, saying, "We believe in age-appropriate marketing, and we support the ratings system... However, we are not here to debate whether violent games result in violent behavior". The summit was organized and held by the International Game Developers Association.

The IGDA hopes to build awareness among the game development community of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) rating system and to establish lines of communication within the ESRB to help provide ratings recommendations. Richard Hillman, vice president in charge of production for Electronic Arts, stated, "It is critical that developers take artistic responsibility for the content they create. The IGDA's Violence Committee will work to help developers understand what they can do to address this issue conscientiously" (Satterfield, 1). Apparently, the gaming industry does care, despite what many parents may think.

Often times parents also tend to still view video games as child's toys, wondering why developers would even create violent games for kids. But one thing they forget is that video games are not new. Remember the Nintendo Entertainment System? Or what about the Atari? Or better yet, the Commodore 64? Videogames may have originally been intended for children, but according to Lev Grossman, studies show that the average American gamer is now in his twenties (2).

And while his tastes may have matured, video games haven't been allowed to grow up with him. Grossman states that. ".. there has been a demographic shift in who's playing. You " re telling a 25-year-old that he's supposed to play with a hedgehog?" (2). Incase you " re out of the loop, he's referring to Sega's Mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog, who fits squarely in the kid dy-game market. Numerous tests have now proven that there seems to be no direct link to violent behavior and playing violent video games. Studies even show that adolescent crime has decreased as video games have become more realistic and graphic, showing that they seem to have a more calming effect on kids.

As long as people can continue to differentiate between what's real and what's not, we should be just fine. However, as long as there are crusty old curmudgeons out there who are afraid of things they don't understand, then video games will always be under heavy fire.

Bibliography

Ahmed, Shahed. "Further Investigation of Violence and Gaming". Gamespot. 6 August 2000.
8 April 2003".
The Games Kids Play: Are Mature Video Games Too Violent for Teens?" Current Events 7 February 2003: 3.
Grossman, Lev. "Bus jacking for Grownups". Time November 2002: 80-81.
Satterfield, Shane. "IGDA Holds Game Violence Summit". Gamespot. 8 January 2001.
Varanini, Giancarlo. "Violent Media May not be to Blame". Gamespot. 8 February 2001.
Violence is A-Ok". Electronic Gaming Monthly August 2002: 13.
Walling, Anne D. "Do Video Games Lead to Violent Behavior in Children?" American Family Physician 65 (2002): 1436-1437.