Video Game Violence Essay

As the level of violence in video games increases, so does the level of concern for those who play them. Some people are quick to blame school shootings on games just because the kid played a “violent” game. “The topic of videogames and violence can be compared to the chicken or the egg question, which came first, violent games or violent behavior”(Violence and Videogames). However most kids in mass shootings tend to have easy access to guns and are mentally unstable.

The article, “The Truth About Video Games and Gun Violence” by Erik Kain discusses how video games and gun violence correlates. The author opens up with someone by the name of Aaron Alexis who resorted to gun violence while playing video games that contained violence. There is a violent video game that scares parents and behavioral experts. There has been a debate on whether people who play video games later have violent behavior. Throughout the years, video games continue to show images portraying violence.

Can violent video games truly be a cause of real violence in our adolescents? Can they really lead to such terrible tragedies and massacres like the one at Columbine high school? That is exactly what writer John Leo is suggesting in his essay, “When Life Imitates Video.” He starts us off here by pointing out the similarities between the actions taken during the Littleton massacre and the events of video games like the two shooters often played; and he criticizes the plethora of shooting games available today and how realistic they are. These games that are played by so many today, Leo warns, could “blur the boundary between fantasy and reality.”

The most extensive argument many have argued toward violent video games affecting one’s behavior can simply be described as that many shooters were fans of violent video games before committing the shootings. A common example people making this argument raise are the Columbine shooters, who were big fans of the video game Doom. While many believe that Doom’s excessive gore and violence led the two teens to perpetrate the mass shooting, that is not the case. What those who argue against video games fail to realize that those who commit these crimes had a history of other conditions. After many mass shootings, researchers often discovered in autopsies that the suspect had a long history of aggression or mental health problems that gaming was not responsible for. Patrick Markey and Christopher J. Ferguson, writers for US News, wrote

Many mass shooters past reveal an obsession with video games or a fictional character. For example; Aaron Alexis, who committed the Washington Navy Yard massacre, had an obsession with video games. He played for a typical 5 hours a day without sleep or breaks. His favorite games were first person shooters, and he was known as the “ headshot king “ to his online friends. CNN conducted a survey in 2013 about the violent tendencies of college students and video games. “Violent games also decrease helping behavior and feelings of empathy for others. The effects occurred for males and females of all ages, regardless of what country they lived in. The effects of these games go beyond making players more aggressive. In our research, we found that people who played first-person shooting games were more accurate than others when firing a realistic gun at a mannequin -- and more likely to aim for and hit the head.” ( Bushman 3 ). With the rise in the popularity of the gaming for younger children, could the next American mass shooter be the 9 year old neighbor you have next

“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!

Whether violent media content leads to real-life violence is always debatable. And in recent years, school shootings have made video games a new focus of public concern and scientific research. In public opinion, video games cause more aggression in comparison to traditional violent media contents because video games have more features of interactivity, "due to the active engagement and participation of players" (Hummer and Wang et al. 137). But more and more reports tell us that video games are not the main cause of school shooting issues; rather it is the negligence of parents, schools, and communities.

After the elementary school shooting of Sandy Hook in 2012 this issue of violent video games became a hot issue calling for a connection of violence to video games. However, the final investigative report suggested that he was more a fan of nonviolent games (Ferguson, 2015). Video game violence is an issue that continues to be studied due to the inability to come to a general conclusion on whether or not the games provoke violence in connection to mass shootings. With shootings occurring and receiving mass coverage the media and public often seek a person/item to place the blame on. After the tragic events that left people dead or injured one of the topics that emerged was that of video games affects/effects on the person.

Playing video games does not cause violent behavior. Don’t get me wrong, some video games show horrific acts of violence. “A recent survey found that 92 percent of U.S. kids--ages 2 to 17--play video games, and their parents bought 225 million of them last year to the tune of $6.4 billion.” (Sider 79).What’s here to argue is that violent video games do not cause violence among children, but the blame for violence should be on the individual and people who should have taught the individual better. If kids are not able to see the difference between reality and fantasy, then they really can’t be blamed for committing acts they see in a game and then imitating, not fully understanding the consequences of doing it in the real world.

According to the article “Sandy Hook Killer Took Motive To This Grave” written in 2013 by Matt Smith, a CNN journalist, Adam Lanza killed 20 first graders and 6 adults with a semiautomatic rifle in December of 2012. Michael Casey, a CBS News journalist who wrote, “Do Violent Video Games Lead to Criminal Behavior” in 2015, stated that Adam Lanza “was obsessed with violent video games” and that these games caused him to shoot up this old school, in Connecticut. This is one very tragic and sad example of how games that showcase simulated violence manipulate people into becoming over aggressive and to develop horrible

Ninety-eight percent of pediatricians say violent video games lead to aggression. Eight out of ten researchers say violent video games lead to violent behavior. Studies show children who play violent video games usually bully. Video games also reward the player for violence, which teaches players that violence leads to rewards. Violent video games teach people to aim for the more lethally vulnerable parts of the body like the head. The teenagers who attacked Columbine High School which is located in Colorado, in 1999, were highly interested in violent video games. Another attacker, who attacked a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado, also had a high interest in violent video games. Two Tennessee teens who shot at driving cars told police they got the idea from Grand Theft Auto the highly violent video game.

“On Tuesday, November 2, while the rest of the country was voting, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in Schwarzenegger v. EMA, the landmark case in which the state of California is petitioning for the re-instatement of a California law banning the sale of deviant or morbid violent video games to minors” (Macris). This case is a current example of the opponents of video games trying to prove video games are a bad influence on children and teenagers. Violent video game opponents have always tried to disprove the positive effects of video games. They also have been known to make up and

“Head shot! That guy was destroyed!” These are just some examples of the dialogue spoken between children who play video games like “Call of Duty” or “Halo.” Children brag about the number of people they have killed in these games. Playing violent video games may cause children to act violently. First, violent video games train players to act aggressively by repeatedly killing an enemy over and over. Second, children mimic what they see, whether it’s in real life or on a video screen. Third, being exposed to the violent behaviors of the game, dead bodies, and blood, make the players insensitive to violence. Because the violence from video games affects the behavior of children, violent video games should not be available for purchase by anyone under age eighteen.

People will be surprise for what I am going to talk about. To start I have to tell a little bit about the topic “video games”. Video games is any electronically game played with the help of controller and consoles connected to a television or a computer. People can find different kinds of video games as action, shooters action adventure, and management simulation, role playing games, strategy and racing. The first video games were created by scientist and programmers after the Second World War. The first video games simulated shot missiles to objects flying. But until 1972 was created the first home video system called Magnavox Odyssey. This video games were too simple that people only can move and objet down and up. One of the famous games was called “Ping Pong”. But Sonny and Microsoft revolutionized video games making them more enjoyable and complex. Now days people can play video games everywhere and anytime with the help of a console or computer. People can play online with gamers from different countries around the world. Now I can start, people hear about video games always think about violence. But what they do not know it is that besides violence exist other big problem that can be new for all of them. It is called addictions. Aviv Malkiel Weinstein said that “Computer game addiction is excessive or compulsive use of computers and video games that may interfere with daily life”. How a person who play video games can become an addicted? It can be

“ Video game violence has become a highly politicized issue for scientists and the general public ” ( Ferguson, 2007 p309). The video game is always controversial as some of them contain sexual and violence and so on. Especially some violence games were played by the adolescents. Adolescents are very fragility. Violent video games are negative for the children which will impact their social relationship, their health and make them has aggressive behavior.