Video Games, Violence And Aggression

Recent mass shootings have made the public question the unclear motives of the people behind such destructive behaviour. Unfortunately, many individuals have jumped to rash conclusions regarding the causes of such events by linking violent video games with violence in the youth population. Even more discerning individuals have also criticized the role of violent video games in encouraging people to become mass murderers. With these opinions gaining popularity in the mass media, it has become the predominant belief of society to explain why there are more shootings recently. Such claims are usually driven by opinionated reasoning instead of scientific research, so it is much easier for the popular media to formulate such ostentatious theories. This can be seen with professional bloggers, Lyndee Fletcher and Ralph Nader, who are adamant that there is an obvious link between violent video games and the recent mass shootings. As seen in their respective articles published in 2015 and 1999, the controversial opinion on the effects of violent video games have left lasting impressions on the public to believe that frequent exposure has created adolescent mass murderers. This only demonstrates that the predominant belief regarding violent video games and mass shootings over the past two decades is resilient despite the empirical research studies refuting their opinionated claims based. Researchers have tried to establish a scientific basis for understanding in society, but it still

There are probably millions and billions of video games sold every year to people. Some people seem to believe that violence correlates directly with video games. Video games are something that is usually a big interest in people at the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Video games usually start off as a little fun and then turn into a major hobby for some people. Emotions change based on whatever happens while a person is engaging in these games most of the time. These games are another way to observe how people react emotionally to these games.

Since we live in a technology age, technology is being formed into entertainment for people of all ages such as video games and television. Although, these forms of entertainment are a good way to stay informed, they can also be corrupting different ages Behavior differentiation has been an all-time high for children all over the U.S, and many researchers have found the reasoning to why these changes are happening. This is tied behind the non-socially acceptable behaviors to violence and type content that is put out through technological entertainment (Carnagey, N. L., Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J., 2007). Video games today are made completely different then many years ago; in today’s world you could find a gaming console in every household. Most games today try to connect you into a game mentally, which will overall try and make you a part of any type of game. The visual effects of video games unfortunately stay with a child as they grow up, children may think that what they have seen are could be perform in society. Different topics will be addressed throughout this paper such as how violence and aggression can be influential in the real world, the different effects video games can have on the brain, the negative effects of violent video games on behavior, how addiction of games can lead to other serious addictions, concerns on social development

One of the main causes that make individuals more violent in real life is playing video games. Most violent video games show violence as a positive thing not a negative one. When aggression occurs in a video game, the player is not punished but awarded. This shows them that violence is okay and that if they try that situation in real life, they will also be rewarded. “In a study of video games, in 98 percent of them aggression went unpunished” ( Studies have shown that children that play teen- mature rated games for least 40 minutes a day may witness over 180 incidents of aggression per day or 5400 incidents per month. In video games, the violent is shown up close. This is a

The Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior: Potential Sex Differences study that was conducted by Bruce D. Bartholow, of University of Missouri – Columbia, and Craig A. Anderson, of Iowa State University, examined how playing a violent video game affected levels of aggression displayed in a laboratory setting. Recently, violent behavior in children and teenagers has gained more and more attention as video games have become more popular. The study mentions that, in contrast to Eastern cultures, Western culture believes that people are responsible for their own individual behaviors. In modern times, after school shootings, reports indicate or lead toward that the shooters were viewed as loners or outsiders within the student body.

Video game violence has remained a controversy for numerous years. With the advancement of technology, video games have progressed in its practicality and genres. Technology has allowed video games to become very sophisticated and lifelike. This development has brought video games to a multi-billion dollar industry. Nevertheless, with the level of practicality, there are also negative affects to humanity. Since the manufacture of violent video games, there has been a constant quarrel whether or not violent video games increase fierceness in the player. Studies display concerns about the effect of violent video games on young individuals who play videogames disproportionately. Although some individuals believe that violent video games have

Video Games are a form of media that continues to grow throughout society. As it grows and becomes fully adopted by adults and children alike, it seems as though a shroud of controversy follows suit. Many parents and those alike seem very afraid or reluctant to let their children play video games in today’s age. They fear for the long term affects such games might have on their children or even the short term effects. Many people see a correlation between aggressive behavior, violent moods, and bullying, when violent video games are in the equation. It seems as though it’s popular in today’s media to try and find a scapegoat or a specific target to point the finger and say, “it’s their fault!” video games have become that target. The following four literature reviews will explore research conducted on the effects of violent video games on human behavior, and try to reveal more light on the controversial topic.

Statistics show that 10 minutes into playing a violent video game the average person becomes desensitized to the fact that they are killing someone. Now it it may seem like nothing when you play these games. But when people, especially children play them often it starts to become the only thing that they think about. Even if it is “just a character” in a game it becomes so to them to pull that trigger. I’ve witnessed this happen in my own household and I don’t hesitate to say: violent video games are poisonous to the brain.

The effect of violent video games on children’s behavior has been the major concern of numerous researchers over the last several decades. Indeed, a great number of researches conducted by psychologists show that regular exposure to violent video games has both long-term and short-term negative effects on a player’s behavior. Aggressiveness and lack of empathy are considered to be two main outcomes of constant playing games with violent content. However, it should be noted that the content is not the only criteria that should be taken into account when measuring games’ effects on behavior. Indeed, much attention should be paid to the difficulty of games and time spent on playing. Thus, a brief overview of studies concerning the violent video games effect and those disproving this idea along with the analysis of other factors affecting children’s behavior such as moral standards and family environment will show that violent video games are not principal factors that affect children’s behavior and cause child violence.

The U.S.A. has had its share of horrific tragedies in the past few decades – mass shootings, homicides, domestic violence, terrorist attacks, just to name a few. It is difficult to fathom what could possibly motivate someone to demonstrate such an act of violence and terror. Could it be that playing video games with murderous themes and watching violent movies cause aggression in users? To what degree does violent media affect people’s behavioral patterns? Furthermore, because the lives of people are at risk, hypotheses that claim playing violent video games have no mental or emotional effects on the majority of people are entirely wrong. Instead, the concern should be focused on the different small groups of people who are affected by violent games; thus, correctly interpreting the causes of aggression is critical to understanding the current issues in a country that tolerates violent video games.

Not only that, losing in a game invokes the feeling of frustration as well. Similarly, these feelings are often seen in the real world. For example, football watchers often exhibit frustration when their favorite team loses a match against a formidable foe. In few cases, this leads to destroying objects around the house to release the anger that comes from defeat. Similarly, video game players experience frustration such as playing games such as Golf with Friends and fails to perform a hole in one. Thus, this leads to aggressive behavior such as exhibiting profanity. Although unlike football, video games receive backlash from media that they cause violent behavior. Although, Paul Tassi argues that video causes aggressiveness; however, he claims that it comes mostly from the fact that players tend to become frustrated due to losing rather than the content of the game (4). Therefore, the experience of losing causes aggressive behavior rather than the game itself. For example, players can express aggravation when they encounter games like Mario, where they miss to land a jump and fall to their death which results in starting all over from the beginning. Although, some may argue that the frustration creates violent behavior. Although it may be true to a certain degree, this does not mean that everyone will become violent simply from being frustrated. In fact, it mostly depends on the person's tolerances of experiences of failure or lack of mastery. Overall, video games are not

The violent video game controversy has been an issue since the 1970s, so it is time for a solution to be found. An arcade game that was developed was played by the player running over stick figures with a car. These stick figures were supposed to represent gremlins and not people, so protestors took the arcade game out into the parking lot to burn it. A website clarifies, “The debate over violent video games can be traced back to the 1976 release of the game Death Race” (ProCon.org). The effects of video games on children is a debate regarding the mentality of children as they play these games. A mother buys a video game for her son that has been begging for days. She walks in without bothering to look at the rating. Although on the case the game is rated “M” for mature audiences. The boy plays for hours on end as soon as he gets the game. Every day for the next week he sits and plays the game. He is immersed in the game, shooting enemies on the battlefield. He begins behaving aggressively at school towards his classmates. His mother wonders why, but it finally clicks that this did not happen until after the video game. She needs to find a solution and fast before this starts getting out of hand. The solution that makes the most sense is for children to be moderated as they play violent video games by their parents.

“...players can also be hunting for mutations that cause cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, or diabetes”(Mohammadi). Most people think that violent video games and video games in general serve no beneficial purposes. That is not necessarily true because violent video games can help solve problems and be contributive to society, distract those who are prone to violence, also violent crimes and actions are not influenced by violent video games.

RUNNING HEAD:VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES AND VIOLENT BEHAVIOR1Violent Video Games and Violent BehaviorJuan HerradaGlendale Community College

The effects of media consumption on behavioral tendencies have long been the subject of both popular and academic scrutiny. Specifically, it is widely accepted that over-exposure to depictions of violence in media can lead to desensitization to violent content and even short-term aggressive behavior. From a psychological perspective (but not from a sociological one), this is hard to dispute as there are numerous studies which confirm this phenomenon although these studies have also been the victim of sensationalist interpretations and representations. Essentially what has been postulated is a simple cause-and-effect relationship: media exposure leads to a behavioral change. And as of recently, video games, in particular, have been the subject of increased scrutiny in the context of this relationship and once again there is evidence to support such a relationship. However, a review of available data published by the American Psychological Association (Granic, Lobels, & Engels, 2014) has suggested that another, more positive cause-and-effect relationship may be at work with this type of media as it has grown in visibility and mainstream acceptance.