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Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression
Biology 202
2003 Second Web Paper
On Serendip
Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression
Grace Shin
There is a huge hype surrounding the launch of every new game system - Game Cube, XBox, and Sony Playstation 2 being just few of the latest. Affecting children age 4 all the way to 45 year-old adults, these video games have called for concern in our society regarding issues such as addiction, depression, and even aggression related to the playing of video games. A recent study of children in their early teens found that almost a third played video games daily, and that 7% played for at least 30 hours a week. (1) What is more, some of these games being played like Mortal Combat, Marvel Vs. Capcom, and Doom are very interactive in the violence of slaughtering the opponent. The video game industries even put signs like "Real-life violence" and "Violence level - not recommended for children under age of 12" on their box covers, arcade fronts, and even on the game CDs themselves.
In the modern popular game Goldeneye 007 bad guys no longer disappear in a cloud of smoke when killed. Instead they perform an elaborate maneuver when killed. For example, those shot in the neck fall to their knees and then face while clutching at their throats. Other games such as Unreal Tournament and Half-Life are gorier. In these games when characters get shot a large spray of blood covers the walls and floor near the character, and on the occasions when explosives are used, the characters burst into small but recognizable body parts. In spite of the violence, the violent video games are also the more popular games on the market. (2) When video games first came out, indeed they were addictive... however, there seems to be a strong correlation now between the violent nature of games these days and the aggressive tendencies in game players.
On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Although nothing is for certain as to why these boys did what they did, we do know that Harris and Klebold both enjoyed playing the bloody, shoot-'em-up video game Doom, a game licensed by the U.S. military to train soldiers to effectively kill. The Simon Wiesenthal Center, which tracks Internet hate groups, found in its archives a copy of Harris' web site with a version of Doom. He had customized it so that there were two shooters, each with extra weapons and unlimited ammunition, and the other people in the game could not fight back. For a class project, Harris and Klebold made a videotape that was similar to their customized version of Doom. In the video, Harris and Klebold were dressed in trench coats, carried guns, and killed school athletes. They acted out their videotaped performance in real life less than a year later... (3)
Everyone deals with stress and frustrations differently. However when action is taken upon the frustration and stress, and the action is taken out in anger and aggression, the results may be very harmful to both the aggressor and the person being aggressed against, mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Aggression is action, i.e. attacking someone or a group with an intent to harm someone. It can be a verbal attack--insults, threats, sarcasm, or attributing nasty motives to them--or a physical punishment or restriction. Direct behavioral signs include being overly critical, fault finding, name-calling, accusing someone of having immoral or despicable traits or motives, nagging, whining, sarcasm, prejudice, and/or flashes of temper. (4) The crime and abuse rate in the United States has soared in the past decade. More and more children suffer from and are being treated for anger management than ever before. Now, one can't help but to wonder if these violent video games are even playing a slight part in the current statistics. I believe they do.
Calvert and Tan (5) compared the effects of playing versus observing violent video games on young adults' arousal levels, hostile feelings, and aggressive thoughts. Results indicated that college students who had played a violent virtual reality game had a higher heart rate, reported more dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts in a posttest than those who had played a nonviolent game do. A study by Irwin and Gross (6) sought to identify effects of playing an "aggressive" versus "nonaggressive" video game on second-grade boys identified as impulsive or reflective. Boys who had played the aggressive game, compared to those who had played the nonaggressive game, displayed more verbal and physical aggression to inanimate objects and playmates during a subsequent free play session. Moreover, these differences were not related to the boys' impulsive or reflective traits. Thirdly, Kirsh (7) also investigated the effects of playing a violent versus a nonviolent video game. After playing these games, third- and fourth-graders were asked questions about a hypothetical story. On three of six questions, the children who had played the violent game responded more negatively about the harmful actions of a story character than did the other children. These results suggest that playing violent video games may make children more likely to attribute hostile intentions to others.
In another study by Karen E. Dill, Ph.D. & Craig A. Anderson,
Ph.D., violent video games were considered to be more harmful in
increasing aggression than violent movies or television shows due to
their interactive and engrossing nature. (8)
The two studies showed that aggressive young men were especially
vulnerable to violent games and that even brief exposure to violent
games can temporarily increase aggressive behavior in all types of
participants.
The first study was conducted with 227 college students with aggressive
behavior records in the past and who completed a measure of trait
aggressiveness. They were also reported to have habits of playing video
games. It was found that students, who reported playing more violent
video games in junior and high school, engaged in more aggressive
behavior. In addition, the time spent playing video games in the past
were associated with lower academic grades in college, which is a
source of frustration for many students, a potential cause for anger
and aggression as discussed in the previous paragraph.
In the second study, 210 college students were allowed to play Wolfenstein 3D, an extremely violent game, or Myst, a nonviolent game. After a short time, it was found that the students who played the violent game punished an opponent for a longer period of time compared to the students who played the non violent game. Dr. Anderson concluded by saying, "Violent video games provide a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. It the short run, playing a violent video game appears to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts." Despite the fact that this study was for a short term effect, longer term effects are likely to be possible as the player learns and practices new aggression-related scripts that can become more and more accessible for the real-life conflict that may arise. (9)
The U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop once claimed that arcade and home video games are among the top three causes of family. Although there have been studies that have found video game violence to have little negative effects on their players, there are also many studies that have found a positive correlation between negative behavior, such as aggression, and video and computer game violence. Thus, in order to totally assess the effects of game violence on its users, the limiting conditions under which there are effects must be taken into account, which include age, gender, and class/level of education. (10) However, violent games do affect children, as the studies show, especially early teens, and I feel that there needs to be a stricter regulation regarding the availability of these games to young children.
References
2) Game Research Website, covering the art, the business, and the science of computer games.
3) American Psychological Association, Article on the main study discussed in this paper.
4) Mental Help Net, Psychological Self-Help. This site has a lot of interesting links to mental illnesses and just understanding personalities.
5) Calvert, Sandra L., & Tan, Siu-Lan. (1994). Impact of virtual reality on young adults' physiological arousal and aggressive thoughts: Interaction versus observation. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 15(1), 125-139. PS 527 971.
6) Irwin, A. Roland, & Gross, Alan M. (1995). Cognitive tempo, violent video games, and aggressive behavior in young boys. Journal of Family Violence, 10(3), 337-350.
7) Kirsh, Steven J. (1997, April). Seeing the world through "Mortal Kombat" colored glasses: Violent video games and hostile attribution bias. Poster presented at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Washington, DC.
8) SelfhelpMagazine. Article under teen help. It is a great library of various mental disorders and personal growth topics!
9) American Psychological Association.
10) Internet Impact This paper is a collaborative essay consisting of research and policy recommendations on the impact of the Internet in society.
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Continuing conversation
(to contribute your own observations/thoughts, post in the Video Game Experiences Forum on Serendip) 06/21/2005, from a Reader on the Web According to an article in the New York Daily News http://www.nydailynews.com/06-20-2005/city_life/tech/story/320762p-274211c.html), the latest controversial video game, “25 To Life,” is the most outrageous promotion of violence the game developers have pushed onto the market yet. It’s almost like a training simulator, preparing gamers to join gangs, murder policemen and use innocent civilians as human shields. Let the good times roll, eh? Shockingly enough, I’m a 22-year-old male who considers himself a casual gamer, which probably places me in most game developers’ targeted demographic. Still, I believe this sort of “entertainment” should be banned completely, not just from children. Why should anyone of any age delight in simulating gang activity, murder, theft and the like? Unfortunately Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stands as the only politician attempting to block “25 To Life” from hitting store shelves. If the Patriot Act brands people terrorists just for checking out certain books at the library, why are people who develop, purchase and play these types of games given a free pass? As a gamer, I know how serious games can become to certain individuals - especially young ones – and I believe allowing material such as “25 To Life” onto the market corrupts not only our children, but our society as a whole. Michael Ford Editor-in-Chief The Voice - http://www.uamont.edu/Organizations/TheVoice/
Ignarants is that in which you make of it don't blame Columbine on video games that is stupid they did it because the dudes girl friend broke up with him. Don't read the news they lie. The cop next door knew he was making pipe bombs and did nothing. you might as well blame 9/11 on video games to. come on people play the games if it makes you viloent your right if it doesn't the rest of the world told you so.......
I was reading your article entitled Video Games: A cause of Violence and Agression, I'm doing a research project of my own for a personal Essay but upon reading your article I noticed somthing. In paragraph four you state "THe crime and abuse rate in the United States has soared in the past decade." Well, I'm sorry to say this information is faulty. The case of Violent Crime Rates has dropped significantly. According to the U.S Department of Justice, Bureau of statistics, the crime rate has dropped by more then half from 1995 to 2004. You can see all this for youself at: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/viort.htm . I'm a gamer myself, and a bit tired of seeing these "Video games make you a killer" stories. This isn't a threat against you or yours, it's merely a response asking people to do some research from all angles before stating that something is a certain way. Sincerely,
In the article titled "Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression," the study that was sited left me feeling a little confused. The players that played "Wolfenstein 3D" were said to have "punished an opponent for a longer period of time compared to the students who played the non violent game." What exactly is meant by that? In "Myst" there are no opponents, and it is not a competitive game. Competitive events, in any form, have a tendency to cause a bit of agression between people, as that is the nature of competetion.
This article is very wrong in alot of places. First off, I would like to say that I am an avid "gamer," devoting a sizeable amount of my life to playing them. But, more importantly, I will be getting into the video game industry, hopefully starting my own company eventually, and succeeding in this million-dollar industry. But more than I play games, I edit them. The sequel to Half-Life (in which all humans retain their body parts), Half-Life 2, comes with a program called "Source SDK," which allows gamers like me to open up and edit the engine that they slaved over for moths to bring us, allowing us to make maps (or levels), characters, objects, even editing the game itself. I spend easily three times the time I play the actual game editing it and making things happen, which is the beauty of it. On your statement about how crime and violence has soared in numbers in the U.S. as of late, this is not a true statement, be it purposefully or a fault of poor research. Violent crimes, carjackings, and others have drastically DROPPED since 1975. I suggest you read the letter Steven Johnston sent to Sen. Hilary Clinton about her attack on violent games. But, as I doubt you will read it, I'll tell you the main points: First off, isn't it possible that kids that would normally be out commiting violent crimes or joyriding are getting their fill from argueably the most violent and inappropriate game of our time, the Grand Theft Auto series? Recent studies have shown that games work as a stress-reliever, allowing you to let out your anger or stress in a realistic but harmless way. Second, when people say that our generation of people (I'm 16 years old) is being raised to be unintelligent, violent, untrusting people, they need to look up on the recent statistics: SAT scores have never been higher, especially now. I'm not saying that there aren't a handful of kids out there who take a little too much from violent games and other forms of entertainment (my brother happens to have an anger disorder), but I am saying that if you even think that your kid may take the game a little too seriously, start smaller and work your way up. Taking violent games off the market completely is not the answer. After all, why should the sane, intelligent, or sound kids have to pay for a parent not saying "No" in the first place?
Dear Grace Shin, As a result of reading over my previous e-mail, i'd like to appologize for my use of unnecesary comments. But that doesnt mean that my original views have changed. The original response that was written, was done so in the heat of reading a "finger pointing" article such as the one you wrote. The most blatantly offensive comment that you made, was the tie between the video game 'Doom' and the Columbine trajedy. It is comments like these that are extremely offensive to anyone who is a fan of gaming in general. I am a teenager, who attends a public high school. I enjoy playing video games, and i must admit that most of them are violent. I play these games on a weekly basis, but to this day i haven't commited a single act of violence in a school building. The same holds true with my friends, and many people like my friends across the country. This means that the children who have commited acts of violence and blamed their actions on video games, have other mental illnesses that stir these thoughts. Depression, anger issues and a myriad of other problems would be enough to distort a child's view of the difference between reality and video games. A popular arguement used to counter the arguement i just made, is the scanning of the brain during game play. In tests conducted by various medical institutes across the nation, brain scan images have been captured during game-play. The images are conclusive, and show red blips in the frontal lobes of the brain (areas that control emotions, such as anger). These results shouldnt be shocking, but very obvious. Video games are stimulating. Their purpose and intent is to involve you. If a person is involved in a game, he/she will begin to react to events inside the game, as if they were real life events. Fairly simple, but not enough to prove that video games cause children to become more violent. The way to answer this question would be to observe children's behavior after playing games. The results would aslo be conclusive. Video games DO NOT cause children to commit acts of violence. Columbines' dont happen every day, and thank god they don't. They are rare occurances in our country, despite all of the media hype over the situations. If video games had a negatice affect on children, horrible examples of school-yard violence would appear on our television screens every night, considering that msot youth in america play video games. As a final note, if you search any major database sites, looking for information on this same subject, chances are that you will find line graphs that have been compiled by different government associasions, fcc, etc. etc. The information shows a very steady and gradual dive in violence across the nation, even after the release of video games such as Grand Theft Auto.
You cannot generalize the few finds you have to "empirical facts". First of all, video games are not all violent. Second, there are researches that prove otherwise. Third, there are so many fallacies, I do not even bother to list them (appeal to authority, emotion, etc.) Overall argument is incoherent. Fails to even mention the possibility of being wrong.
I think its ridiculous that so many people are going around and pointing the finger at things that are violent and negative towards kids. Its only a way of having fun. Only those few individuals take it to far and commite acts of violence toward people, and society, and they ruin it for the rest of us. Not everyone that plays video games is a violent person they merely enjoy those types of games like my self for example. I personally am not a voilent person and take offense to the fact that if u play video games you are labeled violent. Sincerly, RB
As a gamer I know that certain people take there video games too seriously. However, video games themselves are not to blame for violence. The highest population of gamers is younger people, and younger people are usually living at home. This is where parenting comes in. A parent should watch there children, monitor there game play, and note any variances in there childrens actions. Some people cannot decipher fantasy from reality, and these should people not play games that involve violence. I have played video games for many, many years. I have not yet comitted a violent crime, nor have I attacked anyone. Why? Simply because I know that these things are wrong in real life. My parents monitored me, and did not let me play overly-violent games at a young age. Good parenting is the key.
I was reading your article and I'm sorry, but I disagree with you on some things. I'm 17 years old and a gamer myself. I own some gory games like the Silent Hill games, Metal Gear 3: Snake Eater, God of War, HALO, HALO 2, and so on. I'm currently writing a paper myself about teens and violent games and I firmmly believe it isn't the video game that triggers teen violence, it depends on the individual. I've played these violent games since I was 11 or 12 years old and I'm not affected by them. I have a strong sense between fantasy and reality and some other teens do too. Don't judge us all because a portion of us have minds like sponges and suck everything they see. Not only video games, MTV and the media along with rap songs also corrupt our young generation. Look at those too, because they're the ones that cause the most damage. By encouraging pre-marital sex, abortion, drug use, and corruption in a person's being by being "cool". But no, not a lot of people look at those. It is true that games can be addicting but not every single teenager has the same brain. Study those who aren't affected, then you'll see it too. Adults can stop teen violence other ways like better parenting. Because this corrupted society needs it.
I am writing a paper concerning violence in video games and how easy kids are able to get there hands on them. It is unbelievable what games that kids at the age of tweleve can get there hands on. once when i was babing sitting the kids had a friend over and there friend had Grand theft Auto: San Andras with him. i was shocked for the first part that his parents would allow him to play such game. he had saved game file on which he had played for many 20 hours. That was kid that was under 10. I thought why in the world would you allow your kids to play a such game. one problem with it is that game like GTA and others never really so some of the peprecuctions of murdering someone of killing them. If look that most gamers that are over the age of 18. under 50% of them play games that are rated M. That says that most of people playing games that are rated M are below age 18 not even legal to buy them. The government need to come out with laws simlar to laws they have with Alcohol or Cigerettes. The giving to minors is illegal.
Interesting analysis on the societal impact of violent games. I do, however, take issue with the statement regarding the military using Doom to train soldiers how to "effectively kill". According to the official MCMSMO document 1500.55, the use of Marine Doom and other first-person shooter video games is to "implement military thinking and decision making excercises throughout the marine corps." The assertion that the military uses a video game to train soldiers how to kill is misleading in that it may lead readers to believe that these games are so real that the best fighting force on the planet is using it to train. You don't learn how to kill from a keyboard and mouse. You either are someone who has the ability to kill, or you're not. Lack of parenting and a lack of understading of what is right and wrong is to blame, not video games.
Your idealalidgy on the violence in video games affeting people is flawed. I am a violent video game player and yet my family has told me themselves that have noticed a change in my temper or personality. I've played violent video game for half my life. And the Columbine shootings I belive that they were provoced to do to extrem bullying.
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i'm a more than average gamer.. i probably play about 10+ hours a day. and about 100% of the games i play are violent, and i used to live in an area that was really rough and there were fights and arguments all the time. except i never shot anyone or drove my truck over people. cause violent cideo games dont make people into pyscho's... people 'choose' to hurt other people... videogames dont force people to pull the trigger. and since i was raised by a single parent, tv and games helped raise me.
actually i think video games kept me outta trouble... if i didnt have a video-game to play i'd probably be getting stoned or smoking crack right now.. or in jail. i think the government needs to crack down on illegal drugs and on finding cure's for diseases... why the hell would you spend 90 million dollars to start research on the effect of media on children ... Reader on the web, 14 March 2006
i believe that although you present a good argument about how games MIGHT affect a child's brain and personality, but, you must realize this. if you TRULY believe that video games cause violence, then how would you be able to explain Hitler? how about Napoleaon? Or even the terrorists that many of our youth's games depict today? i highly doubt that any of the insurgents are playing any violent games right now. nor, i doubt, even the Children of iraq and afghanistan, yet studies show that 1 out of 3 children in those countries know how to shoot and kill U.S soldiers. thank you for your time and please take this to heart before writing any thing that might be untrue ... Reader on the web, 20 April 2006
I play violent video games and my family has yet to say I am more aggresive in personality. But you still have a point since i'm me and the people who are influenced to kill by video games are them. The point is that all you have to do is to not become obsessed with games that have lots of gore ... Decoy, 20 August 2006
I love playing video games on my game console, and spend plenty of hours perched in front of the tv. Yet even i have to acknowledge that games can, and do cause violence. When you have games that are so graphic, that had they been put in a movie sequence their rating would be "x", then i think that you have gone to far. Life like graphics are cool, and i myself love to play "life like" games were the enemies and characters could almost be standing beside you. However, when you go around in a game killing these life like people, you enevitably desensitize yourself. There is a mark where you have gone too far, and i believe that we are crossing it over and over again ... Rae, 18 December 2006
Well. I ccame here looking for statistics but instead found a lot of interesting comments.
Playing video games doesn't make you violent. Human nature and suceptibility does. Violence is a "learned" behavior not substantialy (as of yet but to be determined) an inherent behavior.
If thats not in the report or whatever up there, then it needs to be acknoledged. The point a LOT of people gloss over is that its not a matter of \"being\" violent so much as being impressionable. Although gaming related violence research HAS shown there to be a strong coorelation between agressive behaviour and post-gaming violent behavior, there is a distinct lack of longitudinal research.
Also there are two main aspects to clinical study Arousel, and then the actual comission of the act. Arousel has been shown to have almost no bearing on the actual act due to the fact that observe violent behavior has not occured directly after the moment of arousel.
In other words, just because you enjoy the violent activity of a game, doesn't mean you ARE violent at all OR because of the game. What is being studied is that statistical occurance of agressive behavior in people with prolonged exposure to violent games.
If you've played video games you know that 1. Some games are violent. 2. Some aren't.
I noticed some of you have acknowledged the "competative" nature of video games. This learned sense of competition is fine but is not to be associated with "agressive behavior" there is a distinct line between number of goals and number of frags. The issue is the Violence, not the the rules.
In summary I say to all who worry about being accused of being "violent": Don't sweat it and don't get your hackles raised. The debate is over the usual badd apples, or kids who didn't and thus still do't, have the right behavioral reinforcement. Ideal preventive measures start from birth, but practicly are documented to be administered from age 8 and continue through adolescence.
To put it in a lay manner: Its because of the tools, that our favorite games are being attacked. And as an afterthought. The group who were studied playing the game "Myst"(if that was the case) was most likely a control group or a "backlight" group to help identify the differences between violent games and games in general, OR violence free games ... W. Caudill, 16 February 2007
I, for one, am one of the many teens that play violent video games. And, i do beleive that cause aggrivation to sprout betweent to people versing each other. Also that MMORPG's cause people to have a sense of connection to their character, making them rather play, for instance, World of Warcraft than doing academic work. Plus when parents are trying to get their teen children off a game they tend to be rather aggresive torwards the parents and are moody for ahwile. Thus i do beleive that video games are a cause of violence but it's not entirely the kids fault, the parents are the one that beleive there kids are able to handle it and don't think there "Little Angels" can handle it. Well i have news for those parents, " Watch the violence in the games you get your children and i can gaurentee you will change you mind about letting them play rated M games!" ... Reader on the Web, 18 March 2007
First of all I believe that your study is incredibly flawed, and the only conclusion that can be made from it (Myst has less opponents than Wolfenstein)has NOTHING to do with the original arguement. The arguments concerning the "Doom used as a training tool" and Wolfstein vs. Myst are completely misleading and efected in all ways by your bias opinion. Also, your connection with the shootings to videogames is only a coincedence, in that it may have nothing to do with the shootings ... Joey, 1 May 2007
On Your paper Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression, i have to say this. I'm an avid gamer myself, and, though I cannot speak for everyone,I,nor anyone I play with has any problems with agression. sure games can be addicting, as well as extremely violent but in many cases I feel much less agressive after playing games like HALO and DOOM. As for Cases like Cho and the colombine shooters, if you know that you or someone close to you could be a sociopath or homicidal, they shouldn't be near games like these anyway. However, Ms. Shin, i do agree that some games are too violent. games like the GTA series and 25 to Life strongly suggest that killing innocent people and Authority figures are perfectly ok. This is completely and totally wrong, and needs more backing. My final coment to everyone, game-manufacturers especially, WATCH WHAT IS IN THESE GAMES, if we con tinue this way, our worst fears may be realized ... Tyler Hale, 3 December 2007
You Fail! Some video games are violent by nature. If you were to tell the story of World War II without violence and death, it becomes totally uninteresting. Much of the violence in games comes from the story, like Halo puts the player into the shoes of a soldier in the Marines! Also, the armed forces of the United States developed their own training game. It was then repackaged and TONED DOWN for the public, but does that train people to kill? NO. Why does propaganda seem to always be excluded? ... Greg, 4 December 2007
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Comments
dats so true n i b'leive dat
dats so true n i b'leive dat who wuld want 2follow a supid game or movie are we that crazy enough do dat come on. its nt just games n movies only sumtimes ppl intend 2have issue n uses there anger which reslove in violents
I think that violent video
I think that violent video games may have an effect on some people but not everyone. both + or -. I myself play lots of violent video games such as Gears of War, Halo, COD. All of that sort of stuff and i have not noticed a change in my behavior at all. It all depends on who is playing them and what kind of evniornment they are grown up in. Some people are more sane than others. But violent video games keep me calm, but yea, if you take them away, i will probably be angry with you but i won't kill you or anything. It's like crack for kids :) Those statistics though mean little. Like i said, depends on who plays them and what they're like. Bottom line is though, violent video games aren't the direct cause of aggression and violence. I kill people online, NOT in real life.
Why would the military use
Why would the military use games when they can use more advanced technoligy? Think about it, they get goverment funding i think they can do better than Doom. :3
From someone in the Marine Corps
I am a lancecorpral in th Marines when I was in Parris Island the only thing that trained me was the Drill Instructer screaming in my ears 24/7 . We did not use video games to turn us into who we are . Get your facts straight before you blame violence on something that entertains people.
actually many fields are
actually many fields are using games for training the biggest being the military, there are many contracts out already by the military with game producers to make training games exclusively as well as publicly for the training of soldiers
Quite wrong
I dont know if you have played doom before but it is far from being realistic enough for the military to use it. i mean for one it take place on mars.......and involves demons rising from hell......
falsities
The one thing that I haven't seen mentioned yet in the comments that is a flat out lie and offends me is that you say Doom was a game licensed by the US military. This is so far fetched I have no idea where you could have received this information. It was made by a then almost unheard of company down in Texas, who I might add have no ties to the military. Please check your facts before you write more stories.
and when she puts
"The video game industries even put signs like "Real-life violence" and "Violence level - not recommended for children under age of 12" on their box covers, arcade fronts, and even on the game CDs themselves. "
thats a good thing it's telling you its your responsibility when you hand these games to your kids and when a game says M it meens dont give this game to your kid theres a reason games are rated E and thats to tell parents "give this to your kid it wont (even though i think nothing will if you are the right age) make your kid "violent"
i just find this document is so full of falsitess that it should be removed
18 Year Old Gamer
I play many violent games, I won't bother denying that. I am to "phlegmatic" to be actively violent. I have played all three HALO's, Mass Effect 1 and 2, and some Modern Warfare 2. If you want a realistically violent game to train a soldier, I suggest some thing like Modern Warfare 2 with a full immersion system, ie, a virtual reality simulator that incorporates all five senses. Doom has such low quality compared to modern games that it might as well be comparing a five year olds drawings to the Cistine Chapel. I am largely able to remain calm, and largely peaceful because of violent games. When I don't play them over a length of time of months, I tend to become excessively violent in my actions. If violent games are the new source of all violence, then why don't you just ban drugs, pornography, violent drawings/paintings, violent books, and violent movies in the process of banning video games as well? If you really want to stop or at least limit violence, work on finding a way to make everyone economically, idealogically, and socially equal to every one else. Once you do that and violence continues to happen, then you can start banning violent forms of media. Until that time, I am going back to killing VIRTUAL opponents in Mass Effect 2. Have a nice life crazy person.
i agree
I play alot of modern warfare 2 not just because i want to, But only because its fun to play with my friends. Online Gaming can really strengthen a realation ship between friends and thats what i find most important in violent games . Because it is fun!
Ok i'm a senior in highschool
Ok i'm a senior in highschool and I took a psychology class. In this psychology class we talked about children's behavior and these studies are very flawed first of all they would need to get children in the same living environment and living conditions such as do they have both parents? Do their parent(s) have past agressive issues? and many more questions think about that!
must say that your statements
must say that your statements are some what wrong. Headaches dont occur in many people only in few cases. and you may think im just pulling this outta my head but me and my friends have played xbox for 36 hours straight. i know most people think thats sad but we have done it, wasnt the greatest time but it happened, and no headaches seizures or anything. I have a friend who had a seizure playing guitar hero but this was because he had an undiagnosed medical condition Epilepsy. Most kids know when they have played video games too long and i think that there are greater things in the world causing violence in kids. Everything causes violence, its our nature...but video games arent to blame.
Reply to the comment of my comment "This Is Stupid"
Okay, FIRST OF ALL I am SOO right about the obesity rate. These are going up 15% A WEEK. Maybe you are right about the violence but I stand correct on the increase of violence and obesity. And I didn't see you saying ANYTHING about the parents taking it away. This is exactly what is wrong with the world, only critisism, no agreement.
Grand Theft Auto
Is a very bad game and can cause violence but its in the responsibility of parents and if adults do that then they shoulnt have the game
what do they do
what do they do to people when they are already violent, how do they put them back to normal?????
These intelligent comments
These intelligent comments have already said everything I was ready to in my reply to this witch-hunt of an article.
Dear author, and constituents:
Stop making video games the scapegoat for bad parenting. That is all.
it may not be the parents
it may not be the parents think of how many kids are bullied or who grew up in violent neighbor hoods and all those thing the person must already have issue in order to kill, i have been playing violent video games since i was atleast five or six not a single time did i ever feel like going out and killing someone, nor stomping on someone one heads just cuase mario did it! to think this, is well just stupide.
my little 9 year-old brother
my little 9 year-old brother plays these types of games and over the past year i've seen a HUGE difference in his attitude and just how he talks to me.
my little 9 year-old brother reply
i play video games alot too, but i beleive that if i get fustrated at my vidoe game im more prone to snap at people. you are right in a way that it changes your attitude but if u just calm him down and take him out or go out and do something with him and take him away from his video games for an hour or two then you will see that his attitude changes. and your bonding with be alot better, or play a video game with him and he will be a lot more relaxed cause he is having fun with u.
research
i have been doing research on this topic for a few weeks now and i find that it seems like people are being deprogramed to violence and killing yes its their fault for playing the video games i do not beleive that video games bring apon violens im a gamer from crazy town i play from the time a wake up till the time i go to bed on the summers its just who you are im 17 i think is the 5-12 age group that become violent due to video games... which means... parents fault so parents out there stop blaming the game blame you parenting skills
This Is So Stupid.
Stop whining. Parents need to take the video games away, there not only hurting people, but increasing obesity. They dont really need to discontinue the games, as to take them AWAY.
100%
i totally agree with you!!!
Comment to "This is So Stupid"
See what you said is the one thing that makes no since what so ever. I am doing a research project right now and I have found tons of facts about this topic. All you said is that they increase obesity. Ok well if they increase obesity then why can i run a 17:45 for a 5k, weigh 90lbs, 15 years old and still play video games every week. You have no point or proof over this argument. Taking away video games would probably increase violence in the first place, because before video games, the crime rate was high. According to Henry Jenkins a MIT professor, the crime rate in youth is at a 30 year low (http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/impact/myths.html). Also if they take away video games, I guess all of those rated R movies and some of the rated PG13 movies should be taken away too. Your statement needs more info in order for it to have any effect on people because for what you just said, it just might have ticked them off instead because there is nothing supporting it.
Why is it that the people who
Why is it that the people who write these papers never take the time to do research on the other side of the argument? Before they do the research they already have made up minds that violent video games increase aggression. Maybe its narrow minded people like this author who are just covering up the real problems at hand. But I don't know maybe I'm wrong, you tell me.
ok so i really agree that
ok so i really agree that authors are way to close minded. right now i'm actually doing research on this subject to write a paper on it. i'll tell you this though. no evidence leans one way or the other to make a true argument on this subject. most people are assuimng thing. if you look at studies some have a great results of agressive behavior in kids that play video games whle other studies show no difference. at this point in time i gotta say i dont think games cause aggressive behavior BASED off of the evidence i have avalaible.
I have to agree 100% with
I have to agree 100% with what you just said
You who wrote this article: I
You who wrote this article: I think you are to simple and single minded. Video games are for entertainment. NOT PROMOTING VIOLENCE. GAMES don't make people kill people, SOCIETY, and single-minded people like YOU make people kill people. you need to learn that their's a difference between a virtual world, and the real thing. Violent games are fun. It's Entertaining to shoot a police officer in the head ON A GAME I stress, and get away with it. I feel that if anyone picks up a gun with the intention of shooting someone, They're a criminal. Tell me, would halting video game production STOP violence? NO. Their were criminals before video games, so they WILL ALWAYS excist without them. It's a stupid topic to me. I'm sorry for being so Dis-respectful. To sum this up, Dont punish me, because a five year old, or a depressed kid plays Grand theft auto, gets an SMG, and shoots up a school. I didn't do it. Why should I be made to stop playing a game Made for my entertainment? Once again, I apologize.
anonymous
I think that in order to kill people in real life requires idiots, poor people, guys who are looking for4 money, uneducaTED PEOPLE,AND people who have crazy/twisted minds.Some are like like Hitler and the Zodiac who are smart and will take a while to get caught.
Kathulu say: Me is agree with
Kathulu say: Me is agree with the site of the web.
u don't know what ur at
u don't know what ur at
i beleive that video games
i beleive that video games are not the many source of violence in kids. it comes from every day life and what they learn from there parents of what is right and wrong. also, if u r a violent person u will do violent things, video games have nothing to do with it!!
Research
Looking for universities or institutes which do serious research on the effects of video games on children.... also perhaps schools.
Please Email information at fortythreed@yahoo.com
overlooked:
in every case of a school shooting or violent act directly linked to a persons out of context application of violence or law-breaking found in video games the person has been diagnosed with a PEC (Pre existing condition) that has inhibitted them mentally, millions of people play violent video games, but guess how many are violent because of them? almost ten a year gues what... not enough to prove anything. nice try, but your theory is off and has been shot down by hundreds of millions of pshychologists and theraupists.
Hmm this seems to contradict all the research i've gotten
I'm 16 and am writing a paper for sociology on video games and their link to violence. What i want to know is why all my other research minus, one article has said the exact opposite of what this article has said. I play video games and they're pretty violent. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 sold i think 65+ million copies on the midnight release a couple weeks back. So let's assume that this article is correct and we'll aim high and say that .5% of the population that plays it kills someone. Well lets see then we should have roughly 32,500 murderers just because of that game. Why does that just seem ridiculous? anyone?
This article is 100% true. i
This article is 100% true. i am a 17 year old male in high school. Whenever i see a fast car i feel the need to punch the driver, throw him from the vehicle and drive as fast as i can down the sidewalk not caring who i hit. Also i would LOVE to go to iraq and drop-shot as many Taliban as possible. knowing i can always just respawn after death. So ya, i am firsthand proof of why the author is correct. Video games cause extreme violence. But wait? Could it be that i do these things because im just crazy? NOOOO its because of video games, not personality or sanity.
i love the sarcasim
i love the sarcasim
stop scapegoating
i play every violent game i can get my hands on and i love shooting everything in sight ON THE GAME!!!! i love killing random innocent bystanders ON THE GAME!!!! in real life i am a caring person. scapegoating video games is like praising hitler.
false, im a constent gamer
false, im a constent gamer and i never feel like killing. it all depense on the player. you are just a crazy and violent person
yh i agree 2
i agree to it does cause i play video games and i never feel like trying to kill someone or anything else like that and i think that that is a good enough reason to prove that video games do not cause violence and that it is all in your genes of being a person.
yeah i agree
yeah i agree
This guy
This is one of the reasons why a sarcasm key needs to be added....
Few people brought this up
Few people brought this up and I think the answer is not banning the actual games, but the real issue is why are young kids playing these violent games? Don't blame video games or music or movies on violence and aggression. Who is really to blame though? The parents that aren't watching their kids and monitoring what games they play or what movies they watch. Video games have the rating system for a reason and its the parents that sometimes choose to ignore that. Violent video games are not the culprit here... its bad, neglectful parenting.
But if you still feel the need to try and ban all video games, by all means, keep trying. That will be a long, never-ending battle as this will never happen. I think there are more pressing issues in this country than violent video games. Focus on better causes such as the economy, drugs, all the more important dilemas that our country is facing.
Incorrect
I do not agree with you, playing violent videogames is not the result of violence in the world. Everyone allways points out that the number of deaths due to violence have increased since the creation of more morbid videogames, when they fail to mention that violence of crime rate percentage has lowered by half of what it was in the 30's the increased # of deaths is just due to an eternally increasing world population and metropoli becoming overcrowded. i myself am an avid gamer and i enjoy being able to kill somthing that i wouldn't be able to in real life and i know right from wrong and i would never dream of killing someone or somthing i just read a book by Jon Katz yesterday and it addresses just this issue the book is called geeks and it tells the story of 2 boys that were computer geeks during the Littleton, Collorado shootings and i agreed with the book completely i am hereby using my constitutional right to announce my government is ujust no politician, or news caster, or sweater wearing mom in the bible belt can go on the news and tell the world that video games and internet are bad if i can't have a voice at state education meatings than i should not be told which video games i can and cannot play after i get my work done and i hereby today pick up the chant of our forefathers, NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!!!
Humans are fortunate enough
Humans are fortunate enough to have free will. I think it goes without saying that anyone who decides to play video games has such a right. As for the idiots who go out and kill people, well they choose to do that, if there were no such thing as video games they would most likely still do it.
12 yr. old's opinion...
Well I am 12 and these games do not affect me. Sure inmature kids will be like "Oh man we should go rob a bank cause it was in the game", or something like that. I say it should be parents choice wether or not to let his/hers kid to play a game rated higher then his/hers age. I am not alowed to play anything in the GTA series or the Saints Row series. I see why, there are prostitutes, cops and innocent civilians dying and everything that a "this age" gangster would do. I know this because my cousin has it and I played it once at his house. But come on... COD series and Halo series could be teen.
If a kid is restricted he will not have as many friends and do bad things later because of not being privledged. And I see this at my school. I really think parents could loosen up a little bit, but of course... GTA, God Father, and Saints Row are rated M for a reason.
Thank you for reading and I hope you consider my comments.~Noah
Noah 12 video games
Noah
You are a bright kid easy to see that by how you write and the respect you show for your parents and their choices for you.
You are in part right and wrong about these games. You are right when you say that there are games certain ages shouldn't play. You are wrong to assume that everyone your age can handle these types of games.
Video games do not create monster children who go out and immulate the character in the game, parents can and do do that all on their own intentional or otherwise.
Sadley Noah there are many parents who are not in touch with what is really going on and they have no idea how bad these gaems are.
There are many children who have bad stressors at home and suffer mental health issues such as aggressive behavior, adhd, ocd and depression. When a parent is aware that their child suffers from this I feel its imparative to not expose children with such issues to games of violence.
I commend you Noah for sharing the mind of a twelve year old, and sharing in a well spoken manner, but my advice stands to you that even though your parents pay attention and you appear to know right from wrong, that not every child has good parents or secure mental health and thats when these games can cross the line between reality and fantasy.
ya well to tell you the truth
ya well to tell you the truth little kide my best friend waz shot and killed by a kid that played violent video games and he is still roming around it was a school shoting to so ya i hope he gets cought and has the same thing happen to him because it will never be the same without my friend around so just remember that oh ya and your parents shoudent let you play those games you are to young and thay could get sent to prizon for letting a miner play thouse tipes of games saying your sopposed to be 18 so keep that in mind and i hope that never happens to you because to tell you the truth that is rather quit sad so ya have fun playing your emature games and know that you could become that person one day
Don't blame it on video games
Just because your friend got shot by a kid who played violent video games dosnt mean that its the games fault. Your friend was in the wrong place at the wrong time and the boy that killed him was probably unpopular had family problems.I'm sure that a popular smart kid with a good family did not shoot your friend
You're emotions have the best of you
Your emotions are getting the better of you. Simply because your friend was killed by one who plays video games does not mean that it was the video game's fault. Millions of children under 17 or 15 or even 12 play mature video games, but do all of them pick up a gun and shoot people? No they do not. Your friend was in a terrible tragedy and I am truly sorry for your loss but your emotions are getting the best of you. I love to play the most violent video games available but the last thing I am going to do when I get mad is pick up a gun and hurt someone. It was the choice and action of the person who caused the harm that brought your loss not the video game. You are going to frighten this young child. He is only 12 and you are telling him that his parents are going to jail, which they most certainly are not. Please control yourself.
orly?
i have a question for the author.
why aren't we in an epidemic of violence?
i mean,after all,you said video games cause violence right? and millions of violent video games are sold every year,so why aren't there riots in the streets? and people going on killing spree's? and mass suicides and hysteria? since the release of "violent" video games,crime rates and violence in schools and in public have dramatically decreased.its natural for violent video games to increase aggressive behavior while playing the game,because competition naturally brings out aggression;but 99% of people are not going to drag that aggression out into real life,without a physiological issue causing problems first.everyone on both sides of the arguments is doing nothing except pointing fingers.the media and people as ignorant as yourself blame video games for any bit of violence in young people they see or hear about,and 'gamers' just try to redirect the blame back at parents (because anything wrong with the kid is the parents fault right? -rolls eyes-) in total honesty there are bound to be a few extraneous cases t.hat do things in the extreme,but that exists with everything,and because of those extreme acts,people are trying to fix something that isn't broken