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Micah Stewart

Professor Douglas

ENG 112-01

30 March 2017

Violent Video Games and Aggression

Robbing, stealing, shooting, killing. Sounds like everyday crime right? The crimes that I

just named are just a few in the video games children play today.Eighty percent of todays video

games , that are most popular, contain violence(vessey 2000). According to Healthline.com

More than 90% of American kids play video games. You do the math if eighty percent of these

video games are violent, the amount of kids playing violent video games is huge. Many kids may

be affected by these violent video games.

For years researchers, psychologists, and doctors have been researching this controversial

topic to figure out if these violent video games cause aggression, or if this games actually help

stimulate kids minds and teach them, or if they can be used for good. I myself did some research

on this topic and found there different voices and visions on this topic. Voice one comes from

researchers, doctors, and researchers that believe video games cause aggression, which is the

strongest, the second comes from the people that play them and psychiatrists who believe that

video games do not cause aggression, which is the next strongest, and the third being the voice of

the educators that believe video games can be used for a good purpose.

The first and strongest voice on this controversial topic are the ones saying that these

video games cause violence and aggression. According to the Capital Gazzete Newspaper meta-

analysis proves that exposure to violent video games increase the chance of a child being more
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aggressive , social behavior, emotions, and thinking. The author of this article basically had an

logical appeal. Which is obvious, if you are around violence so much you yourself will become

somewhat violent.

The consistent presence of violence will eventually rub off on you. Many psychologist

also believe that violent video games diminish prosocial behaviors such as, empathy, caring , and

compassion. In this voices there is also an emotional appeal where a writer Japreet Lehal ,a

student from the university of simon Fraser, brings up cases where violent video games may

have played a part in murders. Lehal brings up the tragedy of Newton,Connecticut where 20

children were brutally murdered by Adam Lanza, who in fact played violent video games.

Researchers inform parents that these video games are harmful to the brain. They also tell

parents to monitor what their kids are playing.

The next voice which is strong but not as strong as voice one is the voice of the people

that play these violent video games and the researchers and psychiatrists that think these games

actually help young kids minds. The voice was not too strong because to prove their argument

these researchers did basically the same experimental study multiple times which only proved

the same argument. This was also a very opinionated voice and not statistical, which would

actually prove their side to be right.The researchers in this voice believe these violent video

games are not the cause for violence. One research analyst Howard Fienburg even states that

REsearch so far failed to identify any concrete link that video games maybe be a gateway

device that will drive teenagers to turn to actual violence .(Fienburg 2000) Another reason why

these researcher believe that these violent video games are not so harmful is because studies have

shown very little or no discernable difference in playing violent video games compared to a non-

violent video game. Therefore violent video games themselves are not the problem, but there is a
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far more complex issue that may be expected. Which could just be who is actually playing these

video games. Researchers first needed to understand that not all video games are alike. Now,

they need to realize that not all children are alike. The kids that play the video games do not

think that these game affect them either. Science For Kids has readers that send in comments

about two articles that either argued for games being good for you or games being bad. These

comment were: I dont go killing people or stealing cars because I see it on a game. Writes

Matteo a 15 year old video gamer. Another was Akemi who is 22 and wrote I have been playing

video games since I was seven. I have no criminal record, I have good grades and have often

been caught , playing well into the night.

The last voice is the voice that belongs to the educator and those who believe that these

video games can be used for good. This voice is the weakest because once again it is very

opinionated and does not have much statistical data. This educators and researchers in this voice

believe that video games are bad and can be violent, But can be surpressed and used for good.

Educators believe that media violence can be hazardous but can also be surpressed. Mary

Muscari from pediatric nursing states that Through education in clinics, schools, and primary

core offices, pediatric nurses can minimize the impact of media violence. She believes that

nurses can teach children and parents about the effects of media violence and advise them on

how to avoid exposure. Also she believes that nurses can encourage the entertainment industry to

entertain children more responsibly. Nurses are the first to assess a childs physical and

psychosocial health. So they are in key position when finding a solution to minimize the impact

of media violence. On top of pediatric nurses being a wayto surpress and use violent video

games for a good use. The serious game movement focuses on leadership and societys

pressing issues and includes game for education, training, health, and public policy. A branch of
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the serious game movement is Game For Change. The movement attempts to maximixae the

reflective capabilities of video games. An example is a game for change is Ayti(2000) .A role

playing game that focuses on poverty. This game requires the players to manage a family of five

in Haiti so that they remain healthy, educated, and well fed. The decision making process is key

in this game.

Companies like the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) who rates the game

that kids play try to keep the violence in the game so it will be easier to rate the games.

Researchers still believe that these companies are misinforming parents about the games their

kids play and the violence in them.

Violent video games are becoming more and more popular everyday. With violent video

games rising in the game industry, the problem of them causing youth to be more aggressive and

violent may rise as well. Will the game industry and companies that make these games finally

make a decision and choosen sides with one of the three voices that I spoke of. The doctors and

researchers who think violent video games cause aggression, violent video games are actually

good for youths minds, or violent video games can be surpressed or used for good. Whichever

side they choose gaming industry has to do something about this controversial topic. I believe

they should do more to try to warn parents of the effects these violent video games.MAy have on

their children. Parents should also become more aware and attentive to what their kids are

playing. This way the whole topic wont be as big because parents would be able to crack down

or what their kids are playing and stop this problem.

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Works Cited
Adachi, Paul J., C., and Teena Willoughby. "Demolishing the Competition: The Longitudinal Link

between Competitive Video Games, Competitive Gambling, and Aggression." Journal of Youth

and Adolescence, vol. 42, no. 7, 2013, pp. 1090-104, ProQuest Central,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1365798365?

accountid=10008, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9952-2.

Eichenbaum, Adam, Daphne Bavelier, and C. S. Green. "Video Games: Play that can do Serious Good."

American Journal of Play, vol. 7, no. 1, 2014, pp. 50-72, ProQuest Central,

http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1617305581?

accountid=10008.

Fienberg, Howard. "DO VIOLENT MEDIA REALLY CAUSE ACTUAL VIOLENCE?" The Record, Sep 29,

2000, pp. L11, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/425171894?accountid=10008.

Hollingdale, Jack, and Tobias Greitemeyer. "The Effect of Online Violent Video Games on Levels of

Aggression." PLoS One, vol. 9, no. 11, 2014, pp. e111790, ProQuest Central; ProQuest

Environmental Science Collection, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1623314258?accountid=10008,

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0111790.

Lehal, Japreet. "COLUMN: Violent Video Games Need Warning Labels." The Leader, Dec 20, 2012, pp.

1, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1242090518?accountid=10008.

"Monitoring Video Game Violence; Expert's Advice to Parents: Know Your Video Games." The Guelph

Mercury, Aug 04, 2006, pp. B1, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

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Muscari, Mary. "Media Violence: Advice for Parents." Pediatric nursing, vol. 28, no. 6, 2002, pp. 585-

91, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/199389762?accountid=10008.
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Parks, Nancy S. "Violence, Video Games, and the Serious Game Movement." Journal of Cultural

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Perry, Susan. "Violent Video Games Not shown to Cause Real-World Violence." MinnPost.com, Jan 08,

2013, ProQuest Central, http://ezproxy.cpcc.edu/login?

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SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND LAW." Law & Psychology Review, vol. 30, 2006, pp. 185-199, ProQuest

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Brain." Science News for Kids, Jan 24, 2007, pp. n/a, ProQuest Central; ProQuest

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