Do Violent Video Games Pose a Serious Threat?

The pressure continues to mount and people could just be oblivious or refusing to take
the issue seriously. Many speculate that violent video games are, if not directly, linked to
something acute as mass shootings or as mild as unseemly behavior. There are several ways to
look at it, but one that sticks out the most are the violent responses conceived from playing
violent video games that make it to the headlines. Researchers are yet to confirm that these
games that many perceive to be harmless in virtual reality or online could actually be the culprit
behind the fatal side-effects that plague millions of gamers across the globe.
“Video games has come a long way of being violent. Ever from jumping on top of
Goomba heads as Mario or rolling over people as Sonic,” said QO junior Jonathan Woodson. His
prime example, Grand Theft Auto V, designed by Experience Rockstar Games garners critical
acclaim as an open world game since its release on September 2013. “You see, some teenagers
like to spend their time playing video games, especially Grand Theft Auto, as their way of
clearing their minds and relieving stress and mostly just [to] go around to shoot, kill, and steal
[from people],” added Woodson.
While researches are challenging scientific studies proving that violent video games
trigger destructive behavior and psychologists scrutinizing MRI brain scans of participants
exposed to violence, the debate leaves the masses mulling over the long-term effects in
engrossing oneself to graphic scenes portraying bloodshed and mayhem.
One student, in particular, has a different take on how violent video games are usually
perceived. “I guess it’s really how you take the content your given.” QO junior Arodi Rivera
said. “Like it’s basically reading a book. Depending on how you interpret it, you’ll act on it
appropriately. So, yes and no, it just depends on the person.” According to her, it’s not the
violent video games that are to blame but on the incentive of reciprocating such acts.
Rivera also has her own political views on the tax raise levied by politicians in an attempt
to reduce youth violence and fund mental health provisions in Rhode Island Schools. “The only
problem I see with that is the hard truth: video games are becoming more of the ‘future’ right
now,” she remarked, “So, I feel like it won’t work in really restricting behavior [unless] you’re
gonna use it to help people understand that the real world is not always gonna be how you
imagine it.”
 The Video Game Industry claims that no studies conclusively link video games to
criminal violence, physiological or neurological changes. Dr. Dale Archer, M.D suspects that
that is not the case. In Violence, The Media And Your Brain, Dr. Archer argues that a study by
the Indiana University School of Medicine is, at the time, “the first prospective study showing
actual brain differences in those that play a violent video game versus those who do not.”
However, he adds that the evidence is insufficient in proving that violent video games are the
primary fomenter of casualty.