Today i will be debunking this myth that video games cause violence. There are three main points that I will be addressing today is: Society was more violent before video games existed, Lack of evidence, and that video games don’t fool our senses.
Firstly i will be talking about how society was more violent before video games The video games industry began in the 1970’s thriving to a colossal level that today rivals the movie industry.Since the 1970s crime rates in the United States and UK combined have massively fallen by 10%, and that includes violent crime. The simple fact is that psychopaths and violent crime existed before entertainment media did. Humans have raped, beaten, tortured and killed each other as far back in history as our historical record. It was going on long before the existence of game consoles, televisions, radios, comics and even before humans invented written language.
Secondly i will be talking about Lack of evidence. Presently there are hundreds of millions of people who play video games. Many individual game titles have sold tens of millions of copies. The biggest selling game of all time, GTA V (Grand Theft Auto V), was recently reported as having sold over 110 million copies. Being that it’s also a game that has been subject to controversy over its violence, let’s do some very basic math to find out how many violent crimes this game ought to have incited if video games can actually cause violence. If we conservatively assume that 1 out of 10000 players of GTA V will be inspired to commit a violent act then 110 million divided by 10000 = 11000. Yes, if 1 in 10000 players of GTA V were inspired to an actual act of violence then there would be 11000 such cases to report. For argument’s sake let’s assume that just 1% of those 11000 GTA V inspired violent acts would be recognized and publicly reported for their video game influence. 1% of 11000 would be 110. To summarize, if 1 in 10000 players of GTA V was inspired to commit violence and only 1% of those violent acts were reported as being influenced by GTA V then there should be 110 documented cases of violence attributed to that game alone. But I can’t even find 10 proven instances of video game induced violence spanning the entire video games industry since its birth in the 1970’s. So the number of case studies out there really doesn’t support the theory. But for the sake of being thorough, let’s look at a case that are on record. A quick search engine query for sample cases of video games causing violence brings up a handful of compilation articles. But on closer inspection the articles are sensationalist because many of the “cases” involve violent crimes where video game influence has only been theorized as being the central facto, not proven. The supposed cases often involve other mitigating factors such as poverty, drugs, parental abuse, mental ill health, bullying and so on – factors which, in combination have historically caused countless violent crimes without video games being a factor at all. There also tends to be a lack of specific publicly available detail about the cases. Often the news media narrative is based on little more than a police investigator stating that video games might be a factor.
Video games are not the main cause behind extreme acts of violence in teens and young adults. The percentage of violent acts allegedly caused by video games is incredibly low. In today’s society, where video games are a usual pastime for young people, it has become increasingly easier to blame video games for acts of violence. Despite the fact that the majority of these accusations are proven false, politicians and news networks continue to fearmonger video games because it’s easier to shove all the blame towards them rather than addressing the actual issues. Many of these criminals don’t even play violent video games, and in many of the cases that they do, it is found they play non-violent, low-intensity video games, and not very often at that. The numerous studies that have been conducted on the connection between video games and violent acts do not prove what the general public believes about video games. If anything, these studies help to further prove that all humans respond differently to certain stimuli and that to blame video games for the majority of mass shootings and other violent crimes makes little to no sense. Video games are not the main cause for acts of extreme violence because there is little evidence to support the claim, and the studies that have been conducted flat out prove these claims to be wrong, and in many cases it has been found that video games as a whole can actually help to decrease crime rates and boost human functioning.
Video games are rarely the true cause for extremely violent acts, and numerous studies have proven this claim. Psychologist Patrick Markey’s research shows 80 percent of mass shooters did not show an interest in violent video games. In response to President Trump accusing violent video games for a mass shooting in February of 2018, Markey had this to say, ‘It seems like something that should make us safer so it’s a totally understandable reaction. The problem is just the science, the data, does not back up that they actually have an effect.’ (Werner) Patrick Markey has conducted numerous studies regarding a connection between acts of extreme violence and video games yet has not yet found a significant connection between them. Since video games started becoming popular, politicians and the general public have called for numerous studies to be conducted and for video games to be better regulated. In this regard one of the most political events concerning video games was the 1993 hearing on video game violence led by Senator Joseph Lieberman, resulting in the creation of the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) which is a self-regulatory organization whose purpose is to assign age and content ratings to video games. Since then, many laws and bills have been passed to further regulate the production and sale of “violent video games.” This has had little effect on mass crime rates. In a journal published by the American Phycological Association, co-written by Patrick Markey, Charlotte Markey, and Juliana French, their study of monthly changes in video games and violent crime found “the previous analysis revealed no link between changes in annual video game sales and changes in serious and deadly assaults across 33 years.” (Markey) The Entertainment Software Association, the biggest video game trade group, reiterated its position that there is no causal connection between video games and violence. “More than 165 million Americans enjoy video games, and billions of people play video games worldwide. Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the U.S.” (LATimes) Simply put, it is very rare that video games have a real connection to acts of violent crime. This is proven by numerous studies and by these criminals themselves who have openly admitted that they do not play video games often enough to warrant blaming them for their behavior.
Video games do have an effect on the human brain but it’s not in the ways most people believe as people react to different stimuli in their own personal way. While it is true that repeated exposure to violent themes can alter the way humans behave, it has not been proven to affect people in a way as to lead them to commit such violent acts like mass shooting. A study was conducted to determine the extent of the relationship between exposure to violence and desensitization towards violence. This study included one hundred and 50 fourth and fifth graders who were subjected to instances of real life violence and media violence. According to a journal article written by Jeanne Funk, psychologist at the University of Toledo, found that, “Regression analyses indicated that only exposure to video game violence was associated with (lower) empathy. Both video game and movie violence exposure were associated with stronger proviolence attitudes.” This study did prove that exposure to violent themes prevalent in some video games and movies did show a change in attitude towards violence on a short term scale. Long term changes were not recorded. The problem with these types of studies is that the questions pertaining to the subject’s changes in violent tendencies are presented immediately after said subject was given whatever stimuli the study saw fit to use. These studies have proven that exposure to violent themes, and in the context of this essay, video games, there is a slight change in behavior. Politicians and news networks use these types of studies to back their arguments that video games are one of the main reasons for crime rates in the United States. They are wrong to present these types of studies as they do not accurately represent how violent video games affect a person’s thought process long term. Several other study have made sure to record the long term effects of exposure to violent video games. “Results revealed that it was not the consumption of violent video games but rather an uncontrolled pattern of video game use that was associated with increasing aggressive tendencies.” (Staude) This study was conducted by German psychologist, Müller Staude, on four hundred and ninety-nine secondary school students between the ages of twelve and sixteen where the students completed a survey once every year for two years. Numerous studies have come to prove that while video games do change the way a person may behave, they cannot be fully blamed for mass crimes because the change is too small to have a lasting effect.
Video game consumption is proven to be associated with a decline in violence rates as well as even lessening aggressive behavior and decreasing bullying rates in some children. Several studies have linked this in part to an increase in video game production and sales. Christopher J. Ferguson, professor and co-chair of psychology at Stetson University, wrote an article in the Journal of Communication, published in 2014, presenting two studies of relationship between media violence rates with societal violence rates. In the second study, video game violence consumption is studied alongside violence rates from the 1990s to 2005. The results of the study have connected a link between video game consumption and a decrease in violence rates among teens and adolescents. Another study was published by Ferguson and independent researcher Cheryl Olson in Springer’s Journal of Youth and Adolescence. The researchers found that the consumption of video games actually had a calming effect on teens and adolecents with attention deficit symptoms and actually helped to reduce their aggressive behavior, more specifically, their tendency to bully others. Ferguson and Olson studied 377 American children, from various ethnic groups who had clinically elevated attention deficit or depressive symptoms. The children were part of an existing large federally funded project that examines the effect of video game violence on youths.
The study is important in light of ongoing public debate as to whether or not violent video games fuel behavioral aggression and societal violence among youths, especially among those with pre-existing mental health problems. Societal violence includes behavior such as bullying, physical fighting, criminal assaults and even homicide. And the news media often draws a link from the playing of violent video games to the perpetrators of school shootings in the United States.
Ferguson and Olson’s findings do not support the popular belief that violent video games increase aggression in youth who have a predisposition to mental health problems. The researchers found no association between the playing of violent video games and subsequent increased delinquent criminality or bullying in children with either clinically elevated depressive or attention deficit symptoms. Their findings are in line with those of a recent Secret Service report in which the occurrence of more general forms of youth violence were linked with aggressiveness and stress rather than with video game violence. Interestingly, the researchers of the current study found a few instances in which video game violence actually had a slight cathartic effect on children with elevated attention deficit symptoms and helped to reduce their aggressive tendencies and bullying behavior. Although Ferguson and Olson warned that their results could not be generalized to extreme cases such as mass homicides, they strongly advocate for a change in general perceptions about the influence of violent video games, even within the context of children with elevated mental health symptoms.
The government has a seemingly insatiable appetite to censor on behalf of parents and families. Lawmakers have considered a variety of labeling or censorship schemes in the past for music, movies, and comic books in the name of helping parents shield their children’s eyes and ears from potentially vulgar content. The latest incarnation of this old habit involves recent proposals by federal, state, and local legislators to regulate “violent video games.”
“Pong” and “Pac-Man” revolutionized the world of children’s entertainment; kids found many ways to play interactive games that included violent themes. Take the classic games of “Cops and Robbers” and “Cowboys and Indians”: children pretend to rob banks and shoot cops dead; toy guns or imaginary weapons are aimed at opponents; losers are supposed to “play dead.” Fast-forward to the present and the debate over video game regulation. Some critics and concerned parents are claiming that the modern-day equivalent of Cops and Robbers must be regulated by the government to protect minors from the purported ill-effects of interactive video games. The logic here is straightforward: If kids are exposed to violent imagery in video games, they will become aggressive children or violent adults later in life. Although unable to muster credible evidence proving this thesis, legislators across America have been introducing measures that would regulate home video games.
Indianapolis and St. Louis passed laws banning the sale of violent video games to minors. (Both measures were struck down by federal courts as violations of the First Amendment.) And Governor Gary Locke of Washington signed a law that would prohibit the sale of games to minors that depict acts of violence against law enforcement officers (this law is also being challenged in Federal Court and is likely to be struck down as an unconstitutional restriction of protected speech). Also, Congress is now getting involved. Rep. Joe Baca (D-CA) recently introduced H.R. 669, “The Protect Children from Video Game Sex and Violence Act of 2003.” This bill would impose fines on anyone who sells or rents, “any video game that depicts nudity, sexual conduct, or other content harmful to minors.” There are many problems with such regulatory measures.
Nevertheless you could say that videogames have positive outcomes such as; Following instructions Problem solving and logic – When a child plays a game such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, he trains his brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts and Hand-eye coordination, excellent motor and spatial skills. With the process of fun included, there’s always the negative side to video games. Most of the harmful effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain. Children who play more violent video games are more likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreased prosocial helping, according to a scientific study (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). Also, according to Dimitri A. Christakis of the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, those who watch a lot of simulated violence, such as those in video games, can become immune to it, more inclined to act themselves violently, and are less likely to behave emphatically. The games’ interactive nature worsens the effect of video game violence on kids. In many games, kids are rewarded for being more violent. The act of violence is done repeatedly. The child is in control of the intensity and experiences the force in his own eyes (killings, kicking, stabbing, and shooting). This active participation, repetition, and reward are practical tools for learning behavior. Indeed, many studies seem to indicate that violent video games may be related to aggressive behavior (such as Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004). However, the evidence is not consistent, and this issue is far from settled.
Furthermore, the government created ways to regulate video games. In 1994, the video game industry established the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), a comprehensive labeling system that rates over 1,000 games per year and has rated more than 8,000 games since inception. The ESRB applies five different rating symbols and over 25 various content labels that refer to violence, sex, language, substance abuse, gambling, humor, and other potentially sensitive subject matter. And it must be a pretty good system because no less an authority than the self-appointed media violence watchdog Sen. Joseph Lieberman has called the video game rating system “a model” for other industries to follow. Coin-operated video game operators have also devised a descriptive parental advisory labeling scheme for games played in arcades or restaurants. As a result, a very vivid labeling system is available to parents to monitor the video games their children play.
The inspiration for creating this question came upon me after looking up crime/violence related to video game incidents. To start the paper, i researched ratings and what children usually played. Then i compared it to the amount of time spent playing it while researching i looked up stimuli’s for the brain and how specific activity alters the brain capability. At the Max-Planck Institute of Human Development in Berlin, Prof Simone Kuhn also researches the effects of video games on the brain. In one study, she used fMRI (functional MRI) technology to study the brains of subjects as they played Super Mario 64 D.S., over two months. Remarkably, she found that three areas of the brain had grown – the prefrontal cortex, right hippocampus, and cerebellum – all involved in navigation and excellent motor control. After reading, i became more intrigued by the topic. The data was collected from magazines and blogs that had researched on video games and brain stimulation.
In conclusion, as generations pass by, there are events that happen which end up linking to society or fun aspects in life. As David E. Rosenbaum of The New York Times noted in a 2001 column, “Some serious social problems in America may not have good legislative solutions. A case in point could be sex and violence in entertainment.” Indeed, peaceful social persuasion and public pressure are often a compelling alternative to government regulation. When it comes to the games our children play, industry self-regulation and parental supervision, not government coercion, offers the optimal solution.
Video games have been under massive criticism in the last few years, especially when people are saying that they cause violent tendencies in young children and have had a direct link in the recent rise in school shootings in America. But multiple scientists have debunked this claim in multiple articles and by looking at the statistics there is no evident correlation between violence and video games.
If we look at the statistics for when video games really started to launch in the mid-nineties, it shows from there on that video games have risen in popularity and if we look at the statistics for a crime committed in the US the peak was in about 1980 and have started to drop off from there on, and even if we look at the youth crime statistics for the US they have even dropped off since their peak in 1993. These graphs are showing that there hasn’t been an increase in violence since video games rise but they are falling more than ever. If we look at the ten highest countries that spend money on video games and then look at their crime statistics for homicides involving a gun, it shows that the number of mass shootings doesn’t come close to the amount America has, Excluding China because they don’t publish crime rates, and these are some of the countries that population spends a lot of money on video games.
In a study conducted by James Ivory, he concluded that “When it comes to actual serious criminal violence, there’s virtually no evidence that video games matter.” Ivory has researched the social and psychological dimensions of media, particularly the content and effects of video games. He says he’s determined that a lot of things influence violent crime — but the media we consume is not one of them. Ivory then again said that “There is a little more interesting research that kind of link between the games and the more abstract forms of aggression. But when it comes to serious violent crime, video games don’t really matter.”
An associate professor at the University of Oxford who studies digital media, Andrew Przybylski said “the evidence has become pretty clear that, where there are correlations, it’s probably because of a third factor. For example, boys have historically been more likely to play video games, and they also happen to be more aggressive than girls on average.” Przybylski published a study this year of more than 1,000 British adolescents and found that there was no link between the time spent playing violent video games and aggressive behavior.
Multiple studies have pointed out this fact that video games don’t cause people to become more violent and the ones that don’t say this have results that can’t be recreated or the results could have other causes. An example of this is a study conducted in 2014 that claimed using gun-shaped controllers improved the accuracy of children and they got more headshots than before but the study was retracted because the results couldn’t be replicated by other researchers or themselves. Other studies have used methods like having two groups, one that played games before the experiment and ones that didn’t, and made them pour hot sauce into a glass saying that the amount of hot sauce in the glass would be how much someone had to drink and the amount they put in the glass would see how much aggression they had, but a number of factors could contribute to this like they might be a joker and wanted to play a joke of the other person.
With all the recent tragedies in the news, people are looking for answers to why this is happening. Many people have their own theories, but a popular one perpetuated is that violent video games are causing real-life violence. Even the president of the United States has run with this theory. He claims that the easy access and normalization of gory video games are to blame and must be stopped. Just because both people who committed these atrocities were avid gamers, it has been labeled by some as one of the primary motivations and even the cause for these shootings. The thinking is that violent video games cause dissociation from real-life violence and more aggressive and antisocial behavior. This paper will analyze the claim that violent video games cause aggressive behavior in children. A summary of Violent video game engagement is not associated with adolescents’ aggressive behavior and The effect of violent video gameplay on emotional modulation of startle will be provided. An analysis of this source will support the view that video games do not cause aggressive behavior in children and young adults.
After the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, many politicians searched for answers in order to stop the epidemic of mass shootings in our society. President Trump went on record saying that the cause of this violence is from adolescents’ access to violent video games and glorification of killing. But a study published by the University of Oxford states otherwise.
The fact that the study shows no evidence of video games causing aggressive behavior in youth shows that that is not the cause of the recent tragedies in America. But the study does have some flaws that need to be addressed. Firstly, the survey being self-reported may cause the participants to report lower levels of aggression if they know that the survey is measuring the effects of video game violence on participant violence. Secondly, such a large majority of the population plays video games; it would be hard to determine whether the cause of aggressiveness was video games and not external factors. Lastly, the survey needs control of those who don’t play video games at all, instead of just how much they play violent videos and what type of violent video games they play. The control would allow researchers to determine if gamers, as a whole, are more aggressive than their non-gaming counterparts. Regardless of this, the researchers hypothesized that there was a correlation between violent video games and aggressive behavior, but found no such results, indicating in my opinion no researcher bias.
But do violent video games cause desensitization to real-life violence? The answer is only in the short term. In a study from the University of Missouri, researchers set up an experiment where participants looked at negative images before and after playing a violent video game. The more negative of a reaction from the participant, the more their eye would blink. The research found that in the short term, the participants had a less negative reaction to disturbing images after playing a violent video game compared to those who did not. But the researcher does acknowledge that further research does need to be done on the matter. The study did however find that it doesn’t cause priming for violence after playing violent video games. But even if someone was desensitized to video game violence, there is no proof that they would be desensitized to real-life violence.
Although violent video games seem like an easy scapegoat, they do not in fact cause real-life violence. There was no correlation between in-game violence and real-life violence much to the chagrin of politicians. Video games are ways for people to have fun and enjoyment. Although people might think it causes people to commit violent acts, in actuality, it’s a hobby enjoyed by millions of people around the world. The debates may continue amongst politicians and parents, but video games are and always will be works of art, with loads of enjoyment.
Have you ever thought if computer games have any negative effects on individuals? If not, think again. Computer games are affecting individuals in terms of lack of socialization, crime, and increased aggression levels. The reason why computer games are negative for individuals is because of most of the violence it contains. Excessive use of computer games may cause crime, aggression, and lack of socialization. However, based on this research, there is a positive learning tool gained from computer games that involves enjoyment and exercise, which is great for an individual’s well-being.
Lack of Socialization
People have different experiences with ‘computer game addiction’. This article will be based on young people’s perspectives on computer game addiction and will show that young people who are identified as computer game addicts are more than ‘introvert, neurotic, and impulsive’, a result of problematic behavior or a biochemical aberration (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012). This article is based on qualitative interviews with three 14-15-year-old boys who would typically be described as computer game addicts. This study is not intended to discuss if computer game addiction is a new disorder, but rather to the consequences of using computer game addiction as a commonsense word. It is based on analyzing how young people interact in relation to others in terms of computer game addiction. The importance of this research is how to prevent young people from being stigmatized because of their computer gaming.
It has been emphasized that due to their identification with the phenomenon, young individuals encounter social uncertainties in their daily life. Social organizations and parents are becoming worried about young people’s consumption of computer game addiction. It has been shown that some of the social unpredictabilities that young people face in their everyday lives arise from this phenomenon (Kuss & Griffiths, 2012). Computer game addiction is not negative for young people, as they can be positive in terms of their identity work, which relies on acceptance from their environment. The risk of stigmatization raises questions for many people about young people’s social lives, showing how painful it is to be labeled as an ‘outsider’. According to Rose (as cited in Kuss & Griffiths, 2012), the diagnostic manuals no longer apply to a small pathological minority; they seem to interact with almost all of us. This makes it possible to examine young people’s everyday lives with computer games. According to Brus (as cited in Kuss & Griffiths, 2012), “This increasing diagnostic practice implies that ordinary everyday problems related with work, family, and education are being described as disorders requiring psychological, psychiatric, or medical treatment”. It has been indicated that others need to be cautious about classifying playing computer games as a psychiatric disorder or a negative behavior.
Aggression Levels
It has been investigated how aggression resulting from playing violent computer games varies by gender and trait aggressiveness level. Animosity may be upgraded in children through playing computer games, which may be a prevalent form of excitement for this group. Playing computer games has been found to make people feel relaxed (Wu, Wang, & Tsai, 2010) and children spend an extraordinary amount of time on this activity. Analysts have evaluated that around 89% of children’s electronic play incorporates bloody and violent content (Wu, Wang, & Tsai, 2010). In contrast, counter-strike games require clients to shoot others with programmed rifles in real-life settings through observational learning. According to, the effect of playing violent computer games on aggression levels among children works by utilizing a semantic classification errand. The discoveries appeared that Virtual Cop2 was a rough computer diversion, based on the essentially high scores members gave for violent substance and images (Zheng & Zhang, 2016). In addition, Battle Proprietor was a relatively peaceful computer diversion, since the scores for all diversion viciousness rating measurements were high but nonsignificant. Study discovered that playing rough computer games essentially prepared children for animosity. “Particularly, as anticipated, an increment was seen within the number of children whose animosity was dynamic after introduction to the violent, versus nonviolent game” (Zheng & Zhang, 2016). According to Boutwell, Franklin, Barnes, and Beaver (as cited in Zheng & Zhang, 2016) these results concur with those of past analyses and support the first hypothesis.
Video Games and Crime
The relationship between videogames and crime have been examined by psychologists. They have focused only on violent video games and suffer from two major shortcomings. Psychologists have adopted research that does not look into the relationship between video game-playing behavior and crime, but rather at the relationship between video game-playing and aggression, and then offer social suggestions to reduce crime (McCaffree, 2017). In this study, contradictory results can be explained using routine activities theory. The study has a hypothesis using UCR, CPS, and census data. As predicted by routine activities theory, they find that rates of video game-playing behavior in the home are negatively related with violent crime (McCaffree, 2017).
Video game competitiveness and hostility has been increasing for at least a decade within the area of testing social brain research. It was contended that violent video games specifically support forceful or criminal behavior. They argued that violent games empower players to identify with forceful characters and thus enhance their capacity to imitate or replicate savage acts until they become desensitized (McCaffree, 2017). Desensitization to viciousness, they suggest may lead individuals who play these video games to commit acts of criminal violence throughout their lives. “Critically, across studies, it is not always violent videogames that are hypothesized to increase aggression but, indeed, any videogame that encourages zero-sum competition between players” (McCaffree, 2017).
Learning Tool
The following information will be based on the psychological effects of playing exergames from the viewpoint of player engagement. Journal articles were collected from 2011 to 2015, in which 45 experimental studies were selected out of 911 studies (Lee, Kim, Park, & Peng, 2017). The results show that the psychological effects measured by the exergame studies were enjoyment, immersion, and flow. Exergames are videogames that require physical exertion such as balance, strength, and flexibility to play. Only a dearth of supporting evidence exists on the psychological effects of playing exergames, which are engagement, motivation, and pleasure. The main question is, what are the psychological effects of playing exergames, as studied by researchers in the field?
Social interaction amid exergame play is considered an important feature leading to positive mental impacts. Playing exergames with a group or competitive play has appeared more often than playing alone. In a normal workout setting, it has been established that group workouts are more prevalent than individual workouts (Lee, Kim, Park, & Peng, 2017). For instance, people in a group workout appeared to have a more positive sense of well-being and less mental stretching than people in a singular workout. Moreover, high interactivity and social competition lead to upgraded submersion of players. As social interaction amid exergame play is an additional variable as in a typical workout or sports, it was considered to be a major design component of exergames. According to Seungmin, Wonkyung, Taiwoo, and Peng (as cited in Lee, Kim, Park, & Peng, 2017), “There have been studies suggesting humans can build social relationships with SG partners”.
Conclusion
In conclusion, addiction to computer games will cause depression, social withdrawal, and so much more. If parents begin to monitor their children playing computer games, there wouldn’t be as many negative effects. If children were carefully monitored, then lack of socialization, aggression levels, and crime will be reduced tremendously. There isn’t anything wrong with playing a computer game. However, it should be permitted only if there is a balance and doesn’t lead to addiction in the future.
References
Brus, A. (2012). A young people’s perspective on computer game addiction. Addiction Research & Theory, 21(5), 365-375. doi:10.3109/16066359.2012.733466.
Lee, S., Kim, W., Park, T., & Peng, W. (2017). The psychological effects of playing exergames: A systematic review. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20(9), 513-532. doi:10.1089/cyber.2017.0183.
McCaffree, K., & Proctor, K. R. (2017). Cocooned from crime: The relationship between video games and crime. Society, 55(1), 41-52. doi:10.1007/s12115-017-0211-0.
Zheng, J., & Zhang, Q. (2016). Priming effect of computer game violence on children’s aggression levels. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 44(10), 1747-1759. doi:10.2224/sbp.2016.44.10.1747.
The sounds of gunfire and screams fill your room, your screen is filled with blood and gore, and just like that, you end the day and go to sleep. Violent video games have been a very controversial topic since 1976. There have been studies that supposedly prove that video games cause violence. But in recent studies, it has been proven that violent video games have hardly any effect on someone. The following analysis will focus on how violent video games have little effect on children’s minds.
The first video game that was ever created was a pong game in 1958, it was the very first video game in history. Genres are always changing and genres are always being created, this goes for video games the most, today we have a wide range of game genres. But the most popular genre that has also sparked the most controversy is the action genre, usually, in this genre, it contains blood and gore. For example, in Mortal Kombat, “ The player controls a character’s arms and legs so he or she kicks and punches an opponent… his or her character has the option of killing the loser.” (Gimpel 6). Of Course, children shouldn’t be exposed to these types of games but even if they are, they usually learn that violence is wrong from school and other adults that are close to them.
The number of people that play video games is astonishing, with 1.2 billion people playing video games worldwide, which is 17% of the world’s population (Nayaka 8). Of those 1.2 billion people that play video games, 72% are age 13-17 (Nayaka 8). With so many people playing video games, the amount of money that people pay for these games and consoles. In 2015 alone, sales in the gaming market reached $91.95 billion worldwide. With millions of people gaming and billions of dollars being spent on this activity every year (Nayaka 7). This benefits the economy and also creates a way for children to learn how to save and work for their money to get the things they want like video games. This will also drive them to be good children so that they can get a new video game, which leads them to want to pursue a good job to get what they want.
The things that grab most of the children’s attention are actions, kids love action, but not all types of action are suitable for children. There are different subgenres when it comes to action, there is a less realistic action like superhero games and street fighters. Then there is the violent action, like Call of Duty and Mortal Kombat, that have gore and blood. The graphics get more realistic each year, and every year the games get more blood and gore implemented into them. The reason for this is the ever-expanding technology, and because of the consumers themselves. Most people who play video games always want more blood in their games, not because of their violence but because they want something new. Then they advertise their game in the best way possible, making it almost impossible to buy the game. There is no need for any age group to worry about violent video games, like dr. Whitney DeCamp said in “Do video games lead to violence?”, “discovered that playing video games, no matter how bloody, did not predict violent behavior.” (Scutti 1).
What people don’t realize is that most of the time when children get angry at their parents for turning off their games is usually because it frustrates them greatly, and for bad parenting. Kids who get aggressive when they are removed from the game have probably been allowed to play for long periods every day. This causes them to feel cheated because they got to play for maybe 6 hours yesterday, but only 4 hours the next, which makes them frustrated and stressed. A good parent should sit by them or have them play in a common area so that they are nearby and can be supervised (Fishman 1), but most of the time they aren’t vigilant of what their child is playing or watching. Some parents buy their kid’s games that contain violence, blood, gore, sex, theft, and drugs but don’t even know it nor do they bother checking the rating of the game to see if it’s suitable for their age (Fishman 1). Most of the time kids are exposed to graphic content mostly because of their parents not paying too much attention to what their kids are receiving as entertainment
Video games can also help children develop good skills that they can use in the real world. When they play games they learn good hand-eye coordination, which can help them in a job like a surgeon or a machinery operator. It can improve their reflexes, which is very important when on the road or in dangerous areas, it can even save their lives in some cases for having that increased reaction time. It also helps them type because after constantly typing into chat it will help you be able to type without looking and type quickly without messing up. This also opens up a whole range of careers in coding and computers where being able to type is key to doing well. Video games, violent or not help children make a future decision of what they want to be, and some games can help them practice. Most people who play video games also have good problem-solving skills which help them in school and in any job like a civil engineer that builds roads, bridges, and buildings in remote or hard to reach areas. Or a robotic engineer can make a robot that can help astronauts in space, or pick up a heavy piece of equipment or rubble of a fallen building. The people who talk in online chats in the games also learn how to communicate well with others, which can help them become an entrepreneur or a salesman who sells items to foreign customers. They can also pick the gaming industry and design their console or even make their own game.
Yes, video games do cause aggressive thoughts though, but not for the reason that most people think. Most people think that because someone plays a violent video game, it means they in attitude are aggressive or have a bad temper, or even capable of murder or crime, or if they are young, a potential school shooter. But that’s not necessarily the case, yes they can get angry or lash out, but it’s not because of the violence, but because of the hard levels or bosses. During holidays, when new video games are released the theft rates rise (Cunningham 1), and many blame that on video games, but what they don’t realize is that most people close down their stores during the holidays, which makes it easier to break in and steal. Another example is when you’re stuck on a level that you feel it’s impossible to beat, it stresses them out because no matter how much work or skill they put into the level they still can’t get past it (Fishman 1). Another example is when a player is the last one alive on a team and it’s a one on one at an even game, all they need is one win to beat the other team. But one mistake, one minor flaw in the player’s movement that he has done in the past but has had no consequence, causes him to lose focus, and just like that they lost the game, the frustration is then amplified when the team flames you for throwing the game.
One really bad thing that video games have on children is the time in the game, some may even call it an addiction, even though it isn’t. Most reason that both adults and children have for playing video games is the limitless possibilities inside the game. But in most cases, people spend too much time in the game and end up struggling to catch up on the real-world work. That’s another reason adults hate video games, it’s because it wastes people’s time when they can be doing something productive, instead of doing futile progress in a game. Some find it hard to manage their time more than others. Some can never just say “one more game” without playing for the rest of the day, and it has a major impact on one’s life, and sometimes it also affects the people around him.
In the end, violent video games do not cause violence, but they do usually benefit the player in the future with helpful skills needed in life.
The article under consideration entitled “Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: Is there desensitization?” investigates the links between the violent content of TV programs, video games and the increase of the aggressive behavior in adolescents. The purpose of this research was to analyze the relationships between the violence exposure in real life, various media sources and games.
It should be noted that desensitization and lower empathy as the results of the violence exposure in media and games have been studied for decades. Nevid (2008) admitted that violent or aggressive behavior in real life can be attributed to TV viewing, while “playing violent videogames is also linked to increased aggressive behavior in young people” (p. 362). Though the research problem is not unique and was explored previously, Funk et al (2004) implemented a new approach in their study.
Investigating the impact of exposure in games and media sources separately and pointing at the differences in these relationships was a valuable contribution of this research. The assumption that the exposure to video games violence is linked to lower empathy, while both video games and media exposure cause stronger proviolence attitudes is rather interesting and fresh and can be regarded as the main strong point of this article.
Strengths of the study
It is important that Funk et al (2004) pointed out the differences in the impact of various media sources on the consciousness, attitudes and behavioral patterns in adolescents. The hypothesis of this paper is that exposure to video games violence has the strongest relationship with the decreased empathy and desensitization.
This assumption is explained with the peculiarities of this media source, namely its creative and active nature which requires intense engagement of the players and can be translated into fantasies and behavioral models.
In contrast to Ohman et al (2001) who investigated the well-researched issues of the relationships between the fear-related stimuli and the cognitive abilities and did not make any significant contribution to the existing theoretical data, Funk et al (2004) managed to find the gap in knowledge and selected a new perspective for viewing the issue.
The differentiation between the influence of various media sources upon the attitudes and behavioral patterns in adolescents can be regarded as the main strong point of the study under consideration.
Limitations of the research design
Though the researchers provide substantial theoretical basis for supporting the assumption of different impact caused by different media sources, Funk et al (2004) recognize that their research has certain limitations. Thus, the sample of 150 elementary school students included 82 boys and 68 girls. It should be noted that there is a relationship between gender and game preferences, for instance. Thus, the prevalence of male participants could have impact upon the findings of this study.
Funk et al (2004) noted that “the sample is somewhat better educated and likely to be of somewhat higher socioeconomic status than the general population” (p. 29). The socioeconomic and cultural characteristics also influence the behavioral patterns, and these peculiarities need to be taken into consideration for evaluating the results of the experiment (Ryan 2011).
Conclusion
Though the article under consideration explores the well-researched problem, the scholars managed to detect the gap in prior studies and selected a new approach for investigating the relationship between the violence exposure in real life and media sources. Regardless of certain limitations of the research design, it can be concluded that a new perspective contributed to the existing knowledge.
Reference List
Funk, J., Baldacci, H., Pasold, T., and Baumgardner, J. (2004). Violence exposure in real-life, video games, television, movies, and the internet: Is there desensitization? Journal of Adolescence, 27: 23- 39.
Ohman, A., Flykt, A., & Esteves, F. (2001). Emotion drives attention: Detecting the snake in the grass. Journal of Experimental Psychology / General, 130(3): 466.
Ryan, M. (Ed.). (2011). Psychsmart. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
In the recent days, the use of technology has made the youths to have more exposure to various media information and sources. They watch various programs on the televisions, over the internet and through the mobile phones. Further, they have exposure to the video shows and video games. Some of these programs, movies and video games are violent while others are not.
However, the rate of violence in different sources of media differs with the intent, market and the producers as well as the association of media. These media source, according to researches and studies indicates that they have effects to the young people. The researches however indicates that the rate of effects in the youths involved in violent media sources is generally high than those who participate in nonviolent media sources.
Our concern in this paper is to concentrate on the violent video games, the effects to the youths through participation in the violent video games, the counter arguments and finally the remarks or conclusion.
Introduction
Violence in video games has become a concern to major social issues. Analyses have indicated that over 85% of the video games in the market contain violence acts (Anderson & Carnagey, 2009). In addition, more than half of the video games include serious actions towards other game characters (Anderson & Carnagey, 2009). The amount of time spent in playing video games by the youths since 1999 has almost doubled (Kirsh, 2010).
Further, analysis from the Americans indicates that almost 60 percent of American youth aged 8-18 play video games in any given day with more than 30 percent of them spending an average of more than an hour (Doll, Haas, & Bonzo, 2008). According to researches, the use of video games is generally high among the youths irrespective of their race, sex, household income or parental education.
The researches further indicate that majority of this young people prefer playing violent video games than nonviolent ones. In a survey of paired children and parents, almost two thirds of children named violent related games as their favorite games. However, it is only 30% of all the parents who were able to identify their children favorite games. The other 70% having no knowledge of the games their children play.
Besides the parents not being informed of the games’ their children play, the survey indicated that rarely do they supervise or restrict their children from video game plays.
In addition, there are very few parents who check the ratings of the video games that their children buy. Less than 25% of parents set rules to their children on the video games to be played and limits of the time used and exposure to the games (Anderson & Huesmann, 2003).
The exposure of the youths to video games has been a social concern in the past decades and still to date. By 1975, several studies had been published on the effects of violent video games on the aggressive behavior. The studies revealed that exposure to violent video games both in real life settings and in laboratory causes increase in aggressive behavior (Anderson & Bushman, 2001).
Researches indicate that the exposure of youths to violent video games tend to make them more aggressive at their adults age.
“The latest meta-analyses examining the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior and other aggression- related outcome variables have shown that violent video game exposure increases physiological arousal, increases aggressive effect, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive behaviors, and decreases pro-social behavior ” (Anderson & Bushman , 2001).
Effects of violent video games to youths
Increase in aggressive behavior
A positive relationship between aggressive behavior and playing violent video games has been revealed through several correlation studies. Anderson & Bushman (2002) correlation study in National youth showed a positive relationship between violent video game exposure and self-reported aggression that included assessing assault and robbery.
Youths who have exposure to playing violent video games are reported to have aggressive behaviors in the family, school and society (Dowd, Singer & Fretwell, 2006). They tend to practice the acts of persuasiveness and arguments they learnt from the video games.
However, due to little know how they practice them even in the wrong places. They develop an aggressive behavior to their teachers, parents, friends and their colleagues (Dowd, Singer & Fretwell, 2006).
Similarly, experimental studies have revealed that youths with exposure to violent video games are more aggressive compared to those exposed to non-violent games (Anderson & Bushman, 2002). The studies further revealed that, most of the young people who have exposure to violent video games get involved in physical fights than participants of non-violent games.
The average effect size across (correlation and experimental) studies between violent game exposure and aggressive behaviors was r=0.27 (Anderson & Bushman, 2002). This effect has been found in experimental and non-experimental studies, males and females, and children and adults.
According to the US Congress 2005, the effect of violent video games to aggressive behavior does not depend on the time the participants take to play.
Participants who played a violent video game for a short period of as few as 10 minutes associated themselves to aggressive behaviors and actions on self-rating scale. The researchers contended that violent video games exposure event for a short-term period also affects the participants unconsciously.
A study designed by Anderson & Bushman (2002), examined the intensity of aggressive behavior and the duration after game play. Their study involved participants of both violent and nonviolent video games. Immediately after violent or nonviolent game play, “the participants participated on mock retaliation time task which used blasts of noise as punishment to the opponent.
Players were informed that they had complete liberty to select both the intensity and duration of the punishment on their opponents” (US Congress, 2005).
The findings of the researchers were that those who participated in violent games displayed more aggression to their opponents than those who played nonviolent games. Similarly, those who played violent games registered a greater number of high intensity sound blasts than those who played nonviolent games.
Increase aggressive cognition
Correlational and experimental evidence indicate that violent video games exposure increases aggressive cognitions. In a correlational study, higher hostile attribution biases was attributed to the youths who are reported playing games that are more violent (Bushman & Anderson, 2002). “People with hostile attribution have been shown to act aggressively and are often socially maladjusted” (Anderson & Carnagey, 2009).
The effects of hostile attribution biases have been found in laboratory. They also assert that people who participated in violent video games generated aggressive endings to story stems than those who participated in playing non-violent video games.
In addition to hostile attribution biases, Anderson & Bushman (1997) indicates that relative speed at which the people with exposure to violent video games could read aggression related words is high than for those with exposure to non-violent video games. In addition, other studies have revealed that playing of violent video games increases aggressive thoughts.
Those people who participate in violent games have aggressive thoughts than those playing non-violent games. Anderson & Huesman (2003) asserts that recent meta-analyses between violent video game exposure and aggressive cognitions indicates that the average size is r=0.27. These effects also have been found in children and adults as well as female and male.
Increase aggressive affect
According to empirical studies, playing of violent video games cause an increase in aggressive affect. Hostility and anxiety levels in youths and adults were increased by playing violent games compared to other conditions. The anxiety to do certain things especially among the young people is due to forces to practice something they saw.
Young people usually demonstrate the acts of shooting, jumps, kicks, and other things they saw happening during the play. This curiosity to demonstrate further develops to real practice due to anxieties. Studies also indicated that children who participate in playing violent games have a higher level of frustrations than those who participate in non-violent games (Kirsh, 2010).
However, the meta-analyses level between playing video game and aggressive affect is 0.19, which is lower than the previous two levels. This indicates that, though playing of video game cause aggressive effect, the level at which they affect is lower than in aggressive cognition and behavior.
The researches examining this effect are much emphasized, as they are considered less interesting. This is because nonviolent video games are also believed to cause this effect due to frustrations caused by difficulties in playing the games.
Decrease in prosocial behavior
Prosocial behavior is the act of offering or providing help during difficult times such as conflicts and violence. Playing of violent video games lead to violence tolerance in majority of the youths that makes them receptive to violence. They tolerate violence causes more easily than those who participate in nonviolent games. To them they view all causes of violence just like the usual video games.
They encourage insults and cases that would lead to violence. They enjoy being in incidents that are violent and according to Anderson & Carnagey (2009), they cannot offer help to victims of violence as compared to participants of nonviolent games.
The recent meta-analysis research according to Anderson & Bushman (2002), indicates the level across the studies between violent video games exposure effect on helping behavior (decrease in prosocial behavior) to be r= 0.27.
Increase physiological arousal: exposure and playing of violent video games increases heart rate, diastolic blood pressure, and systolic compared to nonviolent games. During the plays, children face some incidents that are worrying, frustrating and imaginable leading to fear and tensions.
Poor performance academically
Young people who engage in playing in violent video games are prone to poor performance in academics (US Congress, 2005). The report indicates that these people use most of their time in arguments with the authority such as teachers.
The hostility of those who participate in violent video games makes them to spend their time in school trying to solve cases of indiscipline or involving themselves in conflict with other students. In addition, they find themselves most of the time doing punishments or others suspended due to their behaviors. This lack of consistence in class work and study time affects them academically.
Identification with the aggressors
This refers to the situation in which the youth desire to be recognized or to pattern themselves with any aggressors they encountered with during their play (Dowd, Singer & Fretwell, 2006). They tend to emulate them, use their names as their nicknames and appeal to their colleagues to use those names to refer to them.
For instance, as those used to watching football refer and associate themselves with the great footballers of their time like Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, it is the same with those who play the violent games. Similarly, just the way those who associate themselves with footballer try to emulate their moves, those who participate in violent video games do the same. They spend most of their time emulating if not playing the video games.
The US Congress (2005) asserts, “Empirical research suggested that violent video game players tend to imitate the movies that they have just “acted –out” in the game.” The research further states in (Anderson, 1997) that, participating in aggressive violent video games made the participants to display similar moves in free play to those in the violent games they had played.
In addition, children who participated in the violent karate games displayed the same tactics they used during the act of the play in fair play with other children (US Congress, 2005). This has caused danger to the lives of youngones as it sometimes result to injuries.
Increase in the cases of crimes
The imitation and emulation of the characters of the actors in the game make young people to generate certain immoral behaviors. They acquire this skills and professions through practice with other children.
For instance, playing of violent video games that involves shooting give young people a learning ground of how to use the gun, learn concepts of evading bullets while at the same time learning the character traits (Dowd, Singer & Frewtell, 2006). If this young people acquire these characters from the play, they further develop them using the toy guns and finally in future they may end up as criminals.
In addition, those used to violent video games where the characters in the play apply crude weapons such as machetes and knifes, they may learn to use them in real life.
Young people also may learn traits of highjacking, evading traps which they usually practice in real life and finally affect their traits. There are those young people who take the character in certain video games as their mentors and they therefore work towards being like them.
Counter Arguments to these effects
Although the above effects are associated to playing violent games, through researches conducted there remain some doubts of the realities and proves of this.
Ej (2008) through a research he conducted found the results associated to this effects negligible or even they served to prevent the youth from participating in violent video games. The kind of results or effects that a child learns from playing violent video games depends with the society, the family, individual and uncivillisation.
“Benefits of looking human beings as chemical formulas include not being stuck into the need to establish a causal basis before a negative influence is taken seriously” (Ej, 2008). He further stated that human beings should be viewed as formulas as they will open people up to a common approach to understanding human behavior.
Individualism and uncivilisation
Ej (2008) found that, the effects associated with playing violent video games are more individually and uncivilized related. The kind of perception that children take towards a given incident in action of their play depend a lot on the individual playing the game and the level of civilization.
There are those individuals who will not have any effect if they play one thousand of violent video games while others 2 minutes of the play is enough to affect them. In addition, there are those who are even affected by the playing of nonviolent video games. This is an indication that effects of the game played depends on the individual.
On urbanisation, Laurence asserts that those children who are more civilized play violent video games without being affected. They are usually having more exposure to violent incidents from other sources that make them more used to the violence (Gentile, 2005). To them they view the violent games plays as other kind of programs they watch over the TVs.
Aggression is more inborn than acquiring and playing of violent video games may not make someone who is not aggressive by nature aggressive. He argues that if a person is aggressive, he will remain to be aggressive whether he plays the violent games or plays other form of games (Gentile, 2005).
Individuals Vs. society
Laurence states that the effects of young people as individuals and what they experience in the society matters a lot. Despite the young people playing violent video games, the state and the environment surrounding them is of great concern. Ej (2008) stated that, those young people who have been brought up in violent, hostile society develop the same hostility, and if the society is peaceful the young people become peaceful.
The kind of the game whether violent or nonviolent does really affect the aggressiveness, hostility of the young people nevertheless, what affects them is the society set up they are from (Gentile, 2003).
However, the kind of trend that the young people take from playing violent video games may have a negative impact to the community. It is therefore the responsibility of the community to ensure that the young people are brought up in the right manner.
Similarly, their family set ups also dictates the effects of the young people that they may have from participating in violent video games (Gentile, 2003). The way they live in their family imposes the effects they acquire.
A child who in his/her lifetime has faced aggressiveness and hostility from his/her family develops aggressive and hostile behavior. Those whose families are peaceful may not have any impact. In addition, when young people learn certain aspects from the games they practice them in the society and in their families (Dowd, Singer & Fretwell, 2006).
It is upon the society and the families to teach them against anything that is to affect their morals. However, the society and families fail in this, which makes the blame to be on the society and the families other than the violent video games.
During an effort to clarify behavioral, cognitive and effective experience, Anderson & Ford (1986) found a somewhat divergent in relationship between subsequent behavior and short-term exposure to violent games.
The researchers found that there were no relationship between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behavior. They found aggression as an inherent behavior to those youths who portrayed elements of being aggressive.
In addition, during the evaluation and examinations of various studies to the effects of playing violent video games, the researchers dwelt much on the effects that were more interesting while paying very little attention to the effects that were not interesting.
Further, those effects that they found to be on both playing violent video games and nonviolent video games, they gave them less attention. For instance, the effect of physiological arousal, which might be caused by both playing violent video games as well as nonviolent, was given very little attention (Anderson & Carnagey, 2009).
The other effects that were given little attention are the aggressive effect and prosocial effects, an indication that the researchers were dealing with those studies that they had confidence would give them the results they intend to get (Anderson & Carnagey, 2009). This drawback to their studies makes the readers tend to have less trust in their findings.
Conclusion
Researches on the effects of violent video games on the youths especially on aggressiveness form an important catalyst for change. However, the disparity in the present research and the literatures that lack clear and scientific evidence and the psychological and community theories on the effects of violent video games forms a foundation for more researches (US Congress, 2005).
The engagement of young people in violent video games, though it may cause certain effects to the youths, the big role is in the hands of the families and society. The involvement of the youths to the violent video games is a matter of poor parental care. Many parents as seen in the paper do not have the knowledge of what their children play an illustration of the negligence of parents.
If parents develop rules and regulations to their youths on the kind of games they will be playing, monitoring, and inspecting any movie purchased by their children, and ensure no participation in violent video games, then effects of video games to the youth will be a forgotten debate. Thus even though we may associate these effects to the playing of violent video games, much of the effects owes back in the families.
References
Anderson, C. (1997). Effects of violent movies and trait hostility on hostile feelings and aggressive thoughts, Aggressive behavior. London: Sage Publications.
Anderson, C., & Bushman, B. (1997). External validity of “trivial” experiments: The case of laboratory aggression. Review of General Psychology, 1.
Anderson, C., & Bushman, B. (2001). Effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, and prosocial behavior: A meta-analytic review of the scientific literature, Psychological Science, 12.
Anderson, C., & Bushman, B. (2002). The effects of media violence on society. London: Sage Publications.
Anderson, C., & Huesmann, L. (2003). Human aggression: A social-cognitive view, In M.A. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.) Handbook of social psychology. London: Sage Publications.
Anderson, C., & Carnagey, N. (2009). Causal effects of violent sports video games on aggression: Is it competitiveness or violent content? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45.
Doll, L., Haas, E., & Bonzo, S. (2008). Handbook of injury and violence prevention. New York: Springer Science+Business Media.
Dowd, N., Singer, D. & Fretwell, W. (2006) Handbook of children, culture, and violence. California: Sage Publication.
Ej, L. (2008). Human mastery: The universal purpose of life and reaching the potential of human kind. iUniverse, USA.
Gentile, D. (2003). Media violence and children: a complete guide for parents and professionals. Westport: Praeger Publishers.
Kirsh, S. (2010). Media and youth: a developmental perspective. United Kingdom: Wiley Blackwell Publishers.
Us Congress. (October 26, 2005) Congressional record, V. 151, pt. 17. Washington: Government Printing Press.
Ten years since the Columbine massacre and the main questions of the reasons behind the horrible incident are still questioned and various factors and influences are still examined. The main argument in finding all the factors is the tendency to find the one to blame. Among the different examined factors there are gun control, school responsibility, the role of parents, etc. One of the frequently mentioned aspects is the influence of violence in video games. To examine the perception of violence in video games and their effects a survey was conducted addressing the current view on video games in general and the visualized violence in particular.
Background
The video games industry has risen recently to an extent where it can compete with the movies business in terms of annual earnings. In that matter, video games are an important influential aspect based on which a large layer of the population can be categorized and examined. In establishing the relationship between violence and video games, many researchers states that there is “a causal link between playing violent video games and aggressive thoughts, interpretations, and/or behaviors” (Smith, Lachlan, & Tamborini, 2003) Another important background information that should be mentioned is the main target area that plays video games, where “In fact, the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59% of the paying audience.” (Reuters, 2004)
Purpose
The purpose of this survey is to establish a general view of the perception of the video game products that contain violence. Additionally, the survey attempts to observe if there is a difference in this perception among different categories of the population.
Design
In creating the survey, many issues should be managed and considered. First of all, to examine different categories of the participants, part of the survey was conducted for categorical grouping variables such as age, gender, and education. An additional important factor is the division of the answers between people who play video games and the people who do not. In such a way the survey should not be specific in addressing a particular target population, avoiding specific terms, brands, etc.
The second important issue is the definition of violence and distinguishing between a general view and the relation to oneself. In that sense, several control questions were given on violence to see if there would be different answers when it is related to others, rather than personal opinion.
Another important factor is including the concept of violence in movies, to observe the difference between the perceptions of violence in different mediums. This is partly because violence in video games is distinguished from violence in films because of the effect of participation. Method
Internet will be used for administering the survey, where different sites offer the possibility to distribute the survey online. There are several advantages for this method, as the examined population will not be limited to certain groups. The obvious disadvantage is the price, where most of such web sites ask for a fee for conducting the survey and sending the results to your specified mail. Depending on the format of the questions, each question will be rated on five grade scale, where five will be a definite position that states that violence in video games affect behavior, and the grade of one will state that it does not. The collected data will be entered to a data processing program, where the simplest program that could be used is Microsoft Excel with the ability to construct graphs. The highest and the lowest scores will be omitted in order to eliminate bias. Finally the results for different target population will be examined where the most interesting difference should be observed between the population playing the video games most frequently and the population that is rarely or never plays video games. The reliability of the survey will be tested upon the received information on the participants. If there is a big deviation in the results between different population categories, it could be assumed that there is a bias in certain categories.
The Survey
Gender
Male
female
Age
12-15
15-18
19-25
25-30
above 30
Occupation
Student unemployed
Student part time job
full time job
unemployed
Other
Educational degree
Undergraduate
college
bachelor
other
Frequency of playing video games
Several times a day
Once a day
Once a week
Rarely
never
Violence
Rate the following from 1-5 (1 is being least disturbing, 5 most disturbing)
Horror movie
first person shooter*
A killing scene in a movie
A killing scene in a game
*a game that involves shooting from the first person perspective
A certain game is deemed violent, what is the possibility of you obtaining this game knowing that fact:
Very unlikely
unlikely
it does not matter
likely
Very Likely
You are likely to be aggressive after playing a violent video game:
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
You are likely to act aggressively after playing a video game that contains violence
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
People are likely to act aggressively after playing a video game that contains violence
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
Games with violent content are preferable for me over other genres
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
There is at least one benefit for video games with violent contents
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
Violence in video games is affecting violence in the society
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
If I am to buy a game for someone, I will not buy a game that contains violence
Strongly disagree
disagree
neither agree nor disagree
agree
Strongly agree
Violence in games is more dangerous than violence in films
Smith, S. L., Lachlan, K., & Tamborini, R. (2003). Popular Video Games: Quantifying the Presentation of Violence and Its Context. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 47(1).