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1-1A
English IV
5, February 2015
The Impact of Violence in Video Games on Our Societys Youth
Studies show that violent video games are a big factor on childrens behavior. Violent video
games teach kids thats it is alright to use violence instead of any other way to solve the problem
in a proper way. Boys spend more time playing video games then girls do. These long periods of
time playing video games may be the reason for school shootings. In 2008, 97% of people played
violent video games. Research shows that violent video games also teach kids that the world is
a hostile place where they cant communicate with other people because of all the violence
that is happening in the world today.
Violent video games that reward player for doing something violent on a game shows them
that it is ok to use violence in the real world, because they will be rewarded for doing violent
things on a game. Young children that play these video games are more likely to get confused
with the violence of the video game and the violence in the real world and without ethical
decision making; they could mimic the actions of what they see on the video game and use it
against others. Playing violent video games increases aggressive behavior and arousal. Study
shows that it takes 4 minutes for a childs level of aggressive thoughts and feelings to return to
normal after playing a violent video game. For a childs heart and aggressive behavior to return

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back to normal takes about 5 to 10 minutes. When lots of blood is present in video games, there
is a measurable increase of aggression and hostility.
Childrens participation in violent video games can cause an increase in a childs emotions
and behavior. Study shows that playing video games is like smoking cigarettes. One single
cigarette wont give you lung cancer, but if you keep smoking cigarettes over weeks or months
or years greatly increases the risk. In the same way, exposure to violent video games may have a
huge effect on aggression. The link between violent video games and aggression has been firmly
established, and theres a good reason to think that motion capture technology could only make
things worse.
After all, wouldnt literally raising your arm to strike someone in the virtual world create a
hostile mindset that could easily leak out into real world behavior? Violent video games provide
a forum for learning and practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations. Violent video
games appear to affect aggression by priming aggressive thoughts. This aggressive behavior can
become long term, which can become more and more accessible for use in real life conflict
situations. California passed a law in 2005 that would have required violent video games include
an 18 label and criminalized the sale of these games to minors.
In 2008, 298.2 million video games were sold in the U.S., totaling $11.7 billion in revenue.
Researchers found that people who play a violent video game for three days showed increases in
aggressive behavior and hostile expectations each day they played. Meanwhile, those who played
nonviolent video games showed no meaningful changes in aggression or hostile expectations
over that period. Playing video games has become a popular activity for people of all ages. Many

children and adolescents spend large amounts of time playing video games. Video gaming is a
multibillion dollar industry bringing in more money than DVDs and movies.

Video Game Sales in Billions

14
12
10
Video Game Sales in
Billions

8
6
4
2
0
1996

2000

2003

2007

2008

Kain, Erick. As video game climb year by year, Violent crime continues to fan.
Forbes,19,April 2012, web, 3,Feb, 2015. www.fribes.com/site/erickain/2012104/19 video games
have become very realistic. Some video games allow you to connect to the internet and play
against your friends or unknown peers. While some games have educational content, many of the
most popular games emphasize negative themes and promote the killing of humans or animals,
the use of drugs and alcohol, criminal behavior, and the disrespect for authority and the law.
Studies of children exposed to the violence of video games have shown that they can become
immune or numb to the horror of violence, imitate the violence they see, and show more
aggressive behavior with the greater exposure to violence. Some children accept violence as a
way to handle problems. Children and adolescents can become overly involved even obsessed
with videogames.

Spending large amounts of time playing these games can create problems and lead to, poor
social skills, time away from family, school work, and other hobbies. This can also lead to falling
of grades and less reading and less exercising and becoming over weight. Study shows that girls
who played violent video games during their school years were found to be affected just as much
as boys are. Entertainment media affects our lives. What behaviors children and adults consider
appropriate comes, in part, from the lessons we learn from television and the movies. There are
good theoretical reasons to expect that violent video games will have similar, and possibly larger,
effects on aggression. Although video games will not necessarily cause those who play them to
massacre a whole bunch of people, it is proven that people who play aggressive video games do
experience less empathy and sympathetic emotions towards others.
Violent game playing on the top of a behavior disorder does have the potential to extend
into something more severe. Not everyone that plays video games is affected in the same way, if
it is a known fact that aggressive video games do have an impact on a persons behavior, either
severely or subtly. Researchers provide some information that helps, most children do not seem
to be negatively affected by violent video games. Children who already have violent thoughts or
behaviors are more likely to be affected negatively by exposure to violent video games. The
amount of exposure also seems to be related to the amount of risk.
Understanding the proper role of aggression in a healthy life can help parents apply this
information children arent affected by reading a violent book the same way they are by playing
a violent video game that rewards them for the violent things that they do. The number one
negative effect is they tend in inappropriately resolve anxiety by externalizing it. So when kids
have anxiety, which they do, instead of soothing themselves, calming themselves, talking about
it, expressing it to someone, or even expressing it emotionally by crying, they tend to externalize

it. They can attack something, they can kick in the wall, and they can be mean to a dog or a pet.
Additionally, theres an increased frequency of violent responses from children who play these
kinds of violent video games. Video games have been available to consumers for the past 30
years. They are a unique form of entertainment, because they encourage players to become a part
of the games script.
Video games require players to pay constant attention to the game, rather than passively
watching a movie. This is both positive and negative impacts on players. Several studies have
been published that explore these impacts on todays children. The most widely used positive
impact video games are said to have on children is that they may improve a players manual
dexterity and computer literacy. Ever improving technology also provides players with better
graphics that give a more realistic virtual playing experience. This quality makes the video game
industry a powerful force in many adolescent lives.
However, numerous studies show that video games, especially ones with violent content,
make teens more aggressive. Part of the increase in aggressive behavior is linked to the amount
of time children are allowed to play video games. Video games also encourage players to identify
and role play with their favorite characters. This is referred to as a first person video game
because players are able to make decisions affecting the actions of the character they are
imitating. After a limited amount of time playing a violent video game, a player can
automatically prime aggressive thoughts. Researchers concluded that players who had prior
experience playing violent video games responded with an increased level of aggression when
they encountered confrontation.

Researchers found that video games boost visual attention, but reduce impulse control. A
person playing a first person shooter video game, such as Halo or Unreal tournament must make
decisions quickly. Researchers found that the fast paced decision making boosts the players
visual skills but comes at a cost, reducing their ability to inhibit impulsive researchers. The
reduction in what is called proactive executive control appears to be yet another way that violent
video games can increase aggressive behavior, according to researchers. Violent video games are
gives players that rush were they have to do violent things to satisfy their needs for themselves.
Scientists have been studying and debating the effects of media violence on behavior since the
1950s, and video games in particular since the 1980s.
The issue is especially relevant today, because the games are more realistic and bloodier
than ever, and because most American boys play them at some point. Girls play at lower rates
and are significantly less likely to play violent video games. A burst of new researchers have
begun to clarify what can and cannot be said about the effects of violent gaming. Playing the
games can and does stir hostile urges and mildly aggressive behavior in the short term. However,
younger children who develop a gaming habit can become a little bit more aggressive the older
children who play this violent video games.

Work citied Page:

Violent Video Games, Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?,

http://videogames.procon.org/
Video Game Addiction, www.video-game-addiction.org
Violent Video Games can Increase aggression, http://www.apa.org
Violent Video Games, www.fribes.com/site/erickain/2012104/19
The effects of violent video games. Do they affect our behavior?,
http://ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html