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Violent Little Gadgets

Pacific Oaks College

HD 300: Quinn Hunter Mcgonngle, Instructor

By: Johana Farias


Many of us can agree that most households where children and teens live, there is

some type of social media device. These social media devices include but are not limited

to, phones, Ipads, computers and televisions. From all these gadgets and with social

media all around us, one of the most popular social media that children and teens spend a

great amount of time are Video Games. The real definition of a video game is an

electronic game played by means of images on a video screen and often

emphasizing fast action. Unfortunately on video games there is more than just

fast action. They are some games that contain profanity, weapons such as guns,

and even have some sexual content. In overall some video games obtain some

type of violence.

The social media world has caused a huge controversial on parents, teachers and

politics. Everyone always criticizes how much children and teens spend a lot of time on

social media, and how it attracts that particular age group. In this research I have created

an investigation on how much is violent video games really affect children and teens

behavior? It is very common for children and teens to play video games and it is the hit

for this era. Although ultimately parents and caregivers are responsible and allow for their

children to play, certain limitations should be set. Based on my research I have found

evidence on how violent video games has caused a negative behavior affects on children

and teens and what are experts really suggesting. In this paper I will discuss how much

time do children and teens really spend on video games, why are video games and

technology so attracting to children and teens, how much is it really affecting their

behavior and which games are considered the most violent ones for children and teens. I

have also put together a set of questions and interviewed two kids and a teenager on how
they really feel about video games and if they feel video games has caused any type of

behavioral changes.

The social media world has become part of our daily lives. Adults use social

media all the time but so do children and teens. It is not a surprise that parents are also a

big factor on how much their kids really spend on playing video games. Parents now a

day have to be working full time jobs in order for them to maintain a household. Many

parents work from home and all they really need is any type of screen to keep their

children entertained while they are busy doing other things. In other words, it is

convenient for parents to have a device to baby-sit their kids. In the article of A Review

of the Effects of Violent Video Games on Children and Adolescents, at the very beginning

of the introduction it states based on research the real amount of time children and teens

really spend on social media and video games. On this article it explains:

Children and adolescents today spend most of their time going to school and consuming

media. On average, children spend about forty hours per week watching television and

films, listening to music, playing video games, and spending time online. In a nationally

representative sample of U.S. teens, 99% of boys and 94% of girls play[ed] video

games, and 70% of nine-to eighteen-year-olds report playing violent M-rated (for Mature

players seventeen and older) games.

Based on this evidence it proves the amount of time that children and teens spend

on social media itself, but also on the countless hours of playing video that contains

violence. In many occasions, parents and adults purchase these violent video games

without even knowing the type of content their children are playing simply because its

the most popular game at school and the kids and teens do not want to necessarily feel
left out about not knowing what games are the ones their friends are playing. These hours

of time that these kids spend are the beginning to major other issues to what parents

encountered. The fact that chores are not being done at home, they get less hours of sleep

time and how playing games and being on social media is reflecting on their school

academics can be a big concern for many parents and educators. Even with the lack of

sleep some of these kids may be lacking on, some people ask themselves what is it so

attracting about violent video games anyway?

On the book Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment By Jeffrey

Goldstein, he explained that they are different kind of levels of attracted violent video

games and why children and teens are so attracted to them. Goldsman describes that they

are three different levels of attractiveness to media violence. On page 90, Goldstein

describes that one, is enjoyment, as the viewers are being observed as they are

watching the games on the screen. Second, selective exposure which means how much

of the violence contains of the violence program it actually contains. Finally, genre

popularity, which is mainly compared to other types of programming there is. What can

be really alarming to most is not the fact that children and teens are watching violent

video games, but to realize the actual amount of time that these kids are spending on a

weekly bases on a screen or electronic device.

There is some evidence that children and teens spend countless hours on playing

violent video games. Video games take up on their time such as studying time, doing their

chores and distract them completely. But why are children and teenagers even addicted to

playing violent video games in the first place? In the book of Grand Theft Childhood:

The Surprise Truth About Violent Video Games, shares information and a graph on why
children and some middle school kids play violent video games and what makes these

violent games so attracted to play. In chapter 5 page 112 there is a total of 17 reasons

from kids and teens on why they like to play and here are some of their responses: 1.My

friends like to play 2.Its something I like to do when Im bored, 3. I like the guns

and other weapons, 4.I like to compete with other people and win, 5. It helps me feel

less lonely. In addition to the survey research it states The survey results showed that

both boys and girls find inspiration, joy and relief in video games.

On the book of Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment by

Jeffrey Goldstien, on page 91 it states that there is no doubt that children do enjoy

watching violent video games. They are more games that they enjoy to watch and play

more than others. A study had been done on face observations of emotional reactions of

preschool children on watching different type of violent games. The researchers found

that while watching cartoon violence children showed a joy expression, but when

watching realistic physical violence showed a negative affect. Some of these violent

video games can and will have a negative affect on childrens behavior. Based on some

research aggressive behavior is one of the main behaviors that children and teenagers can

obtain from playing violent video games.

There has been many kind of research for effects on violent video games and the

effect on children, teenagers and even adults. On the book of Media Violence and

Children: A complete Guide For Parents And Professionals: Edited by Douglas A.

Gentile summarizes each of the potential effects of playing violent video games on

children to adults. Meta analysis is a type of study that has been conducted on four main
effects from watching violent entertainment. The four potential effects are categorized as

follows:

1. The aggressor effect, potentially children through adults can become meaner,

more aggressive and more violent.

2. The victim effect, see the world as a scarier place and tend to become more

protective by carrying weapons such as guns to school. This increases the chance of

school shootings.

3. The bystander affect, children through adults tend to become more callous, and

sympathetic to victims of violence.

4. The appetite effect, increases more appetite for watching violent entertainment.

As the research continues they is more data on how much more affect on violent

video games may potentially have an effect violent television. On page 135-136 from the

book of Media Violence And Children: A Complete Guide For Parents And

Professionals, they are 6 reasons why violent video games have a bigger impact effect on

children trough adults than watching violent TV. These are the 6 reasons:

1. Identification with an aggressor increases imitation of the aggressor: when children

play they have a character that they focus on throughout the whole time children play a

video game. Based on research children vision themselves in the image of the character

and even identify themselves as they continue to follow the game as they continue to play

(pg135).
2. Practicing an entire behavioral sequence is more effective than practicing only a

part, based on this observation the child needs to be able to take several steps in order to

accomplish the violent video game she or he is playing. These steps generally are 1.

decide who to kill, 2. get a weapon, 3. get ammunition, 4.load the weapon, 5.

stalk the victim, 6.aim the weapon, 7.pull the trigger. (pg.135).

3. Violent is Continuous, The player will repeat these steps many times and as long as

they are playing the game, this is what is the main purpose of the violent video games (pg

136).

Playing violent video games is alos more than just watching screen animation and

moving fingers at a fast pace. It is also a full concentration that the players may not loose

focus. The more the player kills the enemy, the higher they get to win the games. Most

of the time the players are not playing alone. They get to compete with other players that

are playing the same game. The players get to also not only watch the games, but as they

play they get to hear the sounds of the bullets and see fake blood from the characters they

aim to kill. I have decided to attach some images of the most violent and yet most popular

video games on the market played by hundreds of children and teenagers. Theses games

are considered the most fun for youth groups but yet violent because of the purpose of the

game is used to hurt and kill others.

Video games are mostly played in two types of electronic devices. These games

are known as The XBOX 360 and Playstation. Once purchased these gadgets, they

are a number of games that are saved in the memory for the children, teenagers and

grownups to play. idoe game has been a popular game in children and teens. The XBOX

carries a variety of games in its memory box, and violent video games are always
included. The following images are violent video games that have been played by young

players. These games are considered violent but yet remain incredibly popular.

The Grand Theft Auto is a violent video game that its purpose is to focus

on where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging

in side activities such as action, adventure, driving, third person shooting,

occasional role-playing, and racing and stealing car. The series has gained controversy for

its adult nature and violent themes.

The Call of Duty is also a violent video game that was created for the audience to

have an experience of the World War II, and is with soldiers in the battle field. The

purpose is for the shooters to Kill the enemy, As the shooter kills the enemy, the image

on the screen shows the blood coming out of the victim.

Grand Theft Auto Call of Duty

Violent Video Game Violent Video Game


I wanted to do some research on my own and interviewed two children and one

teenager and ask them questions about violent video games in general. I would like to

collect data on their experiences on playing video games and what they feel about them

games when they play. I have decided to utilize the Methodology research so I can

interview a total of three participants. Using these research I will be able to collect data

based on the information and compare and contrast my participants answers. I have

decided to interview a 9, 11, and 16 year old.

The first participant is an 9 year old girl, who lives in La Canada. I have taken the

opportunity to ask her parents if she was okay with me to conducting an interview for her

daughter in relation to violent video games. The participants parents and I have a personal

friendship and they were okay with me asking her questions so that I can collect my data

information. These are the following questions I asked my participant one.

Participant 1:

Q1. When did you become interested in playing video games? I have been playing for

like 3 years, since I was around 6 years old.

Q2. How much time do you spend playing? Like about 1 hour.

Q3. How do you feel when you play? I like video games because they are a lot of fun. I

like to see how many points or trophies I get.

Q4. Have you ever played any violent video games? Not really. I once tried playing one

shooting game that my step brother was playing but it only made me frustrated.
Q5. What do you think about games that have weapons, such as guns and other violent

tools? Umm, I dont like those because their sad and mean. I dont like to play games

that have those things on them because I dont see the point in them and they look scary.

Q6. Do you ever get upset or aggressive when you play? I get sometimes upset when

Im loosing, or maybe frustrated when I loose.

The second participant is an 12 year old boy who lives in Pasadena. I asked his

parents if it was okay for me to stop by their home so I can conduct some questions for

their 12 year old son. They were okay with me going over. These are the responses my

participant 2 gave me.

Q1. When did you become interested in playing video games? When I was about 6 years

old, in about 2010.

Q2. How much time do you spend playing? Like about 2-3 hours almost everyday.

Q3. How do you feel when you play? I feel good when Im winning but when I loose

sometimes like 5 times in a row, get mad.

Q4. Have you ever played violent video games? Yes I have, like with swords and guns.

Q5. What do you think or games that have violent weapons such as guns or other violent

tools? I like guns in the game but if those guns are in real life I wont like them, they

would be really violent.

Q6. Do you ever get angry, or aggressive when your playing? Yes I do, but I dont throw

the controllers like my brother.


For my third participant, he is a 15 year old male. He lives in the city of Los

Angeles. I was invited to a birthday party when I saw my friends 15 year old brother and

I decided to ask him a few questions in regards to violent video games and these were his

responses.

Participant 3:

Q1. When did you become interested in playing video games? Since I was very young

like about 6 years old.

Q2. How much time do you spend playing? It depends, right now that Im in summer

break I spent about 3-4 hours almost every day playing.

Q3. How do you feel when you play? I really like it. I sometimes tend to get a little

competitive but not all the time.

Q4. Have you ever played any violent video games? I play them all the time, Call of Duty

is one of my favorite ones.

Q5. What do you think about games that have weapons, such as guns and other violent

tools? Well on video games is not for real, its just cartoon images so their fun, but of

course if that would happened in true life that would be scary.

Q6. Do you ever get upset or aggressive when you play? I dont consider myself that I get

angry or aggressive, it dont like it when I loose, but its just a game. I have come across

with other players on the internet that they sound very angry because I could hear that on

the microphone.
Based on the research from my three participants I was able to gather data that all

of three participants began playing at the age of 6. All three of the participants also shared

that playing video games are fun. Two of the participants who are males shared that they

like to get competitive with others. The male boys also share that they dont mind the

violent weapons because its only a game and the girl said she prefers not to play the

violent games because they are too scary. This research helped me get a better insight on

information of how the children and youth feel about violent video games in general. I

enjoyed having the interviews with my participants in general.

In overall based on all of my research I have found out the effects that video

games can have on children and teenagers. Although ultimately parents and or legal

guardians are responsible for the video game purchase and for the time consumed that

their children are playing, Violent video games also have a lot of profanity words that is

inappropriate for children and teenagers to listen to. The world of Video in geneal is

currently right now, and everyone that takes the time to investigate what the games are

really about and what the purpose of each game is.


Bibliography

Goldstein, J. H. (1998). Why we watch: The attractions of violent


entertainment. New York: Oxford University Press.

Kutner, L., & Olson, C. K. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about
violent video games and what parents can do. New York: Simon & Schuster.

boyd, . (2014). It's complicated: The social lives of networked teens. London: Yale
University Press.

Gentile, D. A. (2003). Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and
professionals. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Whitaker, J. L., & Bushman, B. J. (September 06, 2009). A Review of the Effects of
Violent Video Games on Children and Adolescents. Washington and Lee Law
Review, 66,3, 1033-1051.
Student Learning Outcomes
SLO1: Students will synthesize theory and practice about development change based
on integrating and evaluating theories of developing and constructing ways insights
are applied to practice across all age groups.

In this class I was able to learn different theorists and apply to every age group from
infants through senior age. I am now able to integrate the developmental changes
throughout the lifespan and the stages that go along with the theory.

SLO2: Students will integrate personal reflections to construct a theory of


development applied to self within the cultural and societal context of their lives.

For my personal reflection based on the theory developments I have learned in this
class, it is important to integrate theorists and apply to cultural and societal context in
everyday life because as an educator I need to be able to educate others who may
struggle with personal cultural biases in society.

SLO3: Student demonstrates an enhanced ability to asses and evaluate others through
observing and analyzing the impact of cultural differences and societal bias on
development.

I have been working with children for about 10 years and I have observed different
cultural backgrounds. I have also taken the opportunity to be open to parents and
families about cultural differences and societal differences because it is important to
address these topics and respect to colleagues who have same traditional culture values.

SLO4: Student demonstrates an ability to critically assess the impact of societal


oppression and its relevance to human development and construct ways of addressing
these issues as an educator.

As an educator it is my biggest responsibility to be able to help and educate those who


feel oppressed by society. It is important to let others know that it is okay for people to
be different and have cultural, race, costume backgrounds, but that we all need to
respect each other with respect and not put others down or be oppress.

SLO5: Student demonstrates growth in the class, indicated by an improvement in


writing or critical thinking skills, a willingness to take risks and authentically engage
with course material and classmates, or an openness to new information and
perspectives.
I personally love to be able to hear other classmates perspectives and opinions when we
are having a discussion about any topic. I love to hear real stories that happen to others
in real life because that gives me a better understanding about what happens in past
experiences and I like to do the same. I feel that it is also important to hear other
peoples views and I like to share any information that I can help them out as well. I think
that in order for students to get anywhere we all have to hear each others perspectives
and not make things personal or be sensitive about subjects.

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