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Ernesto Herrera

Mrs. Knighten-Miller-2

English 11

3 November 2016

The Impact of Violent Video Games

Video games are a worldwide phenomenon, which are played by many people around the

world. In fact, 90% of the popular played video games portray violence. Statistics show that

violent video games negatively influence young teens. (THESIS) Although violent video games

allow players to release their catharsis, serious problems were linked to players from the

exposure of violent video games because it results to a lower empathy level and violent video

games are also used as a simulator to train soldiers how to kill.

The first video game lawsuit was filed in 1997 by anti-video game activist Jack

Thompson. According to Thompson, video games were responsible for violence committed by

teens. The lawsuits were filed at the behest of the families of the 3 children that were killed in the

Heath High School shooting. Further investigation showed that the culprit of the shooting played

violent computer games, and accessed pornographic sites (A Timeline of Video Game

Controversies). The lawsuits were later dismissed for failing to present a legally recognizable

claim, however. Another issue of video game violence causing panic was the Columbine High

School shooting. The two students that committed the shooting were fans of violent video games,

particularly Doom. As a result, people began to blame video games for the Columbine High

School tragedy. Several federal lawsuits against 25 entertainment companies were filed by the
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Columbine victims family. The lawsuits were later dismissed in 2002, along with the 1997

shooting allegations, by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Recent studies show that young teens that play violent video games causes more

belligerent behavior, fighting, and bullying. According to a 2014 peer-reviewed study, it was

found that perpetual video game playing had a casual link with increased, long-term, aggressive

behavior (American Medical Association). Several other peer-reviewed studies show that under-

aged teens that play M-rated video games are more likely to bully or cyberbully their peers.

Because of the escalation of children and young teens playing violent video games, the

Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) was established in 1994. The ESRB is an

organization that assigns appropriate age and content ratings on video games and mobile

applications. As a result, it is responsible for the marketing guidelines of video game industries

and enforces advertising. The ESRB rates video games from rated EC for early childhood to

rated AO for adults only.

The media had a strong impact in regards to video game violence. According to the New

York Times article, for example, playing violent video games can result in aggressive and hostile

urges overtime. In addition, teens that develop gaming habits are more likely to be more

aggressive with their peers (Carey). However, it is not determined whether long or short periods

of time will increase the possibility of that person from committing violent crimes such as

murder, rape, or assault. Many video game advertisements are now required to have their content

rated in order to be advertised and sold. As a result, the video game can only be sold in stores if

the content has been rated already.

Many people believe that violent video games allow players to release their catharsis

towards video games, showing less aggression in the real world. In fact, in a study conducted by

Texas A&M International University, teens that play long-term violent video games are sought to

handle stress better and become less depressed than non-playing teens (Texas A&M International

University). Another benefit to violent video game players is that stressful tasks can be handled

with less frustration. Dr. Christopher J. Ferguson explains, In this study, 103 young adults were

given a frustration task and the randomized to play no game, a non-violent game, a violent game

with good versus evil theme, or a violent game in which the played the bad guy. The results

suggest that violent games reduce depression and hostile feelings in players through mood

management. (Texas A&M International University). As a result, more studies have been

conducted and many find no link with violent video games and aggression. The study, published

in the journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture, found that teens that play violent video

games are more likely to perform well academically, and were likely to show less aggressive

behavior. Researchers concluded that kids who play less than an hour and a half are less likely to

be aggressive. So then, many studies have shown that a certain amount of time spent playing

violent games benefit players into showing less aggression into the real world.

Although there appears to be some benefits in playing violent video games, data indicates

that the amount of time spent on violent games has almost no impact on the player. According to

author Andrew Przybylski, all observed behaviors were very small in magnitude, suggesting

only a minor relationship at best and that games do not have as large an impact as some parents

and practitioners worry," Even though players are said to be less aggressive when playing violent

video games, their behavior is alleviated.

It is believed that that exposure to violent video games is linked to lower empathy,

altering negative behaviors. The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents

conducted a study to find a link, or relationship, between real-life and video game violence. One

hundred and fifty fourth and fifth graders were exposed to video game and media violence

(Elsevier). It was found that long-term exposure to video game violence is indeed linked to a

lower empathy level. Exposure to movie violence was also associated with lower empathy and

kindness. The engagement and nature of violent video games intensifies a negative impact

towards players. However, the little time spent exposing video game violence to the fourth and

fifth graders will lead to further study as it is difficult to quantify personal and casual

relationships.

Another study was conducted on long-term and short-term exposure to violent video

games. In the study, sixty-six five through twelve year olds were examined by completing

questionnaire assessing video game experiences, preferences, empathy, and attitudes toward

violence. The children played both violent and nonviolent video games. They then had to

respond to a series of vignettes about everyday occurrences. The vignette responses were

evaluated for both aggression and empathy. After the vignettes were examined, the results

showed that long-term exposure to video game violence is linked to desensitization and lower

empathy, as reflected by the vignette scores. However, long-term exposure to nonviolent and

violent video games showed the same results of aggression.

According to the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, playing violent video

games for just about 20 "can cause people to become less physiologically aroused by real

violence". In other words, playing violent video games for long periods of time desensitizes

people to violence and make it more likely for them to commit violent crimes. It is estimated that
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American children that reach the age of 18 would have seen over 16,000 murders and 200,000

violent acts, which were all depicted by video games and television. A 2011 peer-reviewed study

shows a relationship between video game violence exposure and belligerent behavior. As a

result, studies show that individuals that either play long-term or short-term video games respond

less physiologically towards violence. In fact, a 2005 peer-reviewed study concluded that

exposure to violent video games is linked to the reduction of P300 amplitudes in the brain, which

is linked to aggressive behavior. Although the studies appear to reflect desensitization towards

violence and lower empathy levels, it is still unclear what leads to causalities.

Several types of behavior are shown by players that play certain kinds of video games. In

this case, the United States military is manipulating a trainees behavior to be suitable in a war-

like environment. The goal of the U.S. army is to train the new generation of soldiers the same

way they would as if they were to play a video game. According to Scott Fazekas, a Raytheon

spokesman, Virtual training helps orient new trainees in ways familiar to them, in that most

younger trainees have experience with video games. Learning to perform complex tasks in an

intuitive environment taking into account how trainees acquire skills helps speed the

learning process. (Fazekas). Fazekas explains that soldiers create their life-like avatar- which

usually takes up a whole day. Then, the training play multi-player matches. There the soldier

must control their avatars in a virtual landscape and manipulate digital versions of real-life

equipment for the purpose of training. Virtual training is safer and is money and time saving as

well. As a result, it allows soldiers to have a better understanding of military technology and

hardware.

As many video games are used as a simulator for real-life scenarios, the U.S. Army use

violent video games as a battlefield scenario. The U.S. Army has developed many kinds of video
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games to train soldiers. Many of those video games have been released to the public. Americas

Army is one of many games, developed by the U.S. military, in which players can have their

experience with a virtual soldier. The game was dubbed as informative, entertaining, and

engaging. Many controversies sparked whether if real training is better than virtual military

training. However, many suggests that violent video games are bad for the public for many

reasons indicating that it should only be used for military purposes only.

Because violent video games are the top played genre of video games, it can negatively

influence the minority group. Violent video games have ratings suggesting that it should be

played by players ages 17 and up. However, many players that do not reach the age requirement

still purchase the video games. Although many stores that sell violent video games have a policy

to not sell the games to anyone younger than 17, minors are still able to purchase the game as

long as a parent, sibling, or guardian confirms the purchase. If stores were to make their policies

even more strict and specific, the exposure of violence from video games would not be

alleviated.
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Works Cited

"Playing Violent Video Games, Desensitization, and Moral Evaluation in Children." Playing

Violent Video Games, Desensitization, and Moral Evaluation in Children. N.p., n.d. Web. 06

Dec. 2016.

"Violence Exposure in Real-life, Video Games, Television, Movies, and the Internet: Is There

Desensitization?" Violence Exposure in Real-life, Video Games, Television, Movies, and the

Internet: Is There Desensitization? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.

"Violent Video Games - ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.

"Texas A&M International University." Texas A&M International University. N.p., n.d. Web. 09

Nov. 2016.

"The Impact of Video Games." Doctors, Patient Care, Health Education, Medical Research.

N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2016.

"A Timeline of Video Game Controversies." National Coalition Against Censorship. N.p., 22

July 2016. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.

"6 Military Video Games Used to Train Troops on the Battlefield - Under the Radar." Under the

Radar. N.p., 02 June 2016. Web. 8 Dec. 2016.

@VersionDaily. "How the U.S. Uses Video Games for Military Training | Version Daily."

Version Daily. N.p., 17 Jan. 2016. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.