By: Emily Fry

Violent Video Games and Behavior Influences

 

          "I think that if someone plays a video game, and then goes out and harms another human being, or themselves because of what they just saw in the video game, they were screwed up in the head long before they got their hands on a controller" quoted by Tim Buckley. Although Tim makes a good point, I believe violent video games can have a major negative impact on the behavior of young children and contribute to violent behavior as they become adults. Should violent video games be banned? I wouldn't go to the extreme of them being banned completely, but I do believe these violent video games of the world should be banned for people under the age of twenty-one. Do violent video games influence the behavior of young teenagers? Yes, they can have a negative influence on a young teen's behavior. According to Dr. Craig Anderson, "Playing a violent video game isn't going to take a healthy kid who has few other risk factors and turn him into a school shooter, but it is a risk factor that does drive the odds for aggression up significantly." I take this into consideration because less women would feel threatened, aggression after playing would decrease enormously, and younger generations would be better skilled.

With violent video games being banned from minors, women wouldn't need to feel as threatened. The reason for that would be because men wouldn't have the influence of experiencing violent acts toward women. "In a 2012 peer - reviewed study, it states that violent video games sexually objectify women, because of this rape - supportive attitudes have increased" (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?). As a female myself, I would personally feel safer in an environment where teens were not being negatively influenced by violence. "Over forty-nine percent of violent video games involve violence against women" (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?). With the experience of my brother playing these awful games, I can honestly agree with that statement. It never fails that anytime I come across my brother playing a violent game there is always a women screaming and running away. A media psychiatrist, Carole Lieberman says, "The more video games a person plays that have violent sexual content, the more likely on is to become desensitized to violent sexual acts and commit them." As a male teen's mind is developing, he should be careful with the exposure of these violent games which disrespect women. Statistics show that every nine seconds in the United States a women is assaulted or beaten to death. Being a female this is really disturbing. Banning violent video games from minors will help to decrease violent acts toward women.

          Aggression after playing violent video games would decrease if they were banned from all minors. Dr. Christopher argues that violence has no connections to real life issues, (Violent video games and young people). I do not side with Dr. Christopher. "Psychological research studies have found an association between violent video games and increased aggressive thinking and behavior in youths. Sixty percent of teens boys along with forty percent of teen girls that play violent video games have either hit or beat up another person" (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?). In my social circle I have witnessed the effect violent games have on one's overall behavior and one's ability to control his or her aggression after exposure to these games. "Studies suggest that when violence is rewarded in video games, players exhibit increased aggressive behavior compared to players of video games where violence is punished" also "Several peer - reviewed studies have shown that children who play M - rated games are more likely to bully and cyberbully their peers, get into physical fights, be hostile, argue with teachers, and show aggression towards their peers throughout the school year" (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?). So should violent video games be banned? For parents who go against violence not only in their house but anywhere else, then yes.

          Violent video games have such a negative impact on our society today. A negative impact would be social isolation. "A gamer who spends so much time alone with no human contact can become withdrawn and this will have a negative effect on their social skills" (Admin). Another negative impact would be the separation from reality. "Some gamers become so engrossed in games that they actually believe they are part of the virtual world in which the game takes place" (Admin). With the younger generation playing violent video games, it conflicts with their learning skills causing their social skills to also be negatively affected. "Dr. Mizuko Ito and Irvine concluded that video game play and other online activates have become so ubiquitous among young people that they have altered how young people socialize and learn" (Violent video games and young people). With so much time spent playing video games, teenagers are losing valuable time that could be spent on social interaction. Video games are a distraction from real life issues.

          "Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence towards women" (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Behavior?). In conclusion, my opinion on violent video games being banned for those under the age of twenty-one is powerfully willed. This is because less women would have to feel threatened, aggression after playing violent games would decrease, and the younger generation would be better skilled. Therefore I strongly agree that violent video games are negative. Parents of teenagers under eighteen that believe against violence in their life should help to protest against violent video games.  
http://emilypaige77.edu.glogster.com/violent-video-games-and-behavior-influences/