Video Games and Youth Violence Is There a Connection...

Tuscon Arizona, Blacksburg Virginia, DC, Littleton Colorado and Paducah Kentucky just a few locations for some of the most tragic, memorable crimes in the modern age. What is the common denominator for all of these crimes? They were all committed by an adolescent or young adult. The influences were many and the reasons are still under debate. The main contributing factor for all of this violence was originally thought to be violent video games, and the vivid scenarios played out in them.( Grossman, DeGaetano 1999) After further investigation, that factor in itself has been proven to be untrue. Contrary to the popularly accepted belief, violent video games do not increase the tendencies for violence in healthy, normal adolescents and†¦show more content†¦In the development of our culture starting as far back as some of us can remember, even before video games, children and youth have always been fascinated by violence and games involving role playing fantasy. From childhoo d with its innocuous games of cowboys and Indians, to cops and robbers, we have always looked to fantasy and make believe to entertain ourselves and at times escape from the reality of a very normal, mundane life. States Harold Schecter PhD, a professor of English at Queens College in New York City â€Å"I have little doubt that fifty years from now, parents will be raising a howl over virtual-reality shoot-‘em–ups that allow their kids to actually feel the splatting blood from the blown-off head of a holographic zombie, and that they will pine for the idyllic days of 2004, when children enjoyed such harmlessly cartoonish pastimes as Resident Evil and Grand Theft Auto.† For a lot of adolescents in today’s world, the ability to relax after a day at school, work, or social activities, whether sports or family related, is not clear cut process. (Jenkins, MIT PhD 2002 ) Some can handle the peer pressure they are put under on a daily basis in stride without a building aggression or anger. For those youths video games are a form of interaction with like minded people, allowing relaxation and pent up frustration at a perceived issue to be deflated. When presented with the reason for playing 2032 children grades 3-12 , relaxation was a reason chosen by aShow MoreRelatedVideo Games And Violent Violence1345 Words   |  6 Pageseven specially made devices for babies and children. Video games are interwoven with our daily lives. For many, it is just an innocent way to relax or enjoy themselves. For others, it has become an addiction in which they cannot escape. Not all video games are violent, but what about those that are? Does society have an obligation to monitor every type of video game children and adults play simply because they believe it may lead to acts of violence? Psychologists, Sociologists, Anthropologist, SchoolsRead MoreDo Video Games Contribute For Video Game Violence?1170 Words   |  5 Pages Do video games contribute to video game violence? I will discuss why video games do not contribute to youth violence, what types of warnings are given by video game companies, and what flaws exist in studies that suggest a correlation between violence and gaming. As the sales of video games have risen in recent years, some groups claim that violence in these games has caused violent behaviors among young players. However, this argument bears little factual evidence supporting such a connectionRead MoreViolent Video Games And Violence1203 Words   |  5 PagesAre violent video games directly correlated to teen violence? This is the burning question many researchers are dedicated to answering. The common form of the question is â€Å"Is the increase in violence in games creating killer kids?† The simple answer is no. Instead the opposite has occurred, as games became more violent, the players became calmer. The games create a â€Å"safe† outlet for any anger or angst that young people possess. Crime rates in the teen po pulation have lowered and violent teens admitRead MoreVideo Games And Youth Violence1181 Words   |  5 Pagespast few centuries,video games have become a great leisure and hobby among kids of all ages and cultures. With the advancement of technology, video games have advanced highly in its realism and genres. This high type of advancement brought the video game industry to a multi-billion dollar industry. However, with realism, comes negative effects as well. Ever since the creation of violent or â€Å"mature† video games, there has been a constant debate on whether it will increase violence in the player. AlthoughRead More Children, Media, and Violence Essay1431 Words   |  6 Pagesis overwhelming. To argue against it, the link between media violence and teen violence is like arguing against gravity, said Jeffrey McIntyre, legislative and federal affairs officer for the American Psychological Association. As children are exposed to acts of violence in the media through t elevision, video games, music, movies, etc. alarming results are occurring. The main negative effect being an increase in aggression among youth who are regularly exposed to the media and an increase in violentRead MoreVideo Games Impacts on Youth1181 Words   |  5 PagesBlanchard English 1102 20 September 2011 Video Games Impact on Youth Today Video games are the most popular form of entertainment and they are enjoyed by people from all age groups. Playing video games can have tremendous impacts on the different age groups, most importantly on the youth. The impact of video games on the youth has many different sides and it is a highly debated topic. One side feels that it has no impact on the youth and is only a game in which the content is meant to be enjoyedRead MoreDo Violent Video Games Influence Youth Violence?772 Words   |  3 Pagesmassive violence, graphic sexual content, and animated blood are examples of statements that the Entertainment Software Rating Board uses to depict the content in over fifty- five percent of the video games rated yearly. The debate of whether the aggressive nature of these video games influences youth violence in our country has been heatedly battled for decades. Since the mid 1980’s, it has been suggested that high profile cases of violence are due to an aggressor’s exc essive video game use. HoweverRead MoreViolent Video Games and Their Impact on Children850 Words   |  3 PagesViolent Video Games and Their Impact on Children Outline Introduction A. Thesis: Although there are some reports of such games terribly impacting children, most research says that the violence in them is understood to be unrealistic, and thus not internalized and regurgitated back through increased aggressiveness in behavior. Reports Showing Violent Video Games Increase Aggression Exposure to violent video games has been lined to increases in aggression. Such reports have linked violent videoRead MoreViolent Video Games Effects On Society988 Words   |  4 PagesVideo games have been around for half a century, when the first simple tennis game was designed by William Higinbotham in 1958. Since then, video games have gotten more in depth, and now include the best graphics and a vast amount of options which include violent video games. Violent video games have gotten more popular with the vast amount of variety including the franchise of Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Grand Theft Auto. In addition, these are the most common and sought after video games, andRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Violent Behavior Among Young Children1525 Words   |  7 Pages The Effects of Video games on Violent Behavior among Young Children Julian A. Jaggon University of Central Florida The Effect of Video games on Violent Behavior among Young Children Just how popular are videogames? In today’s society very popular, not only do our kids and teenagers play video games but even grown men and women play them as well. Video games are now more popular than watching television or going to the movies. According to Center for