Video Game Violence Essay

Bryant Del Toro
English 15
11-4-13
Professor Lynch

Video games in modern society

“Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock-n-roll.” (Miyamoto) The future of entertainment completely relies on the evolution of technology. Video games are becoming more and more realistic leaving little for the imagination to decipher which is most likely a reason that video games are being blamed for youth violence. For most video game players, the violence portrayed in video games is ineffectual so the isolated cases of youth violence should not be used to stereotype an entire community of gamers. Anything in excess can be dangerous and video games are no exception. Overplaying video games can have many disastrous outcomes. Limiting the time children can play video games tends to be more beneficial than detrimental. Video games have recently been associated with violence but is it fair for video games to be the only media source to be attributed with that type of reputation? Movies, television shows, and music have all incorporated violence into them. Violence is literally everywhere in the media. With the explosion of technology, media is now accessible 24 hours a day. Past research estimates that about “61% of television programs contain some violence.; 43% of violent scenes contain humor; Perpetrators of violence were depicted as attractive, 44% of the time; No immediate punishment was depicted in nearly 75% of the violent scenes.”(Smith). Researchers argue that video games have the most negative impact because it rewards children for the violent acts but on the television it shows real humans committing atrocious acts with no real immediate consequence. It gives the child the idea that if an act of violence is committed, there will be no consequences. Televisions requires the child to sit and stare while video games get the child involved and make them work out problems in order to receive rewards. According to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the strongest risk factors for school shootings centered on mental stability and the quality of home life, not media exposure. (Jenkins) No single media source can be blamed for the violence in children especially since they all work together. There is no single source that can make a non-aggressive person act aggressively. Everyone has been exposed to violence in some shape or form. In the end, video games are not bad or evil any more than movies are. Take in the example of the movie, “Evil Dead”, where the trailer itself is a perfect example of the exposure and accessibility to violence that everyone has, not just children. Overall as a society we have shown a desensitization to violence. Video games can be as dangerous as any drug if not controlled correctly. Video games are addictive, make kids fat and turn us all into trained murderers, or, at least, that is what we’re often told. Everything is addictive if not controlled or used in moderation. Limiting the gameplay time down to something manageable could actually provide a stress outlet. Dr. Barton Schmitts from the Children's Health Network organization recommends that “A reasonable limit is an hour of play on school nights and 2 hours a day on weekends.” (Schmitts) Any time that doesn’t interfere with school or sleep could be used to play video game set to the standards of parents. Video games in today's society provide people with a kind of escape that other forms of entertainment cannot. People could actually release their anger within a video game instead of physically being aggressive with other individuals. Besides being physically aggressive, the public blames this generation’s anti-social tendencies as a side effect of gaming. In a society where communication is through social media and electronics, it is hard to argue that an online gaming community is not a justifiable form of socialization. People communicate through media mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Most

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