Video Game Violence
"In the game Carmageddon, players run down pedestrians, including elderly women with walkers. If a player completes all levels of this game, he or she will have killed a maximum of 33,000 people" (Mediascope Press 2). Violence in video games has been a topic of debate in recent years, with concerns on whether violence in video games has an aggressive effect on children. Violence in video games makes children more aggressive and hostile; in addition, "video game violence makes children desensitized to violence, which can lead to violence at school and home" (Barnes 1). Video games that incorporate violence shouldn't be played by young children. Young children don't fully understand the difference between fantasy and reality. On the other hand, older kids know the difference between fantasy and reality, and right and wrong. Therefore older children should be allowed to play video games that contain violence. Some people say that kids are attracted to video games not so much by the violence, but because the games present puzzles or problems to solve (Sherry 1). If this is true, then why in a 1998 survey "80% of the video games preferred by young people contain violent or aggressive content; of these, 21% depict violence a
John Sherry, a professor at Purdue University claims that of the 27 studies he found, outcomes were mixed. In some instances there was no effect on aggressiveness, Other people argue that virtually every new video and computer game released today carries a rating that is both informative and easy to understand, and it seems clear that many parents are using the ratings to guide their purchases or rentals (Lieberman 1). These people also believe that by establishing a rating system with "M" for mature; will prohibit children from buying these games (Ryan 1). This is simply not true, John Sherry, a professor at Purdue University believes that video games represent fantasy, while television more closely imitates real life (Sherry 2). On the other hand, "video games are active, while television is passive. Video games require attention, while television does not" (Sherry 2). Also, "it is no longer the video game character killing his or her enemies it is now you killing your enemies; it is the player who is choosing to commit violence; the addictive nature of these games often leads to the player inundating themselves with violent images, thereby teaching aggressive solutions to conflict situations" (Ryan 3). "Parents who buy video games for their children say they know what the ratings are, and if any violence is in the video games that their children play" (Anderson 19). Statistics from the National Institute on Media and the Family's revealed that, while other studies showed moderate effects. There was a trend for the more violent games to have bigger effects, but none of the effect
Some common words found in the essay are:
Purdue University, Mediascope Press, Aggression Model, Wired Magazine, Media Family's, Attorney General's, video games, Journal Psychiatry, , Contemporary Pediatrics, University Missouri-Columbia, violence video, violence video games, video game, violent video, difference fantasy reality, difference fantasy, games children, violent video games, children aggressive, fantasy reality, cognitive aggression, video games children, makes children, video game violence,
Approximate Word count = 1087
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
