Dear Martin,
I trust you are all doing well. I have been involved in research relating to video games and the prevalence of violence in the United States. The research will ascertain whether there exist any relationship between the incidences of violence and the widespread violent video games played among the youth and some adults in the country. I will also ascertain whether the violence experienced in the video games excessive and whether or not the players of the game, especially the youth are taught to be aggressive by the games. The research will also seek to ascertain whether the video game teaches kids to kill or not. While the video game remains so popular in the United States, I will be able to ascertain why the culture remains more dominant and why the military chooses to use video game centers to recruit people into the military service.
Research shows that there exists a lot of violence among American households. However, majority of the frustrated individuals do express their frustrations through killings that are in video games. Frustrations thus increase the majority of the gamers into the violent games. However, according to research conducted by Gamespot, a poll showed that over 58 percent of the American adults believed that violent video games contributed to violence among the teenagers. They respondents argued that violent games increase aggressive behaviors and angry feelings among the youth. (Sterheimer 2007)
Video game exhibit a culture of violence and crime; a culture that has increased, with reports of bullying and school shootings being reported more often in the recent past. The recent incidences therefore back the fact that video game has played a vital role in increasing crime acts among the youths. Video games cause children to fight especially in schools and therefore administrations do put restrictions on how close the games should be allowed in schools. This is evidence that the games are sources of concerns.
Video games are immersive and as such, they are likely to affect people’s behavior than the TV often does. People do not just watch video games but also interact with them. In addition, the games are also repetitive and based on a reward system. Psychologically, repetition and reward systems are the primary components of classic conditioning, a process by which behavioral learning takes place since individuals are rewarded. Since the kids brains are under the development stages, they are easily vulnerable to this condition of learning (Kutner & Olsen 2008)
It is proven scientifically that children playing video games do experience signs of physiological aggression. Scientifically, it is proven than children playing violent video games experience high blood pressure and increased heart rate with their adrenaline always ready for a fight or flight. These kids are often aroused between bloody version to the version of turned off blood, a situation that enables them fight to death.
Children who play violent video games experience an increase in aggressive actions. A 2000 study involving college students yielded interesting results. The study had two components: a session of video-game play, in which half the students played a violent video game and half played a non-violent video game, and then a simple reaction-time test that put two of the students in head-to-head competition. Whoever won the reaction time test have to punish the loser with an audio blast. Of the students who won the reaction-time test, the ones who had been playing a violent video game delivered longer, louder audio bursts to their opponents. (Ferguson & Kimburn)
I hope this analysis proves useful to your research.
Thanks so much.
Works Cited
Ferguson, Christopher J. & John Kimburn, “The Public Health Risks Of Media Violence: A Meta-analytic Review.” Journal of Pediatrics, 2009.
Kutner, Lawrence, PH.D, and Cheryl k. Olsen, “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Video Games And What Parents Can Do. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Sterheimer, Karen. Do Video Games Kill?” 2007
