The answer, no; only a correlational effect.
The answer, no; only a correlational effect.
Introduction
For years, people have been playing all sorts of video games and has fallen in love with playing the ones that they do play. There are some people who play video games use it as an outlet when they need to relieve stress, and there are others who do it because they simply love playing video games to waste time. Ironically, some parents are against their child playing video games because of the fact that it has been known to invoke feelings of violence that is basically not true. Video games are play things meant to be enjoyed not be taken seriously.
Thesis
Parents know their children play video games and wonder if there is a correlation between their child playing violent video games and their aggressive behavior, there is no way that it is even possible. To say that playing violent video games is responsible for violent behavior in kids is ludicrous, I have been playing video games since I was 9 years old and I can personally say from experience that playing violent video games do not invoke feelings of violent aggression. People are responsible for their actions even if those actions are violent, video games have nothing to do with a person’s behavior. Anderson (2003, pg.1) states that there is no correlation between people who play video games and violent behavior, video games are just there for our amusement; they are not capable of violence (Anderson, 2003, pg.1). It is unfair for a child to get hurt and the parent blame it on the video game; the child could have had the aggressive tendency before playing that game. This is theoretical at best.
Body
Unfortunately, there are dark sides to this issue that people are exploring more of, and that is the concept that playing violent video games do cause people to get violent. There is probable cause to believe that playing violent video games can cause on kid to get aggressively violent on another child out of anger, this would be a clear case of copying the video game in which they mimic. Case in point, Jack and Benny have been friends since they first met. Their respective ages are 14 and 13, Benny is the oldest. Jack’s favorite game is God of War II; he and Benny play it religiously. One day, the boys decide to act out of the scenes from the game on one of the other neighborhood boys they do not like, and it is an ugly scene. Jack and Benny has had a problem with the other boy for a long time because the other boy harasses them at school; Jack beats up the boy then slams his head into Benny’s garage. The boy blacks out, the boy’s parents find out, and Jack & Benny are no longer allowed to play God of War II. Using moves a person learns in the games they play can have devastating effects on other kids, it can even drive them to possibly kill another kids by mimicking these moves. It is ironic how some of the kids who play these games become the monster they kill; it is justified in their eyes but not in anyone else’s. Carey (2011, pg.1) states that in theory letting a child play a violent video game will cause them to use what they learn in those games on other people, there is reason to believe that if a child copies a game then they will do it for the love of the game (Carey, 2011, pg.1). Kids are inspired by powerful figures which make them feel powerful themselves copying the game character, there is no finer lesson to teach a child that the line between fantasy and fiction why that person should never cross that line into fiction territory. Parents are fearful of even letting their child play video games because of the amount of violent content in them, but that parents can prevent this by talking to their child about why their game is just a fantasy and that alone.
Body 2
The thing about the concept of kids playing violent video games and go on to be violent is the fact that, there is not enough evidence to prove that point. For example, kids are turned onto aggression long before video games come into the picture. They could be watching their parents be violent to each other by watching the father beat up his mother or get into fights with the neighborhood guys like other guys, the limitations to the theory of children and video game violence is that the child can learn about aggressive behavior from people around them; there is not enough proof to assume that children are picking up violence from the games that they play. Logically, anyone knows that if a child sees something that fascinates them then they will copy it because they feel they can relate to whatever it is that they are copying. It does not have to be a video game; it can be them mimicking the neighborhood bully whose gang they are trying to get into. A child can completely pick up this violent, aggressive behavior from other places, and other people, not every violent act can be attributed to video games. Bernhard (2014, pg.1) states that video games do not cause children and teens to be violent, playing video games has decreased the crime rate in America not raised it (Bernhard, 2014, pg.1). Proof positive is the fact that teens who grow up to be rapists, child molesters and violent criminals never played a video game before in their lives. It is a known fact that teens who pick up violent behavior naturally grew up around aggression because of being raised in low income home, and poverty which can cause people to get violent toward those closest to them; families of low income status that are living in poverty cannot afford to get their teens video games let alone violent ones that causes them kill.Video games are a form of entertainment that are weapons to fight boredom, not other people who they view as a threat to them or their families. Violent video games have evolved over the last ten years or so, and the minds behind these games expect teens to not copy what they see.
Body 3
As previously stated, video games were created to give America’s youth a different change in hobby or a healthy hobby. This is provided that they were smart about the rules of hobby which has become “do not copy what you see or the ramifications of your disobedience will be severe”. Some video games makers and companies make it crystal clear that copying the things in video games can have detrimental effects on a person’s mindset; it can get them in trouble for life. Personally, video games do not cause violence in teens because of the prominent risk of being banned from playing video games and possible jail time to boot. Makuch (2014, pg.1) states that the correlation between teens’ violent behavior while playing violent video games is not a solid one. There are too many foolhardy parents who are quick to blame video games for their teen’s violent behavior instead of looking at the real problem which could be the team (Makuch, 2014, pg.1). If a teen stands up to a bully at his high school and manage to beat the bully up barehanded, it just means that the teen learned how to stop taking it by beating the bully to a bloody pulp. Case in point, Michael is an 18-year-old boy who has been getting bullied by the same guy since he was in sixth grade. Michael goes home every day after school and trains by punching on punching bags and working on his karate moves, so he can take the bully down. Mike does not play video games because he has no interest in them; he is more of an outdoor person. One day, the school bully pushes Michael too far, and Michael snaps. The school bully gets beat up by Michael, who leaves him on the ground bloodied and beaten, humiliated in front of the whole school, the bully does not retaliate. In this scenario, teens who do not play violent video games do well about getting violent on their power because they are being pushed too far,and they stopped taking it plain and simple. Video games like Call of Duty, God of War and Bayonetta do not promote teens to be violent, they are smart enough to know the difference.
Body 4
Video games are the epitome of evolution in humans, and the reason is that most logical minded people know that video games are more than just violence and the conflict between good and evil. Video games teach teens as well as kids things that not playing video games cannot teach them, people all paint a negative picture about something instead of seeing both sides of that particular issue. For example, the PS2 is a 6th-generation system that introduced a game that allowed communication and gameplay via controller as well as by headset; I believe we all are familiar with the game SOCOM: Navy Seals. This game made three sequels, and it has allowed teens to converse with other teens who they have seen nor met before, but friendships were forged in this gaming menagerie. Teens having other teens’ backs in the line of fire while playing these games, this sounds more like teens are having innocent fun not running amok and killing each other or other people. Kotz (2013, pg.1) states that video games are not promoters of violence they instead teach teens as well as young children how to do things that they are not normally taught, video games are a shining light of lessons for young minds that do not turn them into bloodthirsty monsters of darkness (Kotz, 2013, pg.1). Ironically, SOCOM Navy Seals was among the first violent video games ever created for the PS2 and there was no case by case scenario that teens wanted to kill other teens or other people based on their love for the game. Games like this are all about teaching teens the value of brotherhood and how to have each other’s back in this chaotic world of ours,games that teach teens let alone children how to have each other’s back are rare indeed. The true value of these kinds of games is that they are teaching tools that will benefit generations of children, people with negative reactions to video games cannot put a price on that kind of support. Teens have a healthy outlet, and they get to play with other kids in an imaginary world; sounds like a win-win to me.
Body 5
It is a known fact that video games do not incite violence within a teen’s heart; they have been the unsung hero of many a lesson that kids are taught playing video games. Another example of video games’ educational benevolence is that it teaches kids how actively problem solve without resorting to violence, this is an invaluable tool that will more than likely increase their intelligence and IQ. Patterson (2013, pg.1) states that teens who are 13 years or older see video games as nothing more than enjoyable entertainment and playing violent video games has not prompted them to kill or murder anyone out of anger (Patterson, 2013, pg.1). It is clearly evident that video games have more to teach teens how to be civil and human and not dodging grenades or pretend to deflect them back to the enemy forces. One of the biggest arguments ever started by people is that video games these days teach children how to be killers with a vendetta whenever they are pushed too far or teens are learning how to be rapists from playing Grand Theft Auto and neither one is true at all, teaching a teen how the world works by playing games like Sims or Half-life are games that teens should be playing. Case in point, Johnson is a 16-year-old boy who loves playing first person shooter games, his favorite game is TimeSplitters: Future Perfect. The game has taught Johnson what to do if he needs to defend himself and he does not have a weapon. Picking up things and throwing it at the guard to knock him out then take his weapon teaches creativity, it also taught Johnson how to survive until he was able to get a weapon he could use. Johnson also knows that what he does in the video game world, stays in the video game world. The problem is that some parents do not give their teen enough credit to depict real from imaginary, they just jump to conclusions that the game is going to corrupt their child. It is natural to protect one’s child from corruption elements, but if the child has the brilliance to begin with, what’s to save; the logical aspect of this is that video games help more than they harm.
Conclusion
For parents who are worried about violent video games causing violent behavior in their teens then what the parents can do is sit down with the child and play the game with them, most parents jump to conclusions about how bad a game is without even trying it themselves. By doing this, they will get a chance to see what their child sees, and they would be less threatened by the fact that their child will turn bloodthirsty from playing the desired game they are playing. Besides, as every good parent knows, playing video games with their child whether they are teen or preadolescent, will bond with that child. This will make the parent’s job easier about talking to their child about never crossing the line between fantasy and fiction. Clark (2014, pg.1) states that there is no correlation between children who commit suicide and those who have suicidal thoughts, video games are not and have never been responsible for instilling suicidal thoughts within anyone’s mind (Clark, 2014, pg.1). What is ironic is that parents who buy these violent video games for their teen do not research the game or ask questions about them, they would hope that their child will be that voice of reason which for them it is about the game and not being logical. Researching a game before you buy it is one of the best ways to avoid little surprises like their children’s bad behavior, researching a game does not consume a lot of time and energy. Any parent worth their salt will take the time and research the games that they are getting their children, but there is no reason to believe that the kid will turn into something horrible when they play that game. Teens and children alike should be allowed to play whatever game they want until they give their parents a reason to cut them off from it, parents that decide to play their child’s game to see what is it about should monitor their child’s behavior for a little while to see how they react to people as well as people’s attitudes. If the parent does not see a slight hint of violent behavior and aggression in that child then that should be proof enough that playing violent video games is not the cause of any violence or aggression in that child.
References
Craig A. Anderson. 2014. Violent Video Games: Myths, Facts, and Unanswered Questions. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2003/10/anderson.aspx. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Benedict Carey. 2013. Shooting in the Dark. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-violent-video-games.html?_r=0. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Nicholas Bernhard. 2014. Video games don't cause violence. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.dailycamera.com/guest-opinions/ci_24936193/video-games-dont-cause-violence. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Eddie Makuch. 2014. Violent Video Games Don't Lead to Increases In Violent Crimes, Study Finds. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/violent-video-games-dont-lead-to-increases-in-viol/1100-6422421/. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Deborah Kotz. 2013. Do violent video games have an upside for kids?. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/blogs/daily-dose/2013/11/29/violent-video-games-have-upside-for-kids/t27Zpp9wGaVJE7sKF7PVBK/blog.html. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Sean Patterson. 2013. Video Games Don’t Make Teens Violent, Shows Study. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.webpronews.com/video-games-dont-make-teens-violent-shows-study-2013-08. [Accessed 27 October 14].
Liat Clark. 2014. Blaming video games for suicide is an illogical leap too far. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-05/29/call-of-duty-suicides. [Accessed 27 October 14].
