Computer games became part of our lives. Virtual reality beckons with its limitless possibilities, and computer entertainment industry each year presents all the new games which become more realistic and sophisticated. According to C. Barlett , C. Anderson and E. Swing (2009, p. 377) young people in the USA spend at least 9 hours per week sitting on computer. Around 70% college students consider themselves to be gamers – people who specialize on challenging virtual reality barriers. Video games industry is constantly growing addicting more and more people. According to the recent research about 89% of all games are violent (Buckley, K. & Anderson, C., 2006, p. 364) which leads to assumption that computer games contribute to increasing aggression and violence by destroying social contacts, causing psychological addiction and incorporating virtual reality into people’s daily activities. The essay will stress on each point provided in the thesis statement and will evaluate the overall impact of these factors on increasing aggression and violence among gamers.
Computer games cause violent and aggression by destroying social bounds between gamer and the society with its values and imposing a model of behavior provided in the video game. Social constructivism approach developed by P. Berger and T. Luckmann will be used to develop this idea (Berger, P. & Luckmann, T., 1966). Berger and Luckmann believe that a person is not born as a member of society, but born with a predisposition to sociality. He is a member of the society only through a long process of socialization, the starting point of which is the internalization. It means continuous identification of people with each other, because each of them is involved into the being of the other. Socialization can be defined as a comprehensive and consistent entry of the individual into the objective world of the society. This "entry" involves primary socialization, to which the individual is exposed as a child and as a result becomes a member of society, and secondary socialization, through which the socialized individual is included in the new sectors of the objective world society. Primary socialization is seen by sociologists as much more than just cognitive learning. It is the decisive phase of the formation of the individual image of the generalized other in the person’s mind. This formation occurs along with the internalization of the language, which, according to sociologists, is the most significant part and the most important tool of socialization. The purpose of the primary socialization process is to design the stable inner world of the individual, since during this process the child internalizes the world of his significant others as the only possible world. Consequently, according to Berger and Luckmann, the world, internalized during primary socialization, takes root in the minds stronger than the worlds constructed by a process of secondary socialization (Berger, P. & Luckmann, T., 1966). Therefore a child who plays computer games internalizes not the world of the significant others, but the world created by the computer game. Taking into consideration the growing popularity of computer games with violent content and early age when children begin to use computer (59% of girls and 73% of boys in the 4th grade claimed to have violent computer games as their favorite) (Anderson, C. & Bushman, B., 2001, p. 354), it can be assumed that primary socialization may create a violent inner world of the child which will affect further socialization. It was already stated that children and young adults spend much time on computer and therefore face lack of communication with peers. Social bonds which are commonly established in this age are replaced by virtual bonds with their own rules. Let us have a very abstractive example. Imagine a 10 year old boy who plays violent game like Doom 3 (Bethesda Softworks). Although it is not the latest game it provides realistic violent world where the child feels both scared and curious. Instead of going to play football or ride a bike with friends such boy communicates with those who share his admiration of the game. During this period of life the boy limits his social world to parents he lives with and other gamers. Parents do not play role of significant others because their socialization is overshadowed by the computer reality which looks more vivid and interesting than real world. When period of secondary socialization approaches and the child, who played Doom 3 for a long time, goes to college he finds that not all peers, he gets in touch with, share his interests. Being socialized in the computer world filled with cruelty, the boy will feel frustrated and angry for not being accepted to the new environment. Psychological abnormalities will result in further seclusion which may cause irregular violent behavior. Although this case can be not the universal explanation of computer games’ impact on children’s violence, it shows the mechanism of games’ contribution to violence through the disruption of normal socialization.
The second argument claims that computer games contribute to violence among gamers through psychological addiction which makes the gamer aggressive when somebody is trying to interrupt the process of the game or persuade that computer games are something bad. Many people do not benefit from staying long at the computer, and sometimes are in serious need of psychological help. The most obvious characteristics of games addiction can be depressed mood, deterioration of health, and increased anxiety. For these people, the real world is boring, uninteresting and full of dangers (Buckley, K. & Anderson, C.,2006, p. 366). As a result, they try to live in a different world, where anything goes according to the rules of the game. Maladjustment and inadequate perception of the surrounding world are the main features of addiction to computer games (Buckley, K. & Anderson, C.,2006, p. 366). The main criteria of addiction to computer games can be derived from American Psychiatric Association’s definition of addiction (Anderson, C., McDonald, K. & Gentile, D., 2012, p. 651):
- reluctance to get away from the game;
- irritation at the forced diversion;
- inability to plan the end of the game session;
- spending a lot of money to provide constant updates of games and computer devices;
- forgetting about home affairs, employment, studies, meetings and arrangements during the game on the computer;
- neglecting their own health, hygiene and sleep in favor of spending more time on the computer;
- willingness to be satisfied with an irregular, random and monotonous food, not leaving the computer;
- feeling emotional recovery during the game;
- discussion of game themes with all more or less well-versed in this area people.
Operating these criteria it can be said that a person addicted to computer games sacrifices his real life benefits for the sake of the game. The conflict between virtual world and real one cause disorders in person’s perception of objective reality and may result in physical acts of violence. (Anderson, C., McDonald, K. & Gentile, D., 2012, p. 650). An example of negative effects of computer games is a massacre in Sandy Hook Elementary School where a 20 year teenager A. Lanza killed 26 people. Although the real motives are still not clear there is evidence that Lanza was bullied in his school and found enjoyment in warfare computer games. Although many factors contributed to this act of violence it is clear that such computer games Lanza played gave him enough knowledge to collect and use rifles (Kovaleski, S., Rivera, R. & Kleinfield, N., 2013). There is no evidence of the direct influence of the computer games on mass murders, but games can provide the necessary motivation and knowledge to commit such crimes. Psychological addiction to the games rarely results in direct physical acts, but the relation between violent games and aggressive behavior was proved long ago (Anderson, C., McDonald, K. & Gentile, D., 2012, p. 650).
The third argument states that people who play computer games relate themselves with the character they play and apply his actions to daily activities. Computer role-playing games, which became popular with the development of fast Internet create a unique world which gives much freedom of movement inside it and a variety of actions that can be taken. It is a game in which the player assumes the role of a computer character, that is, the game requires the player to act as a specific imaginary hero. Only role-playing computer games initiate the process of man’s "entering" in the game, a kind of human-computer integration, and in exceptional situations - the process of loss of identity and identification with the computer character. Role playing computer games generate a new level of psychological dependence on the computer. Such games with a view "from the eyes" of the computer hero are characterized by the greatest force "pulling" to the game. The specificity here is that after a while a person begins to lose touch with reality, fully concentrating on the game, bringing himself into the virtual world. The player can take seriously the virtual world and the actions of his hero as his own. In this case, the player can play the role of head of very different specifications: Special Forces commander, chief of the army, the head of state, even a "God" who runs the historical process. This is the class of role-playing games, where the role is not defined specifically, but imagined by gamer (Yee, N., 2002). Such association with the character sometimes results in inadequate behavior and may even lead to the death. An example of RPG’s influence on the real life of the gamer can be found in Russia, where the man killed another player from the opposite guild during the real-life meeting (Fahey, M., 2008). The online game Lineage II, created in South Korea, is based on cooperation and opposition of the players. The initiation with the guild was so strong that its interests influenced the real-life behavior of the player. RPGs cause such a big gap with the real world that it is not easy to quit playing. According to N. Yee (2002, p. 3), children have more difficulties quitting the RPG than adults, however the percentage of the addicted that couldn’t quit is still high.
This graphic shows that many people struggle with leaving the virtual reality unsuccessful. A high percentage of game addicts proves the high possibility of Russian case reiteration. Provided that RPGs are based on domination over other players it can be assumed that they do cause the increase in aggression towards the real world.
Although there is arguments that computer games cause violence, another point of view claims that computer games have positive impacts on the development of the gamers. Such arguments are:
- Computer games provide a good workout for the brain. In many games, to win you need a high level of abstract thinking, which cannot be taught in school. Some mental skills that are needed to succeed are: following instructions, solving problems, logic thinking, coordination of visual and motor system (Buckley, K. & Anderson, C., 2006, p. 368).
- In shooters virtual character can move and shoot at the same time. For the player it means that it is necessary to monitor many parameters, such as: the movement of the character in the space, its speed, aiming, hitting target, and so on. All of these factors should be taken into account and, of course, the brain must coordinate their work. The whole process needs a lot of concentration, hand-eye coordination, spatial thinking in order to be successful in the end. Computer games of such type are used among military men. The Army Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation launched a program which aimed at training the military through imitating the battlefield and real-life conditions of fight (Buckley, K. & Anderson, C., 2006, pp. 364-365). Although computer games are designed for training to kill and destroy, their use is exceptionally for the protecting national interests.
- Modern computer strategy games, which simulate the cities, railroads, worlds can be used as the ideal tools for training skills such as resource management and logistics, tactics and strategy. Player plunges into the virtual world with a bunch of parameters that need to be watched at a time, to allocate resources and make the right decision.
Although there are many arguments for computer games in educational purposes, the essay mentioned that the major part of popular video games are bloody and violent. Rather than using games for education most children and young adults use them for simple entertainment and escaping from the real world. Moreover the scientists stated that even non-violent games caused the increase in aggressiveness and mental disorders in the long-term prospective (Barlett, C., Anderson, C. & Swing, E., 2009, p. 382).
Conclusions
The essay discussed the contributions the computer games make to aggression and violence among gamers. It was stated that computer games disrupt socialization by creating alternative significant others. Parent’s influence is diminished by the virtual world which creates alternative values to children and makes it difficult to pass the second stage of socialization. The second argument stated claimed that computer games cause addiction among some categories of people and increase the aggressiveness not directly, but by providing the necessary skills to commit the violent act as well as by relating gaming values to the real life. The person sacrifices the real life benefits for the sake of the game and becomes more aggressive if someone claims the opposite. The last argument concentrated on the RPGs which are the newest invention of the computer game industry. RPGs make the person feel inside the character and choose the process of the game. Unfortunately there is a low possibility of quitting online games with no efforts and some precedents show that inter-player relations may result in murders in the real life. The counterarguments provided in the essay stress on the usefulness of the computer games in practical and educational purposes. However these arguments cannot refute the simple fact that gaming industries use current trends of violent games to earn more money rather than try to make games beneficial to the humanity.
References
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Anderson, C. A., McDonald, K. A., & Gentile, D. I. (2012). Video Games: Good, Bad, or Other?. Pediatric Clinics in North America, 59(3), 647-658. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2010-2014/12PMAG.pdf
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Fahey, M. (2008, January 18). Russian Man Killed Over Lineage II Clan Grudge. Retrieved July 5, 2013, from http://www.kotaku.com.au/2008/01/russian_man_killed_over_lineage_ii_clan_grudge-2/
Kovaleski, S. F., Rivera, R., & Kleinfield, N. R. (2013, March 28). Newtown Killer?s Obsessions, in Chilling Detail. NY Times [NY].
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