3rd essay ENG102 WP2 FINAL 3000 words essay

Student 9

Student 1

Professor Danielle Menge

ENG 102-1012

6 December, 2019

Video Games and Violence

Video games are a form of entertainment used by people of all ages, genders, and races, but recent research has created a controversy around them. It is being said that video games cause children and teenagers to become more violent, resulting in aggression and an increased number of gun-related fatalities, enough so that many politicians and parents have sought to prohibit the advertisement and sale of violent video games across the country. Although some research supports this idea, there are numerous other peer-reviewed articles which show that video games do not explicitly cause violent teenagers. Not only that, but some research also emphasizes the benefits of video games that, when used properly, overshadow any disadvantages. Violent video games are a staple in almost every child's game arsenal, but it cannot be said for certain that these games will cause long-term, real-life violence in the children, or that this type of violence portrayal differs from that in movies or sports; therefore, they should not be so heavily denounced.

Primarily, the violence portrayed in video games does not affect the player as much as many assume. While there is an increase in aggression following viewing or playing any violent media, this aggression is short-living and lasts only a few minutes. This is due to a desire for children to imitate what they see, but does not cause changes in personality or beliefs. Moreover, a study done by Greitemeyer and Osswald (2009) showed that playing prosocial video games increases prosocial thoughts, and possibly behaviors. In this study, individuals either played a prosocial or a neutral video game, and were later required to cognize a series of letters as being a word or a non-word. Results indicated that participants who had played the prosocial video game were quicker at identifying the prosocial words, such as help, than identifying neutral- or non-words, like run or leph, respectively. Greitemeyer and Osswald (2009) showed "that playing a prosocial video game primes cognitive associative networks specifically related to prosocial behavior. These cognitive associations in turn may activate related behavior.” Thus, the results found that playing prosocial video games affects the networks in the brain that help in increasing prosocial tendencies and behaviors. In another study, a group of 35 participants were asked to play one of two video games, a first-person shooter (FPS) or a control, for a total of 10 hours (Wu et al., 2012). The study found that the brains of the group who played a first-person shooter (FPS) video games had been physically altered in a way that showed enhancement of spatial selective attention. Results showed that "participants who played the FPS video game and also showed the greatest improvement on the attentional visual field task displayed increased amplitudes in the later visual ERPs." This means that playing FPS video games helps improve concentration on visual elements. These results also indicate that first-person shooters can be used as an effective training tool to strengthen attention and perception skills. In a study conducted by Oei and Patterson (2013), participants played various video games and their cognitive performance was measured through multiple-object tracking, attentional blink tests, and cognitive control for filtering out stimuli irrelevant to the tasks. The results from the study suggest "that many video game-related cognitive improvements may not be due to training of general broad cognitive systems such as executive attentional control, but instead due to frequent utilization of specific cognitive processes during game play" (Oei & Patterson, 2013). Meaning, playing video games uses specific cognitive processes such as visual searching, working memory, and critical thinking, that are normally not constantly used. This in turn trains these cognitive functions to be more readily available in everyday life. The results from these studies highlight a few of several advantages provided by playing video games, and show that video games are not only a source of aggression, but can help to strengthen the mind.

On the other hand, the violence portrayed in movies or television shows is seldom discussed, despite being increasingly prevalent. Trained coders scanned movies from 1950 until 2013 and found that the violence depicted in PG-13 movies has more than doubled since 1950, and gun violence has more than tripled since 1985 (Bushman et al., 2013). Although not every child owns or uses a gun, exposing them to guns in movies causes an increase in violence, as per the weapons effect, which states that the mere presence of the image of a weapon leads to an increase in aggressive tendencies. In 2012, a 25-year-old man was responsible for a mass shooting that killed 24 and injured 80 others at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. The theater had been screening The Dark Knight Rises, a movie known for extremely violent scenes that feature torture and death, despite being rated PG-13. Additionally, analysis of 323 episodes of television shows revealed that 70% of those episodes contained some sort of violence, regardless of TV parental guidelines (Gabrielli et al., 2016). In a study done by Deanne et al. (2010), researchers found that children exposed to violent television advertisements were more prone to aggression than children who were exposed to non-violent television advertisements. According to Anderson and Bushman (2001), "aggression is behavior intended to harm another individual who is motivated to avoid that harm" and "violence refers to extreme forms of aggression, such as physical assault and murder.” This is the formal definition used in studies that measure violence, and possibly differs from an individual's personal definition of it. In this study, parents and children alike defined violence as realistic images that contain blood and gore. This is not the same as the scientific definition and shows that this misunderstanding can have many disadvantages, such as permitting one kind of medium and forbidding another based on subjective interpretation of the amount of violence. A large portion of television advertisements targeted at children have violent content, and "other research provides evidence that there is a correlation between media violence and children's tendencies to behave in less than desirable ways” (Deanne et al., 2010). Children are prone to watching large amounts of television, which ultimately negatively impacts their behavior. There is numerous research that highlights the effects of media violence on children, especially movies and television, but the population is unaware of it, or decides to consciously ignore it. Especially with the misinformation present, it is easy to overlook everyday routines that may be damaging to children, and instead turn all focus onto video games. Moreover, according to the ratings by Entertainment Software Rating Board, video games that "contain intense violence, blood and gore, sexual content, and/or strong violence" are rated Mature for ages 17 and up. However, games for younger audiences, such as teens, "may only contain violence, suggestive themes, minimal blood, and/or infrequent use of strong language.” These ratings have been created to ensure that violent video games are played by the right audience, and that children and young teens are prevented from viewing material that may be inappropriate or negatively affect them. Then, video games cannot be held accountable for portraying violence to children if they explicitly advise against children playing certain games. Although many video games contain violence, so do many other forms of entertainment. If violence were the sole issue, people would then be advocating to ban any movie and television show that contains violence, but this is not the case.

In addition, discussing the impact of the acts of violence in or as a result of sports is uncommon. As in Field's article (2010), he says "The acceptance of violence within the sporting culture may, in part, explain why sports-related violence has not yet been widely recognized as a public health concern.” Sporting culture has allowed for this excessive violence to easily be overlooked because it is regarded as entertainment. Yet, viewers enjoy watching certain sports specifically for the guaranteed fighting or violence. In an article by Beth Adubato (2015), she states "Promising violence tantalizes the fans. Promising violence guarantees viewers. In the days of the Roman Empire fans filled the Colosseum to watch blood spill. Fans of the National Football League (NFL) do not watch the game to see delicate acts of athleticism—they watch for hard-hitting bursts of masculinity.” This means that the violence portrayed in sports is a deliberate, and somewhat successful, attempt to draw in more viewers. Males viewers are attracted more to the violence than the actual sport itself, the same way citizens of the Roman Empire watched gladiators fight till the death, a show of blood, gore, and death. Nowadays, the fighting is not this extreme, but that is not to say that they are free from any type of violence. Certain sports like mixed martial arts (MMA) and wresting (WWE) are based purely on fighting and violence, where the winner is the one who knocks out or pins down their opponent first, usually by the use of excessive force. Particularly in MMA, players inflict serious injuries on one other that result in bleeding. For those watching on televisions, they only see the blood on the fighters and the floor of the Octagon, the arena they fight in, but for those who are watching the fight live, the blood may splatter onto the crowd. At these events, there is normally no age restriction, one would only be implemented if alcohol was being served or sold. That being said, it is possible for a child of eight-years-old, or even less, to enter the arena, watch two players fight, and have blood splatter onto their face. This certainly is more detrimental to the child's mental health than playing a video game, where the characters are fictitious and the player is capable of separating themselves from the characters in the video game. Seeing actual human blood is different than seeing the pixelated or animated blood of an enemy or an imaginary creature. Not to mention that video games with a certain level of blood or violence are typically rated as mature and are not meant to be played by young children, unlike at these fights. Many children look up to these athletes as role models and begin to imitate them. If children see their idol being aggressive, they will do so, as well. Another important factor for the shunning of video games and the praising of sports is the stigma surrounding both. Athletes are typically thought to be strong, popular, mature, and great role models. The stereotype for those who play video games is much more demeaning; they are typically portrayed as anti-social 30-year-old men still living in their parents' basement, surviving on junk food and energy drinks. As with most stereotypes, these are not accurate depictions of either group, since many video game players are successful men and women who partake in this activity for casual entertainment, and many athletes are extremely aggressive, abusive, and violent. These stereotypes make it easy to ostracize one group of people from the community, and hold them responsible for any public violence. It is cultural norm that is deeply engrained in people's minds, despite it having no factual basis, but pointing the blame at the pariah is easier than pointing it at the popular jock. Even though various sports are excessively violent and bloody, they are thought to be entertaining and a way for friends and families to bond, while video games, ostensibly not as realistic and influential, remain disapproved of.

Although some studies have shown that violent video games cause children to become more aggressive, there is simply not enough evidence to take that as fact and ban video games altogether. Many studies have found that video games themselves do not result in aggression, but it is a combination of factors that may be triggered by playing video games. Video games have also been proven to have multiple advantages like increasing cognitive speed, improving leadership and team skills, and even improving mathematical skills. Furthermore, there are numerous forms of media that children use every day that are rarely, if ever, discussed, despite having various negative effects on the youth, such as increasing aggression. There are also various violent sports that cause aggressive fans but are rarely, if ever, talked about negatively. Video games are not the culprit that many have sought to make them seem, but they are another form of entertainment for children and adults alike, thus should not be banned or scorned.

Works Cited

Adubato, B. (2015). The Promise of Violence: Televised, Professional Football Games and Domestic Violence. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 40(1), 22-37. Doi: 10.1177/0193723515594209

Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2001). Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature. Psychological Science, 12(5), 353–359. Doi: 10.1111/1467-9280.00366

Bushman, B. J., Jamieson, P. E., Weitz, I., & Romer, D. (2013). Gun Violence Trends in Movies. Pediatrics, 132(6), 1014-1018. Doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-1600

Brocato, E. D., Gentile, D. A., Laczniak, R. N., Maier, J. A., & Ji-Song, M. (2010). Television Commercial Violence: Potential effects on children. Journal of Advertising, 39(4), 95-107. Doi: 10.2753/JOA0091-3367390407

Fields, S. K., Collins, C. L., & Comstock, R. D. (2010). Violence in youth sports: hazing, brawling and foul play. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(1), 32-37. Doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.068320

Gabrielli, J., Traore, A., Stoolmiller, M., Bergamini, E., & Sargent, J. D. (2016). Industry Television Ratings for Violence, Sex, and Substance Use. Pediatrics, 138(3). Doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-0487

Greitemeyer, T., & Osswald, S. (2011). Playing Prosocial Video Games Increases the Accessibility of Prosocial Thoughts. The Journal of Social Psychology, 151(2), 121-128. Doi: 10.1080/00224540903365588

Oei, A., C., & Patterson, M. D. (2013). Enhancing cognition with video games: A multiple game training study. PLoS ONE, 8(3), Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058546

Ratings Guide (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.esrb.org/ratings-guide/

Wu, S., Cheng, C. K., Feng, J., Alain, C., & Spence, Ian. (2012). Playing a First-person Shooter Video Game Induces Neuroplastic Change. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience,24(6), 1286-1293. Doi: 10.1162/jocn_a_00192