Positive And Negative Effects Of Video Games Essay

Do video games have more positive or negative effects? When a major tragedy occurs we feel fear, and when we feel unsafe we want something or someone to blame. Video games have been brought into the light as something to blame when such incidents occur. From the Columbine shootings to the Colorado movie theater, video games were brought into the question. Video games have been branded with the moniker that violent games bring about violent tendencies from the players. The truth is video games have several positive benefits that are rarely ever discussed in the media or any platform. Science has proved many of these great benefits are indeed true, but they have a long way to go in changing the general population’s negative opinions of the gaming community. Many studies have been conducted regarding both sides of the argument and are best viewed with an open mind. Perhaps there is a positive and negative side to video games, and these various studies show the good outweighs the bad. Early studies conducted by social scientists all the way back in the 1950’s were designed to show the impact of media violence on behavior. In the 1980’s video games became part of this research and is involved in answering this question still. Interest in video games has continued to rise over the years and with …show more content…
One such article posted on Charisma News describes how the video game culture contributes to these massacres. Lyndee Fletcher who wrote the article originally for Movieguide.org lists 14 mass murderers and ends each summary by stating their level of involvement with violent video games. One summary listed states, “Jared Lee Lougher, Tucson, who shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others in Tucson in January 2011, was both mentally ill and a video gamer.” This article does highlight some important information that came out of a study into violent video games long term