As many as 97% of U.S. kids age 12-17 play video games and more than half of the 50 top-selling video games contains violence (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence?, 2016). With the increase in video game play over the years there is a growing concern that video games lead to violent and aggressive behavior. The purpose of this paper is to analyze what impact violent video games have and whether they indeed cause children to act with more aggression and violence. Both controversial sides of the argument will be addressed, as well as recommendations for the future of the gaming industry. So where did this uproar of feelings towards video games and violence stem from? Research indicates that concerns regarding the violence in
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Research indicates that violent video games may desensitize the player to violence as well as reduce empathy for victims, increase their beliefs in the acceptability of violence, and encourage moral disengagement (Ph.D., 2015). The concern here is that children are exposed to violent content and are unable to distinguish the difference between a video game and real life emotions and actions. The part of the brain that helps a person process things does not fully develop until 20 years old (Free Spirit Media, 2013). With that said, There is certainly need for concern as to the impact video games have on the 97% of 12-17 year old gamers. Questions rise as to if there is conclusive evidence to single handedly rule that video games are the sole contributor to these violent …show more content…
Who better to ask about video games and the impact on behavior than the people who have firsthand experience and know about games best, gamers themselves. A study from the American Psychological Association revealed the percentage of adults who agree that there is a relationship between video game violence and violent behavior are as followed: 47% of females, 31% of males, 32% of video game players, and 26% of self-identified gamers. (http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2016-video-game-statistics-and-trends/). As the data suggests, considerably less than half of the video game players think that violence in video games has an impact on real life behavior. With that said, it is important to also note that 68% of those gamers do not agree that there is a relationship between video game violence and violent
Research indicates that violent video games may desensitize the player to violence as well as reduce empathy for victims, increase their beliefs in the acceptability of violence, and encourage moral disengagement (Ph.D., 2015). The concern here is that children are exposed to violent content and are unable to distinguish the difference between a video game and real life emotions and actions. The part of the brain that helps a person process things does not fully develop until 20 years old (Free Spirit Media, 2013). With that said, There is certainly need for concern as to the impact video games have on the 97% of 12-17 year old gamers. Questions rise as to if there is conclusive evidence to single handedly rule that video games are the sole contributor to these violent …show more content…
Who better to ask about video games and the impact on behavior than the people who have firsthand experience and know about games best, gamers themselves. A study from the American Psychological Association revealed the percentage of adults who agree that there is a relationship between video game violence and violent behavior are as followed: 47% of females, 31% of males, 32% of video game players, and 26% of self-identified gamers. (http://www.bigfishgames.com/blog/2016-video-game-statistics-and-trends/). As the data suggests, considerably less than half of the video game players think that violence in video games has an impact on real life behavior. With that said, it is important to also note that 68% of those gamers do not agree that there is a relationship between video game violence and violent