Once seen as a useless craze of the 1970s, video games are now a media marvel that has taken over millions of households in the United States. Video games have been blamed for increases in bullying, aggression, and even school shootings. Many believe that these games teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts, desensitize players to real-world violence, and reward players for simulating violence. On the other hand, video game supporters argue that a vast majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no fundamental relationships have been found between video games and violence among children. They see gaming as an outlet rather than a cause for aggression. In “An Examination of Violence and Gender
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Many have attempted to draw links between gaming and school shootings, but lack sufficient evidence and may be biased in their research. In “Exposure to Violent Video Games and Aggression in German Adolescents: A Longitudinal Analysis,” Ingrid Möller and Barbara Krahé state, “Perceivers who believe that aggression is normative… are likely to be more inclined to believe that the particular person whose behavior they are asked to assess was driven by aggressive motives” (Möller and Krahé 78). The increase of violence on school campuses being blamed on video games has had a negative influence on players who use games as a form of escape from reality. For some gamers, video games provide them with a safe atmosphere that prevents them from doing physical harm. Instead, they take out their aggression in a virtual world without risk. Austin Eiserloh, a freshman at Southeastern Louisiana University, has been playing video games nearly his entire life. When asked about aggression in video games, he responded with, “Video games let me take out some of my anger on certain days. If I’m really upset, I will go play a game. I go in mad and upset, but I come up much more relaxed and happier” (Eiserloh). With almost all forms of media labeling how bad violent video games are for people, many gamers are looked down upon which instead of solving a problem only increases it
Many have attempted to draw links between gaming and school shootings, but lack sufficient evidence and may be biased in their research. In “Exposure to Violent Video Games and Aggression in German Adolescents: A Longitudinal Analysis,” Ingrid Möller and Barbara Krahé state, “Perceivers who believe that aggression is normative… are likely to be more inclined to believe that the particular person whose behavior they are asked to assess was driven by aggressive motives” (Möller and Krahé 78). The increase of violence on school campuses being blamed on video games has had a negative influence on players who use games as a form of escape from reality. For some gamers, video games provide them with a safe atmosphere that prevents them from doing physical harm. Instead, they take out their aggression in a virtual world without risk. Austin Eiserloh, a freshman at Southeastern Louisiana University, has been playing video games nearly his entire life. When asked about aggression in video games, he responded with, “Video games let me take out some of my anger on certain days. If I’m really upset, I will go play a game. I go in mad and upset, but I come up much more relaxed and happier” (Eiserloh). With almost all forms of media labeling how bad violent video games are for people, many gamers are looked down upon which instead of solving a problem only increases it