Imagine that, for an experiment, 200 children would be gathered for testing and be exposed to two kinds of violent content: watching their parents brutally attack each other for an hour each day, or watching a violent television program for an hour each day. After a month, the mental health of the two groups of children would be assessed and the results compared; hypothetically, it would be clear that the two groups would be affected very differently. Even children can determine the difference between real violence and fictional violence, whether on the television or in a video game. No matter how violent the video game, video games do not cause violent behavior in adolescents. Despite common belief, video games do not cause aggression; in
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First of all, the rate of arrests for violent juvenile crimes fell nearly fifty percent between 1995 and 2008, while the sales of video games have quadrupled in that time (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”).If video games were truly responsible for driving teenagers to violence, then the crime rate would have increased to match the games’ growing popularity. However, the rate has steadily declined, which proves that graphic video games have not negatively influenced teenagers. Furthermore, in a report by the United States Secret Service in 2004, only one eighth of individuals responsible for mass school shootings expressed an interest in violent video games (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). This means that less than thirteen percent of the perpetrators could have their violence attributed to an avid interest or participation in violent video games. While the media is quick to jump to video games as the source of their horrible, destructive behavior, it is statistically proven that it is very rarely the true cause. It is statistically proven that video games do not cause criminal activity, but rather that their aggressive behaviors stem from other …show more content…
For starters, minors who already display aggressive tendencies are shown to be interested in and drawn towards violent games (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). They feel a need to play violent video games because of their anger and aggressive personality; the video games do not make them violent, rather, those who are violent enjoy violent games. This desire for more virtual violence occasionally leads to their behavior escalating, however this is not always the case. When surveyed, sixty-two percent of boys said that they played video games because it “helps [them] relax” (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). In this way, video games can be beneficial to minors. Video games can offer a safe outlet for their negative feelings without causing real-world harm to those who struggle with anger or violent urges. Also, a large majority of mass murderers were found to be involved in substance abuse, bullying, and generally displayed antisocial personality traits (“Offender and Offense Characteristics”). There are many risk factors for violent behavior which have a stronger impact on the individual than any video game could have. Rather than focus on proving a possible connection between violent media and violent crimes, it would be more
First of all, the rate of arrests for violent juvenile crimes fell nearly fifty percent between 1995 and 2008, while the sales of video games have quadrupled in that time (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”).If video games were truly responsible for driving teenagers to violence, then the crime rate would have increased to match the games’ growing popularity. However, the rate has steadily declined, which proves that graphic video games have not negatively influenced teenagers. Furthermore, in a report by the United States Secret Service in 2004, only one eighth of individuals responsible for mass school shootings expressed an interest in violent video games (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). This means that less than thirteen percent of the perpetrators could have their violence attributed to an avid interest or participation in violent video games. While the media is quick to jump to video games as the source of their horrible, destructive behavior, it is statistically proven that it is very rarely the true cause. It is statistically proven that video games do not cause criminal activity, but rather that their aggressive behaviors stem from other …show more content…
For starters, minors who already display aggressive tendencies are shown to be interested in and drawn towards violent games (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). They feel a need to play violent video games because of their anger and aggressive personality; the video games do not make them violent, rather, those who are violent enjoy violent games. This desire for more virtual violence occasionally leads to their behavior escalating, however this is not always the case. When surveyed, sixty-two percent of boys said that they played video games because it “helps [them] relax” (“Do Violent Videogames Contribute to Youth Violence”). In this way, video games can be beneficial to minors. Video games can offer a safe outlet for their negative feelings without causing real-world harm to those who struggle with anger or violent urges. Also, a large majority of mass murderers were found to be involved in substance abuse, bullying, and generally displayed antisocial personality traits (“Offender and Offense Characteristics”). There are many risk factors for violent behavior which have a stronger impact on the individual than any video game could have. Rather than focus on proving a possible connection between violent media and violent crimes, it would be more