Video Games Misconceptions

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Throughout the last decade video games have received a lot of heat from the media in terms of the amount of violence in each game and how it potentially influences violent behavior in children and adolescents. This misconception can be disproven if you take into account the environmental factors, psychological factors, and the individual interactions with people met through online video gaming. These three factors have a greater effect than the actual game itself and it’s where a lot of the misconception comes from. Sure games themselves can be very violent and vulgar, but the reason those games are “rated M” for mature is because at that point kids will understand what is truly right and wrong. The “involvement” of video games in violent actions …show more content…
When you hear about violent behavior coming from children or adolescence on TV whether it be a school shooting or violent beat ups, video games are always the first target. Most media outlets fail to acknowledge the environmental factors involved with the violence. Some areas where you see a lot of muggings and violent behavior people may believe it’s from the popular game Grand Theft Auto V, which is a game in which you can go around and kill people freely and do a strew of illegal activities. What isn’t really noticed, is sometimes in areas like these you will find that there has always been muggings even before the release of the video game and it’s predecessors (Grand Theft Auto IV, III, San Andreas, Vice City) and it’s the environmental nature of the community that it is dangerous. The effect this may have on kids is a kind of “eat or get eaten” mentality, if they do not show that they can be dangerous and cause potential harm they will be the target of those that are dangerous and cause potential harm. For example, if your friends commit crimes on a regular basis, chances are that you will find yourself committing crimes and when this occurs some people may just blame the fact that you play violent video games which is really just a coincidence. People tend to look for something or someone to blame for

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