Violence In Violent Video Games

You feel the cold steel pressed against your face as you stare down your sight. After what feels like an eternity of stalking and hunting your prey, you finally have them cornered. You stare down the barrel of your gun, and feel the tension as you slowly pull the trigger. A single bullet right between the eyes. You hover over your victim, as they lay lifeless before you. An overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment rushes over you, as your friend utters the words “nice kill, bro.” You glance up at the clock and realize hours have passed by. The two of you remain loafing on the couch in the dark and dingy basement with a headset in your ear and a controller in your hands determined to beat your high score.
As a child, I never had any sort of video gaming system. My parents never invested in the activity and I never felt the desire to have video games, until I was about 12. I received my first gaming system, which was a Nintendo GameCube. I had two games …show more content…
In these virtual realities, players can do nearly everything imaginable. The actions in video games are limitless, as well as the imagery. The graphic and gory details found in violent video games are nauseating, and the authenticity in these games are what makes them so effective in desensitizing gamers to violence (Grossman & DeGaetano, 1999). The reasoning for this effectiveness is that these games provide a first hand experience for the gamer. There is now an opportunity for individuals to palpate gruesome violence, without the consequences. You can single handedly inflict the damage by pulling the trigger, or launching the grenade (Grossman & DeGaetano, 1999). You can see, hear and feel what true violence is and simultaneously eliminate the danger, and penalties. Every aspect of these games slowly desensitizes the individuals to the aftermath of violence. These nearly tangible experiences elicit physiological responses that desensitize us