Violent Video Games: Havoc on Society? The body count totaled 12 dead and more than 50 other men and women with serious injuries. A loner named James Holmes shot up a Century Movie Theater in Aurora, Colorado leaving behind a bloodbath most could never imagine. Admittedly, Holmes was a fan of first-shooter video games (McGrath, 2014, p.121). Granted he had other personal baggage, but his lust for killing was nurtured in such games as role-playing action video games including Oblivion and StarCraft. This unfortunate incident, along with many other mass killing tragedies, provided that rare occasion that left the nation shocked and looking for a scapegoat. The video game industry is blamed for stirring the inner demons in teens and creating
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They contend that the research is flawed and in most cases no unhealthy effects even take place (McGrath, 2014, p.121). However, available research has proven through many studies of grade school and high school children that, although there is no proof of video games causing violence, they do create anxiety and aggression within all ages and genders. Furthermore, McGrath points out in an article published in “Men’s Health” magazine that “blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels” all change when one is playing a violent video game. “In short, though the violence isn't real, your body reacts as if it were real” (McGrath, 2015, p.122). Brad J. Bushman, a professor at Ohio State goes a step further as he explains the link between videogames and aggression, “Playing violent video games ranks alongside substance use, poverty, and abusive parents as a risk factor for both short-term aggression and the development of aggression-prone individuals” (McGrath, 2014, p.121). Bushman points out the aggression that comes from youngsters playing violent video games creates minor, short-lived hostility that may lead to a society with more desensitization and less empathy. “Research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior...and decreases in...empathy and sensitivity to aggression” (Kelly, 2015, p.1). Aggression may be a short term effect after one game, but as children play repetitively, “their aggression [is] more likely to increase by the second [game]” and “[children] become desensitized to death and gore” (McGrath, 2014,
They contend that the research is flawed and in most cases no unhealthy effects even take place (McGrath, 2014, p.121). However, available research has proven through many studies of grade school and high school children that, although there is no proof of video games causing violence, they do create anxiety and aggression within all ages and genders. Furthermore, McGrath points out in an article published in “Men’s Health” magazine that “blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormone levels” all change when one is playing a violent video game. “In short, though the violence isn't real, your body reacts as if it were real” (McGrath, 2015, p.122). Brad J. Bushman, a professor at Ohio State goes a step further as he explains the link between videogames and aggression, “Playing violent video games ranks alongside substance use, poverty, and abusive parents as a risk factor for both short-term aggression and the development of aggression-prone individuals” (McGrath, 2014, p.121). Bushman points out the aggression that comes from youngsters playing violent video games creates minor, short-lived hostility that may lead to a society with more desensitization and less empathy. “Research demonstrates a consistent relation between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior...and decreases in...empathy and sensitivity to aggression” (Kelly, 2015, p.1). Aggression may be a short term effect after one game, but as children play repetitively, “their aggression [is] more likely to increase by the second [game]” and “[children] become desensitized to death and gore” (McGrath, 2014,