How Are Violent Video Games Impacting Children?

When I began this project I thought that children could be influenced by violence in video games, and now, after concluding my research, my initial belief is confirmed. Studies have proved that aggression in children can be linked to violent video games.

Of course, there is another side to this video game debate. It is important for everyone to examine the evidence of both sides and decide which side they agree with. I am aware that there are many strong arguments that provide convincing evidence that suggests that violence in video games does not lead to or fuel aggression in children. Even though some people agree with these findings, after all my research, I am pulled to the other direction and find myself feeling like there is a connection between violent video games and aggression in children.

Most video games today are violent and many Americans are playing them. To my surprise I found that, an analysis of video game content revealed that as many as eighty-nine percent of games contain violence, and that about half of the games are seriously violent towards game characters (Gentile et al.). Statistics reveal that sixty-five percent of American households play computer and video games. It is also stated that children ages eight to eighteen are now spending forty-four and a half hours a week on average playing video games (Dr. Phil). Perhaps the most violent type of video game available is first person shooter games. First person shooter games make the player feel as if they are inside the game holding the weapon. Lieutenant Colonel David Grossman feels that first person shooter games "are murder simulators which over time, teach a person how to look another person in the eye and snuff their life out" (Provenzo). It is argued that video games are a way to let out aggression and calm a person down, however data does not support the idea that playing video games is a way to help people blow off steam (Sardar).

Many successful studies have been conducted to determine if violent video games cause aggression in children. Most studies agree that age does not change the children's game violence effect (Anderson, Gentile, and Bukley, 76). A meta-analysis by Anderson and Bushman found that "playing violent video games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitions, increases aggressive emotions, increases physiological arousal, and decreases prosocial behaviors" (Gentile et al.). Effects of playing violent video games may be even greater for children who already show more aggressive behavior. Students who play more violent video games are more likely to be involved in fights and arguments more frequently. Furthermore, Low-hostile students who have the highest exposure to violence in video games are more likely to have been involved in fights than high-hostile students who have the lowest exposure to violent video games (Gentile et al.). A study conducted regarding relational aggression and media violence found that children who played video games more often were more likely to view violence and exhibit hostile attributional biases (Buchanan et al.). A study by Dr. Vincent Mathews, a professor of radiology, found adolescents who play violent video games show increased activity in the areas of the brain linked to emotional arousal and decreased responses in regions that govern self control. The study used magnetic resonance imaging to record metabolic changes in brain activity for forty four adolescents ranging in age from thirteen to seventeen years. All participants played either a violent first person shooter game or nonviolent racing video game for thirty minutes. None of the participants had past behavioral problems. Those who played the nonviolent game showed more activation of amygdalae, which are involved in emotional arousal, and less in the portions of the brain associated with control, focus, and concentration than the teens who played the nonviolent game (Violent).

Males are more likely to be influenced by video games than females."There are reasons to believe that some populations will be more negatively affected than others. However, no totally "immune" population has ever been indentified..." (Gentile, 149). Boys are exposed to more violent media and preferred more violent media than girls (Buchanan et al.). Boys are generally at a greater risk for aggressive behaviors, and they compound that risk by playing more violent video games for greater amounts of time than girls play. Males eleven to seventeen years old are more easily influenced than others. They may be more vulnerable than others because they find antisocial behavior appealing, they are more likely to identify with deviant models, and are more likely to experiment with "forbidden" behaviors. Male adolescents with lower educational ability may be especially vulnerable because they are more likely to consume violent media and engage in aggressive behavior. Boys are generally rewarded for being tough, brave, competitive, and aggressive. So in order to "fit in", adolescent boys may wish to be like the tough heroes in violent video games. Boys who identify with characters in video games are more likely to imitate them and behave more aggressively when the game is over (Konjin, Bijvank, and Bushman).

However, females are not immune to violence in video games. An experiment was done to determine how females are affected by violence in video games. The study involved ninety-nine undergraduate females. Thirty three played Street Fighter II as a female character; thirty played Street Fighter II as a male character; and twenty-seven played non violent Oh No! More Lemmings. After playing the game, each participant preformed the competitive reaction time task. In this study a two phase version was used. Phase one of this Retaliation Competitive Reaction Time (RCRT) consists of twenty-five trials in which the "opponent" sets the intensity of the noise to be delivered to the participant on "lose" trials. The pattern of win/lose and intensity of noise are predetermined, there is no opponent. Phase two is identical, expect the participant now sets the noise for the opponent. The level of intensity (0-10) measures aggressiveness. Those who played the nonviolent video game were less aggressive than those who played the violent video game. It was also determined that females who played the female character in Street Fighter II were more aggressive than females who played males, but the difference was not significant. (Anderson)

Time spent playing violent video games does not seem to matter. This was one of my research questions and throughout all the sources I used, I did not find much information. It is said that people prone to anger get more aggressive after just fifteen minutes of violent video game play (Sardar). Media violence can cause increases in aggression immediately after exposure and can cause long term changes in trait aggressiveness.

Violence in video games is a problem that faces our society today. With each generation, the youth population seems to get more violent. We should examine what has changed over the years, including media, and fix the problem. Violence in video games is not the only reason that children are aggressive today, but it is a contributor.

WORKS CITED

Anderson, Craig A., and Christine R. Murphy. "Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior in Young Women." Aggressive Behavior 29.5 (2003): 423-429.

Anderson, Craig A., Douglas A. Gentile, and Katherine E. Buckley. Violent Video Game Effects on Children and Adolescents. New York: Oxford, 2007.

Buchanan, Audrey M., et al. "What Goes in Must Come Out: Children's Media Violence Consumption at Home and Aggressive Behaviors at School." National Institute on Media and the Family. Aug 2002. 23 Oct. 2008. .

Gentile, Douglas A., et al. "The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility,

Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance." Journal of Adolescence 27 (2004): 5-22.

Gentile, Douglas A. Media Violence and Children. Connecticut: Praeger Publishers, 2003.

Konijn, Elly A., Marije Nije Bijvank, and Brad Bushman. "I Wish I Were a Warrior: The Role of Wishful Identification in the Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggression on Adolescent Boys." Developmental Psychology 43.4 (2007): 1038-1044.

Provenzo, Eugene F. "Violence in Video Games is a Serious Problem." Opposing Viewpoints. 17 Oct. 2008. < http://www.gale.cengage.com/OpposingViewpoints>.

Sardar, Jam. "Violent Video Game Research." Youtube. Cheaptest. 4 Aug. 2007. 20 Oct. 2008. .

"Violent Video Games Poison the Teenage Brain: Study." American School Board Journal 194.2 (2007): 10.

"Virtual Chaos." Dr. Phil. WYCW 62. 20 Oct. 2008.