| Teconmoon Catgirl User 275 Level: 84      Posts: 1457/1772 EXP: 5447063 For next: 214889 Since: 09-17-07 From: Edmonds, WA Since last post: 12.5 years Last activity: 12.5 years  |
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| Please don't bash this research paper too much. I could have done better research on the topic but I just wanted to turn in something my teacher wouldn't flunk me on. Formating will look a little funny. Page 1 Video game showdown Player vs. Paranoia The aim of a true Halo 3 player! A man said he practiced sniping in Halo 3 to get his aim, and was trusted in court. Animals are being transformed into weapons! When someone threw a hedgehog at a boy, critics tried to link it to Sonic the Hedgehog. Yet another crime looks a lot like something someone would see in Grand Theft Auto! What do you expect? It's a game based on crime! Many video games are attacked with statements that involve no evidence and make the video game industry look bad. Although many people think that video games provoke violence and aggression, parents should not worry; there is no proven link between these games and violent thoughts. Violence in video games causing problems has become a common misconception in today's age of video game technology. Violent video games are said to attract more people but many polled said that over the top excessive violence can be a turn-off. The experience of the game where one could conquer obstacles, feel effective, and have lots of strategy choices is what many gamers liked in violent games. The violent content was preffered by a smaller portion that also tended to be more aggressive (Rose). Violent video games are popular, but it is not all about the violence. Richard Ryan, a psychologist who was interviewed by Danny Rose, a medical writer, when asked about peoples psychological needs said, “Conflict and war are a common and powerful context for providing these experiences, but it is the need satisfaction in the game-play that matters more than the violent content itself,” Video games offer plenty of fun experience. Enough so that the violence in the game is not an important factor of the game. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 2 People say that violence in these games will destroy the youth of kids, but today's youth time period is one of the healthiest, happiest, and most functional (Ferguson). So if these violent games are as destructive as everyone thinks they are there should be chaos and destruction all over the place like a zombie infestation, right? Violent games are just simply not what people see them as. There are many misconceptions that fly around the video game industry. People against violent entertainment say that violent game entertainment increases aggression in kids (Update: Video Games and Violence.). All the people that say this have no grounds to base their claims on and all the research that tries to create that ground ends up being flawed. Another huge misconception is the aspect of video games and school shootings. When a school shooting occurs, many people are quick to point the finger at games (Update: Video Games and Violence.). However, we learn from Christopher J. Ferguson that only 15% of school shootings were carried out by people with “some” interest in games. For example, the Virginia Tech shooter was found to not be a avid gamer (Rose). “A 15-year-old can't buy a pack of cigarettes, so they shouldn't be able to buy violent games either.” (Update: Video Games and Violence.). The difference here is that smoking as been proven to be really bad for people, where video games haven't come close to being proven that. Video games are said to cause violence and aggression on a higher scale than other media, but it affects people on the same level that sports and movies do. The crime-rate for people that get really interested in these kind of things is about even (Ward). ___________________________________________________________________ Page 3 This is another example of the flaws in the media industry. They focus on violence in games where all the rest of the media is ignored even though it appears to be causing the same problems. When people watch football, some people jump off their couches screaming insanely but the same kind of reaction is never seen from someone playing video games. Also, people aren't entirely stupid. They realize when they are playing games that the rules of what can and can not be done are different between the world in the video game and the real world. It has also been shown that games with violence quench peoples want for real-world violence (Ward). Since people know the difference of the rules, why do people need to be restricted at all? Back to youth. Some people say that violent games will ruin a kids childhood and make the kid worse later on. But the catch is that aggressive kids don't become aggressive teens most of the time (Kutner 75). Most violent adults were not known to be aggressive as kids, and many aggressive kids grew up to be thoughtful people. During this time period that video games have been attacked by researchers trying to link them to violence, there have been so many researching holes that it's like swiss cheese. A big error is that when measuring peoples differences when they play games, they confuse aggression with violence (Kutner 73). This is a big mistake. Aggression is violence in behavior, whereas violence is the harm that is done. Mixing these around is not good because no matter how much aggression someone has, it doesn't mean anything if they do not use violence. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 4 There is also the factor of influential aggression. Relationships with parents, school matters, and peer pressure can all cause aggression in some ways (Kutner 103). When people can be influenced by an outside force other than what is being tested, they have to take that into account otherwise they can end up with aggression readings that are coming from another source entirely. The problem with trying to conduct research on a topic like video game violence is that experiences that people have in life and biases towards a certain side make people draw way different conclusions (Kutner 63). Because of this, if a professor had a bad experience with games involving violence or thinks that he is 100% right about his theory then he will be inclined in that direction to show that video games are bad. Many statements made by media are outright lies or misunderstandings. For example: Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were avid computer gamers. The growth in violent video game sales is linked to the growth in youth violence-especially school violence-throughout the county. School shooters fit a profile that includes a fascination with violent media, especially violent games. The ESRB employs child development specialists who play each game thoroughly before assigning it a rating that helps parents select which games are most appropriate for their children. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 5 These are all statements that are either misunderstandings or outright lies (Kutner 6-7). This is just a portion of all the junk that flies around with the news nowadays. With this many false statements and misunderstandings listed, how many are there really? It is no wonder that people are worried that video games cause violence with all these false facts flying around. Parent involvement is a big issue around this whole issue. In the end, it ultimately relies on the parent to make sure that their kids are not playing games that the parent thinks might desensitize them. This is interesting because even though most parents think they know what their kids are playing, for the most part they do not (Kutner 11). If they do not have a good understanding of what their kids are playing, how are they supposed to regulate it? Lots of parents just look at the ESRB rating and say “Okay, this is fine.” but there are many internet games that are not rated by the ESRB that have many things that parents may not approve of being exposed to their child. Another issue is that parents worry about the wrong things in games a lot of the time (Kutner Back cover). Showing violence or drinking/drugs is one thing, but promoting the overconsumption of alcohol, getting high, and sending messages to these teens directly to do violent acts is another. People also view video game companies as greedy monsters who just want to sell violent/sexual content in games for money. But this is not entirely true. Out of the three major video game corporations – Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony – none of them will license and sell a game rated AO for adults only (Update: Video Games and Violence.). ___________________________________________________________________ Page 6 This shows that they don't want images on their systems that would bad for an underage person to accidentally see. People also complain that only the violent/sexual packed games are selling and making any money. This is also not true. In 2005, sales records show that over 50% of all games sold were rated E for everyone, about 30% were rated T for teens, and a measly 15% were rated M for mature out of all games sold (Update: Video Games and Violence.). A really important aspect of all of this controversy is freedom of speech. Every time a law has been suggested for banning/restricting the sale or rent of certain types of games, that law would instantly be struck down as unconstitutional every time (Update: Video Games and Violence.). It is the right of video game companies to license and sell video games with violent content. And it is the right of the American people to purchase them. People wouldn't buy these games if they thought it would have a poor effect on them. This issue of video game violence is not an issue at all, because there is no proven link between these games and violent thoughts. People complain that violent games contribute to crime, when the crime rate seen in teenagers has drastically dropped since the 1990s (Update: Video Games and Violence.). Much of the research done on video game violence and its negative effects has many holes in it that makes it hard to prove, but the news/media does a very good job in scaring the public to believe that these violent games are really bad for people. Todays youth is a lot healthier and capable than in the past and it's suggested a lot of the time that video games of this sort don't harm people at ___________________________________________________________________ Page 7 all. When people play games like this, it's not all about the violence. Games of these nature take a lot of problem solving, especially when playing with other humans because they are required to think about what the opponent will do, decide the best course of action, how to execute it, and much more. The bottom line, is that video games simply do not have the devastating effects that the media and all the different researchers of video games make them out to be. ___________________________________________________________________ Page 8 Works Cited Ferguson, Christopher. "Video game 'threat' is overstated". Deseret News. 03/01/09 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1639488971&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1236008056&clientId=19065 Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl Olson. Grand Theft Childhood. Manhattan: SIMON & SCHUSTER, 2008. Rose, Danny. "FED: Autonomy, not violence, the reason why gamers play". AAP General News Wire. 03/01/09 http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?index=0&did=1627693851&SrchMode=1&sid=7&Fmt=3&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1236008298&clientId=19065 "Update: Video Games and Violence." Issues & Controversies On File 6 July 2007. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services. 1 Mar. 2009 http://www.2facts.com Ward, Michael. "Video Games, Crime and Violence". University of Texas at Arlington. 03/01/09 https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=IIOC2008&paper_id=100 And that's it. Sorry for the messed up formatting, and I await your comments and opinions on how I could have made this paper much better. I am also aware that the sources cannot be accessed by everyone, but they are there just because. |
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