Do Video Games Make Children Behave Violently - Assignment Example

Do video games make children behave violently? Introduction: The task of trying to keep children engaged has been an unenviable part of parenting. Especially in these times when both parents are career oriented and do not have enough time for their children, the ways by which children spend their free time is often ignored. Television programs, cinema and video games are the most popular means by which children avoid boredom. The last century has seen technological developments that have revolutionized the world of entertainment. Attempts to redefine the concept of entertainment are still going on with movie makers and video game manufacturers trying to making the experience more realistic. This essay shall try to understand the effect of videogames on children and whether it is responsible for inciting violence among children. A majority of children in the world have played a video game in some form or the other, be it on hand held devices or on computers. The popularity of this form of entertainment is phenomenal. The video game industry in the United States that was worth $100 million in 1985 grew to one worth $7 billion in the year 1994. (Mattson) Newer and more attractive technology was responsible for this trend. The ability to use the personal computer for gaming purposes was another reason. One of the first video games to hit the market and video games arcades was Pacman and in those days it was considered that the ‘eating of ghosts’ in Pacman was violent content. It was in 1990 that the game Mortal Kombat hit the markets with a very violent theme. The main task in the game was to kill every opponent that was encountered. “Violent video games dominate the market; 80% of 33 popular Sega and Nintendo games were found to depict violence and 21% of the games featured violence against women” (Mattson) Extremely graphic visuals and special effects have made virtual violence very appealing and believable. The comments and descriptions in these games also glorify the acts that are committed in the various levels of the game and encourage the player to continue. “Images and behaviors that are modeled in the video games can have significant impact on children especially with the increased realism and graphic content that is portrayed in the video games” (Mattson) Games like ‘Doom’ and ‘Grand theft auto’ have violent themes. Doom involves the player who is a United States marine in a fight against aliens in Mars in order to prevent them from attacking Earth. A new version of the game is released periodically each version with more complicated plots and violence than the earlier version. In Grand theft auto (GTA) the player is supposed to be a criminal in a big city and is given tasks to perform by the various kingpins in the city and by completing the tasks the player can rise through the ranks in the criminal organization. There are other games like ‘Hitman’ where the player is an assassin. All these games involve extremely violent situations with tasks that range from shooting people to bombing buildings. For example, in ‘Hitman’ the player even has to hide the dead body of the person he killed in order to avoid detection. Each version of these games is more graphic, progressively more violent and is expected to be so. One of the first incidents that drew attention to the fact that video games can have an effect on the mind set of children was the Columbine high school tragedy that occurred in the US. Two teenagers Eric Harris and Dylan Keebold shot dead 12 students and one teacher and injured 21 students in a heinous massacre and finally committed suicide. Even though a school massacre in the United States was not a new phenomenon, what made this case different was that both the killers were gamers and fans of the violent video game ‘Doom’. Even though there are many people who disagree that video games were responsible for the attack, it must be looked at from another point of view. “How do two adolescent boys not only come up with the idea for a paramilitary attack on their high school but also maintain interest, plot a strategy, field test their weaponry and carry out the attack with a precision not usually associated with teenagers?” (Larkin) These teenagers had taken this game very seriously. In his website Harris had even created add-on levels on his website and posted instructional files. The frustration that these boys faced in real life was given an outlet by playing these games. “Certainly the long hours playing Doom and Quake allowed Harris and Klebold fantasy outlets in which their masculine prowess was unchallenged” (Larkin). A sawed off gun that one of the boys carried was named “Arlene” after one of the characters in Doom (BBC) The implicit message in all of these games is that in order to progress to the next level the player has to kill anything that comes in front of him and the only way to do that is by collecting firepower. Another message that is propagated is that the player is always on the right side and his actions are always justified. These children are more sensitive to what goes on in the cyber world than what happens in real life. The way in which these games are described by the manufacturers also accentuates the violence factor. It is the violence in the game that is considered the USP of a game. Some of the one liners used in advertisements are ‘it’s only as violent as you are (Postal: 2)’, Hack your enemies to meaty bits (Postal 2, expansion pack)’, ‘Kill your friends, guilt free (Guilty Gear)’ and finally ‘Get in touch with your gun-toting, testosterone-pumping, cold-blooded murdering side (Doom)’. There are more violent games belonging to the realistic genre like ‘The Punisher’ where the player can shove a man into a tree branch shredder or smash a man’s head into the cement, shock people with tasers and even urinate on his victims (Abanes) Usually the player is the central character but a positive one nevertheless. But in Grand theft auto, the character is a criminal who has to impress the kingpins of the city to reach to the apex of the crime syndicate. However the game, ‘Grand theft auto-san andreas’ had to be recalled by the producers because a game with sexual content was present on the video, which was hacked by a hacker. And sold on the net by the name ‘Hot coffee mod’ .Eventually the game was rated AO (adults only) leading to the recall and subsequent reissue of the game by the same name under the M (moderate) rating. The rating system by the Entertainment software rating board is quite unusual because “a violent video game that upholds justice and promotes good may be considered less evil than the one that forces the players to take on the role of the villains’ (Miller). According to the BBC a scientific study suggests that the less children play video games the less the level of aggression in them. Sarah Scott a child psychiatrist maintains “How do they learn? It’s not by magic. It’s by observing the world around them” (BBC) she also opines that even though violence was present in cartoons like Tom and Jerry it was easy to dismiss it by convincing the child that since it was a cartoon it is not real, but when a child sees a lifelike character commit acts of violence it is not easy to convince the child otherwise because of the level of reality involved. The effect of realistic display of violence on the perception of reality must also be studied to give a clear perspective on the issue at hand. “violence is not the only type of video game content that prompts concern about altered perceptions of social reality….sexual content is also common in video games…(female characters) are much more likely than male characters to be portrayed in a sexually provocative and suggestive manner” (Jameison and Romer). According to the Anderson and bushman’s General Aggression Model (GAM), “long term effects of exposure to violent media result primarily from the development , rehearsal and eventual automatization of aggressive knowledge structures such as perceptual schemata, social expectations and behavioral scripts” (Anderson and Bushman). This basically refers to the way a person perceives external stimuli. The way he perceives the society around him is a very important factor. His attitude towards people, adverse situations and reactions towards people is also inportant. Aggressive thoughts can be aggravated by playing video games with violent content. Conclusion: video games are a very important way of entertainment for children today. The realistic nature of graphics and sound combined with the violent plot and gore involved are USPs for video game manufacturers. Versions get more and more graphic and violent and do not find any patrons if they are otherwise. It is unfair to state that exposure to violent games can definitely lead to violence, because out of millions of gamers worldwide, there are only a few who actually create law and order problems. However it is safe to state that people who are already in a dangerous and violent state of mind can be pushed over the edge if they are exposed to such forms of entertainment. It can provide an outlet for his frustrations and unjustified anger towards society. But the most important question is whether it is necessary to have games that include violence for entertainment, the answer to that can only given by the society by not patronizing such products in the first place. Eventually when the demand for such products stop, they will no longer be available. Reference: Abanes, R. What every parent needs to know about video games:a gamer explores the good bad and ugly of the virtual world. Oregon: Harvest house publishers., 2006. Anderson, Craig A and Brad J Bushman. effects of violent video games on aggressive behaviour, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect,physiological arousal and prosocial behaviour . Iowa, September 2001. BBC. BBC News. 15 January 2001. 8 April 2010 . BBC news sci/ tech. 1 May 2001. 8 April 2010 . Jameison, Patrick E and Daniel Romer. The changing portrayal of adolescents in the media since 1950. Oxford university press, n.d. Larkin, Ralph w. Comprehending Columbine. Philadelphia: Temple university press, 2007. Mattson, Paul M. Neurobiology ofaggresion: understanding and preventing violence. New Jersey: Humana press inc., 2003. Miller, Christopher. Games: purpose and potential in education. New York: Springer science Business media, 2008. Read More