Video Games and Aggressiveness Among the Youth - Essay Example

Video Games and Aggressiveness Among the Youth The evolution of the world has been accompanied by various technological developments. The developments in computer technologies are the most widely celebrated. Indeed, everything is now possible with computer technologies; increased efficiency in handling workloads, automation of services, delivery of education, communication and entertainment, so on. Video gaming is a popular form of entertainment that has arguably replaced other traditional entertainment. Video gaming is now popular among the youthful generation, especially among children aged 12 and 14. This popularity has sparked concerns that video games are to blame for the escalation of aggressive behaviors among youth. This has been largely treated as a subject of debate. On one hand, there are those who distance video games from aggressiveness and who argue that, if only, video games reduce aggressive behaviors. On the other hand, another group has been assertive that there is a great relationship between video games and aggressiveness. In this essay, I argue that video games are to blame for aggressive behaviors among the youth. The group that distances aggressiveness from media violence has often approached the subject by acknowledging various advantages that come with video games. For instance, video games are an entertainment for children. As a matter of fact, video games come with an added advantage over other forms of entertainment in that they entail active participation. It is this feature that makes video games particularly popular (Kurt 67). The advantageous nature of video gaming has been further emphasized by elucidating the pivotal role entertainment in the lives of children. First, entertainment serves to relax the mind of a child, after engaging in other tedious activities. Considering the demands of education curricular, video game entertainment breaks monotony and relaxes the mind of a child. Entertainment deters children from learning and indulging in deviant behaviors. More often than not, children have the likelihood of engaging in deviant behaviors when free. Entertainment occupies the children during the free time. The fact that video gaming is a popular entertainment implies that it is effective at achieving this. Additionally, video games have been widely cited to play a crucial role in the child’s mental development. Video games are described as mind boggling. Video games invite the child to explore the wit in his mind. Video games are a reflection of real life situation, only that they are represented as a game. In this regard, a child that plays the computer games may be described as one who is living in the real life situation, which demands active participation, and decision making processes. Video games present circumstantial dilemma and hurdles that ought to be solved. Therefore, video games are a way in which children try to learn from experience. Besides, playing video games with violent scenes are a way in which the adolescents may express their aggression, enabling them to found status within the peer groups in a peaceful way. In another way, playing video games with violent scenes are one way in which individual could vent their emotions and feelings associated with violence. This way, gaming can be viewed as the way in violence could be reduced. This is depicted by the fact that individuals who engaged in playing video games turned to be relatively happy. It is arguable that the feelings of being in control, as it is for players in the video games, plays a crucial role in curbing stress , which is considered as a correlate of aggressiveness (Kilburn 66). However, this does not overshadow the points that associate video games with media violence. The subject of the relationship between video games is founded upon three primary concerns. First, video games are increasingly programmed to comprise scenes of violence such as terrorism, robbery and traffic violation, so on. Secondly, computer games are not passive; the player has to be aggressive in order to win. Thus, instead of watching perpetration of violence, as in television, the player participates in “perpetrating violence” (Anderson and Bushman 56). Unlike passive participation, it is arguable that active participation significant impacts on the behaviors of those involved. Thirdly, most video games are programmed to reward instead of punish violence. This could have an impact on how the game players perceive crimes in the real sense. These are the features that make video games raise eyebrows, as far as the heightening level of violence is concerned. Most of them have been quick in pointing out that most shooting incidents, which have rocked various schools, have been perpetrated by the avid video players. The General Aggression Model has often been considered as an approach that sheds light on the relationship between aggression and gaming. The model acknowledges that the personality plays a crucial role in determining how the players would be affected by the video games. There are three critical facets that have a bearing on how perceptions of aggressiveness. These are physiological responses, feelings and thoughts. Some individual are naturally hostile; thus, would respond in substantially aggressive way upon playing the video games. The short term effects that were easily identifiable by the General aggression Model include changes in the player’s response to acts of aggression. Video games comprising of violent scenes trigger desensitization of the players to actual real life situation. More often than not, players of the violent video games are known to disappear from the screen upon being killed. Arguably, video games with violent scenes are known to reduce P300 amplitudes within the brains. This phenomenon is what is associated with the desensitization of the mind to violence, as well as triggers aggressive behaviors (Dietz 231). Considering that violent games reward violent acts, violent games make individuals believe that the use of violence is acceptable. Arguably, most of the youth that were found to engage in playing violent video games did not hold believe that conflicts could be solved in non-violent ways. Such groups were highly likely to be unforgiving. More so, those who regularly play violent games developed the attitude of associating happiness and heroism with the capability of inflicting pain on other people. According to Grohol (4), there is a positive correlation between playing video games and perpetrating violence. Grohol established that adolescent boys, who played M-rated video games, had the likelihood of engaging in physical fights compared to those who did not play. Although video gaming is not as popular among the adolescent girls as in boys, the same case applied for the adolescent girls. Secondly, there has always been the likelihood that aggressive adolescent would play video games full of scenes of violence. Additionally, despite the fact that most adolescents turned out relatively happy after playing video games, the case does not apply for those with high levels of aggressiveness. Grohol concludes that playing video games full of violent scenes may neither trigger aggression nor anger, but serve as agitating factors. Engaging in video games do not only result trigger thoughts, feeling and physiological arousals associated with aggression, but also reduced prosocial behaviors (Grohol 4). However, those who defend video games have responded equally well. Some studies that have established the relationship between playing violent games and perpetration of violence have been widely dismissed on the grounds of flawed study designs. More often than not, the experimental designs have relied on the various unreliable measures. For instance, the studies have based on the noise-blast tests to measure aggression, which is not reliable. In fact, it is widely argued that violent video games significantly reduce incidents pertaining to the perpetration of violence among the youth. This follows that violent video games keep most of the youth preoccupied, sufficing other activities that are likely to make them to engage in violent activities. According to Dietz (230), most research meta-analyses have not found a causal relationship between gaming and aggressiveness. Whereas some meta-analyses have revealed a positive correlation between violence and violent video games, some have proven otherwise. Others established correlations that are only come up with confident inferences. Nevertheless, according to Anderson and Bushman (2002), it is indisputable that media violence has an impact on aggressive behaviors, albeit not as influential as other outstanding factors. Secondly, video games are that they are socially isolated; thus, they are not as constructive as perceived. Video games limit socialization among children. Children who game, especially those who are addicted to it, are less likely to socialize with other children. Video games take deprives children the time to play with other children. Those who are addicted to video games resort to spending most of their free time indoors playing video games. This is because “gaming is more enjoyable and entertaining than socialization” (Kurt, 1). Before video games became popular, children within the neighborhood would form teams to play, an avenue in which most of them would socialize. However, with the popularity of video games, neighborhood friendship among children has drastically reduced. It is further argued that children who are addicted to computer games have fewer friends that do not treasure computer games. As if not enough, video gaming entertainment that is addictive. It is arguable that children who are introduced to video games develop a habit of playing the video games. This is overdone to the extent that it ceases to be entertainment. This is because children forego other activities to play video games. Children, who are addicted to video games, would always be engrossed in video games and avoid other physical games such as running and playing football with children in the neighborhood. This deprives children the opportunity to be effectively socialized into desirable behaviors. Indeed, according to Sherry (410), although addition is not recognized by medical associations, there is now the substantial evidence that most of the individuals that play it are facing consequence of compulsive gaming. “Anyone with the experience of gaming knows well” (Kurt 5). The urge to play video games is continuously getting complex and drawing more individuals to play it. It is not uncommon to find teenagers resorting to stay indoors and play video games, instead of hanging out with friends. This seclusion makes them vulnerable to the influence of the video game actions. What is even more convincing is that the relationship between video games and violence can be well explained based on the Freudian theory on personality, which is the widely considered as reliable (Irving 245). The theory posits that environment, in this case the video games, determine the personality of people. The theory presupposes that personality, which is termed as superego, is a derivative of internalized ideals that people acquire from the social environment superego is a psyche supervisor since it monitors the human activities by officiating processes of making of judgments to determine the morality of the behaviors. It could then be inferred that violent video games nurture people to become violent. In conclusion, video games and violence relationship exists. Video games are increasingly programmed to comprise scenes of violence such as terrorism, robbery and traffic violation, just to name a few. Unlike passive participation, it is arguable that active engagement as characterized by video games has significant impacts on the behaviors of those involved. Thirdly, most video games are programmed to reward instead of punish violence, and this motivate aggressiveness. Various studies have pointed out that the relationship exists. Those that have failed to establish relationship may have been flawed. Freudian personality theory approves that environment, such as violent video games, nurture aggressive characters. Work cited Anderson, Charles and Gentiles, Bushman. “Effects of video games on aggressiveness”. Psychological Science, 12, (2002): 353-359. Print. Dietz, Timos. “Examining Gender Roles Portrayals and Violence in Video Game”. Sex Roles, 38(1998): 425-42. Print. Grohol, John. The Link Between Video Games and Violence. 2002. Web. April 13th, 2013. Irving, Weiner and Donald Freedheim. A Handbook of psychology. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2003. Print. Kilburn, Ferguson. "The Public risks of media violence." Journals of Pediatrics, 154(2009): 759-763. Print. Kurt, Squire. Moral Panics Culture Backlashes and Reconstructing Videos. 2002. Web. April 13th, 2013. Sherry, John. “Effects of Media violence on aggressions.” Human Communication Research, 27 (2002):409-4319, Print Read More