...The Effects of Video Game Violence and Profanity in Children and Young Adults Monika Woods Anderson Introduction This paper will discuss research findings on the potential effects of violence and profanity in video games on the children and young adults that play them. I will discuss various research findings, both positive and negative; as well as what conclusions can be drawn from these findings and whether or not additional research could prove to be beneficial in the future. The issue of violent content in video games has become a growing concern over the years to parents as well as scholars and medical professionals. Since the first computer-based video game made was created in 1958; the computer and video game industry has grown tremendously and sales have grossed billions of dollars worldwide. According to our textbook, as many as 67 percent of American heads of households play video games. Technological advancement has changed these games quite a lot in terms of realism and content variety. As games look more and more realistic and present players with real-life situations; People are becoming more worried about whether or not there is any real link between violent content and/or profanity in games and an increase in aggression and/or violent actions in the individuals that play video games. The majority of research examined for this paper concern video game violence in general; but there are also limited studies that explore the prevalence of profanity in...
Words: 1253 - Pages: 6
...Media Violence and Children CHAPTER 7 Violent Video Games: The A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR PARENTS AND Newest Media Violence Hazard PROFESSIONALS Douglas A. Gentile and Craig A. Anderson Hazard Edited by Douglas A. Gentile In creating this electronic reprint, we have attempted to keep the style, pagination, and format as close to the published form as possible. Nonetheless, some errors may have occurred. If you discover a substantial error, please contact Craig Anderson using the following email address: caa@iastate.edu. Please note that this electronic reprint is provided as a courtesy. Please do not post or distribute this reprint in any fashion that may violate the copyright of the original publisher or the authors. Thank you for your interest in this work. In 1972, a new form of entertainment became commercially available with the release of the video game Pong. In Pong, two players tried to "hit" an electronic "ball" back and forth. From these humble beginnings, a revolution in the entertainment industry was born. Interactive game revenues are now significantly greater than the domestic film industry ("Industrial Strengths," 2000). Worldwide video games sales are now at $20 billion annually (Cohen, 2000). The PlayStation video game console, which began as a side project at Sony, now represents $6 billion of the company's $20 billion in annual sales (Cohen, 2000). It is reasonable to question whether video games may have similar effects...
Words: 11640 - Pages: 47
...Do Violent Video Games Lead to Real World Violence? ABSTRACT As our society becomes more reliant on technology and the mass media, the notion that the media may have a profound influence on people has become more prevalent. Research into Media Violence and its effects on values, beliefs and behaviour has been well documented over the past 50 years. This systematic review, looking at both research reports and other relevant literature relating to the topic explores whether or not violent video games lead to real world violence. This topic has been selected due to the unique participatory nature of this type of media. The review demonstrates the inconclusive nature of the research on this topic. It focuses on the short term and long term effects possible while also investigating the need to consider alternate explanations to violent behaviour in children and youth. The review concludes with suggestions for further research. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW Children spend an increasing amount of time playing video games with the majority of them violent in nature (Huesmann, 2007). Players participate in and create the violence, often receiving reward for their violent behaviors rather than negative consequences (Funk, Baldacci, Pasold & Baumgardner, 2004). The area of violent video games in regards to Media Violence is relatively new with somewhat limited research as video games have only been available to the general population since the 1980s. It is however in...
Words: 1555 - Pages: 7
...Violence in video games and the effects on youth Bilton Lands Com 156 5/26/13 Violence in video games continues to get worse, but what does this mean for the youth of today? As the violence in video games gets more graphic people continue to wonder if the youth of today can understand the difference between fantasy violence and real violence. Some experts believe it is up to the parents to teach the difference between fantasy violence and real violence (Cullotta, 2012). With more and more video games coming out, this is getting harder and harder for parents to be able to shield youth from. But does this mean that the violence is really an issue? There are studies out there that show, as video game sales go up, violent crimes continue to go down (ProCon.org, 2013). “Exposure to violence in media, including television, movies, music, and video games, represents a significant risk to the health of children and adolescents. (ProCon.org, 2013). Does this help prove that it is just video games that causes the violence in youth? ProCon.org continues to go on and say, extensive research evidence shows that media exposure to video games, can contribute to aggressive behavior and violence, along with nightmares and the fears of being harmed. Craig Anderson PhD. the director of the center for the study of violence, states through ProCon.org that there is a significant link between violence in video games, and the behavior which causes violence in youth (ProCon...
Words: 1463 - Pages: 6
...The Effect of Videogames on Student Achievement BY JONATHAN CRATON Introduction In the past few decades, interactive electronic media has grown from virtual non-existence to one of the primary means of entertainment for college students. In more recent years, the Internet has completely changed the landscape of electronic media from something individual and static into something with the potential to be interactive and social. This article examines the effects of increased student usage of traditional video games as well as online games. The demographics of the typical game player will be examined along with effects on the individual development and sociological perceptions. This article will also look at the potential education utility of video games and the effect of games on student engagement and social development. The College Gamer Recent data from UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute provides useful information about video game usage on college campuses. The data show that most college students have played video games, many play them regularly, and a small percentage use them as a primary means of entertainment and leisure. In the 2009 Freshman Survey, around 1% of respondents admitted to playing over 20 hours of videogames per week. Over 35% of the respondents stated that they play at least one hour per week. There is an enormous gender disparity in the amount of time spend on videogames. While less than 1 in 50 incoming freshmen women played more than 10...
Words: 2766 - Pages: 12
...Media Violence and the Effects on Society Violence can be found in almost every form of media from television to video games. Violence exists in sports, news, movies, and games. This violence has many implications on society. The impact of this violence is different from one person to the next and from children to adults. There are many forms of violence in the media today. Violence is most prevalent on TV and in movies, video games, and the daily news from around the world. Violence can be found in sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, hockey, and football. The news reports of murder and other forms of violence every day. News about foreign wars or news of violence in your local inner city, bet your bottom dollar you will hear something new every day. It seems like every day there is a new and violent video game coming out. Games about war and games about crime life, even games about fantasy violence are all over the market. Children are affected by violent media more so than adults. Studies have shown that on average, American children watch no less than 4 hours of TV a day. Studies have also proven that violent programming can have some very adverse effects on children. Children can become emotionally numb to violence and develop a lack of empathy for victims, as noted by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Children have been known to imitate the violence they see on TV. Some children may even learn to use violence that...
Words: 1195 - Pages: 5
...Name Professor Course Date Topic: Non promotion of violence in Video games in the US Specific purpose: I want to actuate you to oppose promotion of violence in video games. Thesis: Violence in video games should not be promoted because generally violence has a negative influence on a person’s mental thoughts and once a person has such thoughts they are likely to fall victims of violence prior to what they see or do during playing the violent video games. Introduction: How many of you have played Carmageddon-1997, Soldiers of fortune-2000 or related video games? And what effect have they had on you? I know it is hard to point out what effect such video games have had on you but today I am here to tell you the effects of such violent video games and in turn oppose the promotion of violence in video games. First reason why violence should not be promoted in video games is because they increase a person’s aggressive thoughts, feelings and behavior. This comes about when the brain becomes less responsive and in turn leads to increased aggression. Likewise when playing violent video games we tend to identify with the aggressors in the video game and this makes us mimic their characters even when not playing them and this leads to change of behavior and moral practices (Gruffiths 102). The second reason is that violent video games led to most youth deliquescent. Research from Lowa state research has shown that most criminal acts done by youths have a direct relationship to the type of...
Words: 480 - Pages: 2
...Video Game Youth Violence Lorren Livingston RES/110 November 20, 2012 Dr. Helen Holt Video Game Youth Violence Many believe video games can majorly contribute to child violence [,] which have caused a great deal of controversy. With violent video game sales climbing, violent games have become a part of a child’s everyday life. Most video games depict some type of violence. One of the biggest selling games in XBOX history, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a violent first person multiplayer game (Do Violent Video Games Contribute to Youth Violence, 2012). Given the amount of people that are playing this game, seventy-three 73-out of 100 players have stated they are between the ages seven to thirteen (See appendix A). There are also four different types of factors in video games that can contribute to violence. With children playing this game as frequently as adults, could a lack of video game restriction be causing more violence? Have retailers and parents turned a blind eye to this growing problem? Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is, as stated before, a very violent military shooting game. There is no incapacitating of enemies or sneaking around a five man squad. It is kill or be killed. This is an obvious form of art, no matter how graphic it may be. Violence like this has been created for a long time now, even before computers. Sun Tzu’s The Art of War was a violent book. Humans have been created in a Darwinian manner, and each person has a want...
Words: 1325 - Pages: 6
...Video Game Violence The objective of the study described in the article was to measure how much video game violence could influence aggressive behavior. In the first Pilot Study, a violent and nonviolent video game were selected and compared on their level of competitiveness, difficulty, and pace of action. Participants played the games and the effect of each game on aggressive behavior was then compared using another sub-experiment in which they were then asked to make some hot sauce for someone who isn’t fond of spicy things. In the second Pilot Study, competitiveness was isolated categorized based on the difficulty and pace of gameplay, and then strategically controlling for violence. The effect of video game competition on aggressive behavior was then examined in the same sub-experiment as the first Pilot Study. The article addresses that perhaps competitiveness is the real reason and characteristic that has an effect on aggression when researching the correlations between video games and real violence. This is according to recent research by the APA. Research has been found to support that video game violence alone did not increase the aggressive behavior. The experiments featured video games that were categorized by competitiveness, the pace of action, and difficulty of the game. What was significant about these experiments was that the more competitive the game was, the more aggressive the behavior. It didn’t matter the level of violence that was in the game...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...------------------------------------------------- Video Games and Children Video games was introduce goes far back in the early 1940s-1950s when researchers, scholars and entrepreneur began producing and designing simple games, simulation and artificial intelligence (AI) as part of computer research programs and had become child hood leisure activities and even for adults. (Totilo, 2010) Video gaming didn’t reach mainstream popularity until the 1970s and 1980s. Adults and parents become concern on the possible ill effects on children but early research found out the results unclear. Back then in the 1980s video games sales boost up when the Nintendo system was first release and with its better and more colorful graphics. When Sega, Nintendo, Sony and other videogame console release bigger and better consoles in the early 2000 followed by Microsoft Xbox in 2001, video game skyrocket even more and there start what gamers called “console wars”. (Rice, 2013) As of today there are two consoles leading up the video game market; Sony Playstaion 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One. Many of the fan boys(loyal to their console ownership) had a lot of arguments and debate which one is better with each consoles unique and fancy features it is still undecided which one is the best and it is all about the matter of taste of the people. (Rice, 2013) A lot of American children...
Words: 1263 - Pages: 6
...Effects of Video Games on Individuals and Families Clinton C. Hallford Axia College of University of Phoenix Effects of Video Games on Individuals and Families Video games have many different effects on the people who play them. There are good aspects to educational games being developed for business, schools, and even the military. The military uses video games for teaching combat tactics and skills needed by pilots. Drone aircraft are controlled from miles away, in a video game fashion. Piloting these drone aircraft is similar to playing a flight simulator video game. Several businesses and industries have started the use of video games in different aspects to teach team unity, sales and management skills. These educational and training games are being developed with the learning aspect at heart. Schools around the world have started to use different learning video games to keep students involved and motivated about learning. Along with the upside of educational games there is also a downside to video games as well. The downside to video games is the violent content in the games being sold to children. Some of these types of games can pull a child in without them knowing it and in some cases can alter their mindset between right and wrong. When children continuously see the violence of video games it starts to take a hold on the child. Some of these players start to think that the types of things they are exposed to in these video games are alright. Even though...
Words: 2176 - Pages: 9
...How Media Effect Children Franchester White Eng/101 September 7, 2014 Karen Strimkovskey Is your child safe? As a parent, you always want to know what your child is watching on television. The media is a powerful tool that doesn’t always teach a positive lesson. Media have provided the means and opportunity for children to distort reality into fallacies through television and video games. While media programs have a negative effect on children, there are some positive programs. The largest amounts of violence are found in children shows. Children between the age of 2 and 18 spends 6 hours and 32 minutes on an average a day using media with the exception of sleeping this is more than they spend on any other activity. When multiple media is stimulated, this time is increased to 8 hours a day. Big parts of media exposure are violent acts that are also witnessed in video games. On an average, a young child will have viewed 200,000 acts of violence on television (TV). Exposure to violent media wrecks havoc on thoughts, feeling, and most importantly, behavior. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth,” a report appearing in the December 2003 edition of “Psychological Science in the Public Interest,” points to strong evidence points to the exposure to media violence causes boost in physically and verbally aggressive behavior in children. “Extensive research evidence indicates that media violence can contribute to aggressive behavior...
Words: 1660 - Pages: 7
...Do Violent Video Games Influence Youth Violence Noel Averruz EN1420 ITT-Technical Institute Ever Since Violent Video Games were invented People have been trying to prove that they influence Violence in Juveniles. Although many prospective studies have been done on video game violence and the affect they have on the youth, none have been able to completely validate the claim that violent video games do influence the youth to become violent in their everyday lives. Out of the many studies that have been done to examined video game violence and the influences it has on player aggression none of the results necessarily tap well into serious aggression or violence. One of these studies was performed by Dr. Ferguson who recruited 302 mainly Hispanic youth between the ages of 10 and 14 years. Dr. Ferguson recruited these youth from some of the most at risk areas for these youth which included places that had neighborhood problems like gangs and rebellion against authority figures. The youth were interviewed twice, once at the beginning of the study and the second time 1 year later. Dr. Ferguson took many variables into consideration like exposure to violence through violent video games and violent TV shows and movies. He also took into consideration the effects of negative life events, negative relationships with adults, negative or delinquent peers. Dr. Ferguson also looked at the youth’s life at home. He took into account how the youth’s communicated with their parents and...
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...Video Games and Aggression in Children Video Games and Aggression in Children Video games cause violence and aggression in children. This is a popular misconception that many people share. The fact is, according to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a thirty year low (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010). This comes at a time when video games are more popular, more violent and more realistic than ever before. The idea that video games expose our youth to a level of violence that will in turn lead to aggression and violence is simply false. Many people believe there are more likely causes of aggression and that video games are merely a scapegoat. I will argue that playing video games can actually have a positive effect on children, and that environment, personality, and lack of parental involvement are responsible for violence and aggression in our nation’s youth. In today’s world there are numerous reports on television and in newspapers and magazines about video games causing aggression and violence in children. Numerous politicians and watchdog groups claim that video games are leading our children down a dangerous path. This is entirely untrue. Since the early 1990s, video games have exploded in popularity. Conversely, in that same time period, violent crime rates in the United States and Canada have plummeted (Ferguson, 2008). Christopher Ferguson, a licensed psychologist and professor who researches...
Words: 1020 - Pages: 5
...Violence in Music Videos and Music Lyrics has a negative impact on children. Music videos that expose profanity and sexuality are inappropriate and leave a negative impression on young children. Violence in music videos can cause health problem. Music videos that promote negative lyrics are affecting young children. Music lyrics with vulgar languages affect the development and well-being of young children. For example, the study author (Stone, 2009) found “that music with explicit references to drugs, sex or violence can be associated with negative effects on school work behavior and emotions” (p. 2). Media violence not only provokes violence among children, it provokes sexual behaviors. However, Music videos add reinforcement to what is being heard with the use of visuals. Rap music video shows an elevated level of content presented of tobacco and alcohol use than any other kind of music videos. Exposure to violence, sexual imagery and alcohol in music videos persuade violent and hostile feelings, potentially aggressive behavior that may direct them to certain types of sadistic behavior. Teens listen to on an average 40 hours of music per week. Children under eight are still developing emotionally. They cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy. They tend to imitate what they hear on the radio and see on T.V. They idolize artists and build themselves to be like them. Children use music to obtain and control of their sensitivity level and to deal with seclusion...
Words: 1619 - Pages: 7
