Video Game Violence and Children - Research Paper Example

Video game violence and children May 27, Video game violence and children Introduction There has been a lot of speculationas to the effects that video games have on children and teenagers. It is assumed that since people have been found to be influenced by other forms of media, such as television, movies and music (Potter, 1999, p. 12), then the same concept could apply to video games in regard to their effect on young people. The violence that is displayed in video games has proven to be harmful and influential to the children that are exposed to it, thus promoting violence to those who engage in the games. Video games do promote violence in children and teenagers due to the fact that the children and teenagers are impressionable, are being subjected to negative images and concepts while playing these games, and the games condone the type of behavior and actions to the children who are viewing these concepts almost firsthand. “The greatest consequence of the effects of video games on children is that there has been a noticeable rise in violence committed by children and teenagers that play violent video games (Freedman, 2002, p. 27)”. Impressionability of children It has long since been proven that children are very impressionable; the younger that they are, the more knowledge they absorb from the behaviors, actions, and attitudes of others, whether or not these people are real or are seen in movies, books, or video games. The actions and behaviors that children see are often be repeated by the children themselves; for example, children often learn words or phrases from hearing them from their parents so often. The more that the hear it, the more likely they are to mimic it. The concept of impressionability is quite similar to any classroom teaching method in the sense that the teacher displays something that the children repeat until they learn it entirely for themselves to achieve on their own in future practices. Unlike classroom learning, however, impressionability involves the children adapting the behavior or action of their own accord without needing prompting from someone else. They simply see someone else constantly doing a specific action or behaving in a certain way and then repeat the action. In regard to impressionability, it takes time for the action or behavior to be fully adapted by the child. The more that they see these actions taking place, the better they are able to imitate them. Furthermore, they have to constantly repeat these actions on their own to for them to feel fully satisfied in achieving them. While children may not immediately resort to murder or violence, they often imitate these crimes in pretend play, such as using their fingers as guns or pretending to physically harm a person, such as in mock wrestling or the use of toys to imitate the violent attack. Nevertheless, the intensity of the actions can begin to increase the more that they try to properly imitate the original action. If a parent owns guns that are kept in the house, the children may attempt to get to them, or they may really physically harm someone else. The actions often increase from here, with many children killing, raping or committing some other act of violence towards others -- all actions which had been inspired by their choice of media entertainment such as video games. As children in this generation spend a great amount of time playing video games, they are increasing their time spent watching these behaviors and actions, thus strengthening their impressionability. They begin to familiarize themselves with these concepts being portrayed in their video games. Since many video games allow children to play from a first person perspective, such as first person shooter games, many of these children are playing the game as though they are doing the actions themselves, as opposed to controlling a separate character and watching them go about their tasks as if they were a bystander. Some adults actually feel that these games act as “training programs for children to commit crimes (Kutner & Olson, 2008, pg. 121).” Children learn from the things that they surround themselves with the most, adapting and imitating them for their own lives because it is what they have become used to. Subjection to negative images and concepts The subjectivity of children to the negative images and concepts that are found in video games can be harmful as well as very influential. Nowadays, video game makers seem to know no limits to what their games can hold. Many deal with sex, murder, drugs, and, more often than not, grand theft auto, all of which are subjects too mature for children of any age. Although many children are harmed mentally and emotionally by the jarring images that many of these games display, there are other children that take these actions to heart and become eager to act out on them. They see these images and become inspired. If they are being subjected to these images and concepts by acting as the character in the game, as if they were committing the murders and crimes themselves, then they are being further subjected to the reality of these crimes and behaviors. Unfortunately, they are not being subjected to the consequences that would come with these actions in a real life scenario. Children begin to become used to what they are seeing every time that they play their games, yet they are not being exposed to it in its entirety; the violence and crime become familiar to them, but they still remain unaware of what really does happen to people who live those kinds of lives. When children are subjected to something so often, those images begin to imprint into their minds (Gentile, 2003, pg. 89). The more that they play these video games, the more clear the image is of what they are doing on those games. As they become so exposed to something such as these video games, as with anything else, they become part of the child’s life. However, if the video games that these children play are violent and graphic, having them be subjected to them is almost no different than subjecting them to someone’s real life of violence and crime or putting them in the middle of a murder crime. Since they play these video games, often as the character themselves, then they are being presented with an almost first-person feel of what it means to be a violent criminal. With violent video games, children become subjected to concepts that they should either be not aware of at their young age or should be properly informed of so that they can avoid engaging in these activities in the future. Concepts of crime and murder are revealed without any holdbacks in video games, making the concepts and possibilities easily accessible to anybody who is able to obtain these games. As many of these games can be found on computers, children are getting ahold of them with ease. Thus, the more that children are subjected to these ideas, the more likely they are to try them out for themselves, to experiment based on what they have seen in their games. Children become inspired by what they see others do, regardless of what the action or behavior is, and regardless of possible consequences, as these are hardly properly displayed throughout the course of any game. When children believe there are no consequences, they become even more keen to go about doing the action. Subjectivity can be seen as going hand-in-hand with impressionability, though there are some differences. Subjectivity is when a child is, simply put, subjected or exposed to the video games in question, while impressionability has to do with how the “children accept and interpret the knowledge being given to them through the medium of video games (Desilet, 2005, pg. 64)”. Subjectivity and impressionability can easily be avoided if children are either unable to access violent, negative video games or if they are learned in the differences between reality and video games, with a large focus on consequences in real life situation. Condoning negative actions and providing false concepts When video games portray negative, violent acts without following up with consequences and punishments, then they are condoning the same actions for others that may consider acting out in the same way, especially if the actions and behaviors are being portrayed in a way that is viewed as being without punishment. Children have long since been under the belief that if they see someone else do it then it must be okay for them to do the same, and that no punishment will come their way. If parents or other authoritative figures do not make it clear that the video game characters exist in a world entirely of their own where the same rules clearly do not apply, then children will feel that these actions are okay for them to do as well. Video games can hardly be considered moralistic, providing children with negative ideas and absolutely no concept of the consequences, so when children see their video game counterparts committing crimes and murders and getting away with it, many of them become stuck with the delusional that they can also get away with these crimes without being apprehended. Children are quick to admit when they do something that had been inspired by something else. Many feel a sense of pride that they were smart enough to believe that they could do the exact same thing as a fictional character. If they kill someone because they saw it on a video game, more often than not they will tell people this information when they are apprehended. They want others to know that it was not their idea to commit the crime, but the actions of someone else that they just decided to follow. Many children and the majority of teenagers try to use their video game exposure as an excuse as to why they have involved themselves in crimes of violence; even if the person is old enough to understand the differences between right and wrong, they feel that it is okay to put the blame on the inspiration to do the actions rather than their own personal desire to follow through with them. Furthermore, besides using video games as excuses for committing violent crimes, there are many children that feel that if video game characters do not get in trouble, then they same would most likely apply for themselves. Many children also believe that if a fictional video game character can do something then they should be entitled to the same right. The fact that video game characters are unable to die, being given life after life, provides children with a negative and inaccurate insight into the world of violence and crime. Many games even allow game cheats that do not allow the characters to die at all through the course of the game, making them invincible to police officers (Dill, 2009, pg. 76). Not only do children feel that they are allowed to engage in violence, but they feel that they are almost given permission to take down anyone and everyone who gets in their way. Consequences and solutions As previously stated, there has been an increase in violent crime committed by children, and it is widely believed that many of these crimes can be connected with the children’s subjectivity to violent video games, as well as other forms of media (Tallim, 2009). Unfortunately, given the ages of these children, the majority of them do not see the same punishments that their adult counterparts would if they had committed the same crime. These children seem to grow up faster than those that do not play violent video games or subject themselves to other negative media, as they are being subjected to mature images and concepts, many of which are disturbing, and they try to imitate the same actions and behaviors. There are many methods that can be undergone to prevent children from falling too far into these crime-driven fictional worlds that they live in when they play video games. First and foremost, parents need to monitor the games that they allow their children to play. All video games, whether they are for gaming systems, computers, cell phones, or other portable systems, come with ratings. These ratings are required by law if the game is expected to be sold to the public through larger companies (Degaetano & Grossman, 1999, pg. 104); private companies have their own rating laws to abide by. The ratings range from E (Everyone) to M (Mature), with a few others in between to express mild violence or suggested parental advisory. Stores do not allow children under the age of eighteen to purchase games that are rated M, and most employees are trained to inform parents who are purchasing M-rated games for their children the content that the game contains and to suggest another game in its place. Parents need to know and fully understand what their children are being subjected to. Furthermore, not only do parents need to know what their children are playing, but they need to exercise their parental rights to deny their children certain games if they believe that the content is too vulgar or offensive for their children. No amount of begging or pleading on the behalf of the child to play the game is not worth the possible consequences that that child can be subjected to by being influenced by these games. If parents do let their children play these games, they need to monitor their behavior and performance in school, keeping their eyes open for any negative changes or warning signs that can come about from playing violent video games. Many children that have gotten into criminal trouble due to influences by media have displayed a harsh, drastic change in behavior and often obsess over the material found in the games (Samenow, 2004, pg. 47). Parents need to make sure that their children are not looking too much into the stories of their games, only being content when they are sure that their children are only seeing the gaming, entertainment aspects. Parents also need to make sure that the line is clear between fiction and reality when it comes to their children playing these negative games. Parents need to inform their children that what takes place in those games is entirely different in comparison to what will happen in real life, especially if those actions in the game are repeated in a real life setting. While the characters in games may not be punished for their actions and behaviors, the same will not apply if a child were to act out in the same way. Granted, many of them may not be punished in the same way as someone older, but they will be reprimanded for their actions. Parents need to make it clear the differences between a game and real life, and that with all negative actions comes consequences that they must face, regardless of their age and regardless of where they got their unwise ideas from. Controversies The biggest controversy is simply that video games, regardless of the messages that they convey, hold absolutely no responsibility for violence in children (Trend, 2006, pg. 23), therefore making the claim that video games do not promote violence. This is due to the fact that people believe children can make their own choices without the influence of video games and if they decide on a life of violence and crime then it is the fault of their parents for not setting them straight. While this may be true of some children, there are still many that really are influenced by the entertainment that they surround themselves with. Even adults can be influenced by what they watch, read, or listen to, and since children are more impressionable there is a better chance that video games will spark their interest in imitating what the games that they play. In regard to parents keeping their children in check, this can also be accomplished by parents putting their foot down when it comes to the games that their children want to play. As it is the job of the parents to make sure that their children grow up properly and do not get into any permanent trouble, then it should also be their job to make it clear that video games are not to be mimicked. Just as well, even when parents do try to bring their children up properly, not all of the children will truly take to heart what is being told to them. While children are under the age of eighteen, parents need to take advantage of the unique opportunities to speak and raise their children in a positive environment. Despite any controversies that may be laid down in regard to video game violence and its effects on children, the opposing arguments will still come down to the fact that video games have what it takes to leave an impression. Parents may be able to tell their children the differences between right and wrong, fiction and reality, but it is up to the children to decide on whether or not they are going to abide by and use this knowledge to their benefit. Conclusion Despite the few disbeliefs, it has been proven and believed by many others that video games do in fact promote violence to children. With their graphic details and explicit descriptions of the violent, criminal world, video games have given children complete access to these negative concepts that are literally at their fingertips. As children are impressionable, they begin to adapt video game violence to their lives, attempting to use it themselves when they see fit. The mere subjectivity of children to violent video games opens many horrific doors for them, showing them places that they have no right to be. Finally, as video games seldom involve consequences to the actions of the characters, children find themselves using video games to defend their own behavior while believing that there is no possible way that they can get into trouble. Parents need to begin monitoring the games that their children play so that they may retain their innocence for as long as they should be entitled to. References Degaetano, G. & Grossman, D. (1999). Stop teaching our kids to kill: A call to action against TV, movie and video game violence. New York: Crown Publishing Group. Desilet, G. (2005). Our faith in evil: Melodrama and the effects of entertainment violence. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers. Dill, K.E. (2009). How fantasy becomes reality: Seeing through media influence. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, USA. Freedman, J.L. (2002). Media violence and its effect on aggression. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press. Gentile, D.A. (2003). Media violence and children. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. Kutner, L. & Olson, C.K. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games. New York: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group. Potter, J. (1999). On media violence. Los Angeles: Sage Publishing. Samenow, S. (2004). Inside the criminal mind. New York: Crown Publishing Group. Tallim, J. (2009). Research on the effects of media violence. Retrieved from http://www.media- awareness.ca/english/issues/violence/effects_media_violence.cfm Trend, D. (2006). Myth of media violence. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. Read More