Video Games & Violence

4/27/2021

Across the nation, acts of terrorism have occurred. Shootings in areas such as schools, churches, and airports. Many people blame violent video games for these horrendous actions. A gunman who killed 22 people and injured 24 more in El Paso, Texas made a reference to a video game and later said he was very familiar with violent video games. Video games were quickly blamed by many politicians even though it was an obvious act of “ethnic hatred”. In a policy statement on June 22, 2017 “scant evidence” was found on video game violence and real world aggression. Nowadays young children play these violent video games and show symptoms of violence that reflect certain aspects that are played in these games. Games such as Grant Theft Auto and Call Of Duty let the player go on heists and commit mass acts of homicide or go on missions I’m various places and kill people. These video games are available to the youth with nothing stopping them if they have the money. Do video games cause violence, or are they an excuse for Americans to feel better about psychotic people that live in the United States?

26 Comments

Blazen

5/2/2021 03:49:15 pm

Video games do not cause violent acts. These terrible acts such as school shootings are caused by the feeling of loneliness. Loneliness puts you in the darkest place of all, creating a feeling as though you have absolutely no one in a world so big. Feeling alone causes mental issues to occur and not allow one to think right. They choose violence as an answer because they believe other people suffering will make them feel better. This has not correlation to violence in video games, as it is not real and made purely for entertainment. Video games can actually increase your hand-eye coordination which is a positive rather than a negative.

Caden

5/2/2021 05:02:34 pm

Video games are for entertainment and are never the direct cause for a violent act. Mental illness is usually to blame.

Johnathon Simmons

5/2/2021 07:51:10 pm

Although loneliness could be a factor, would anger be in there too? Could bullying and/or parental abuse also be a reason?

Mackay Williams

5/3/2021 08:24:22 am

I believe it is hard to pin point one cause of these violent actions. Whether it’s loneliness, anger, or the result of abuse, all are classified as a source of mental illness. The illness is what causes the violence.

Sam

5/2/2021 04:03:10 pm

Violent video games are a negative aspect for the reason that they depict life-like characters performing actions that are questionable. Of course not all video games are represented in this way but those that portray blatant disregard for human morality by appropriating sexual exploitation, mass homicide, or purposeful disrespect towards the law are implying that we have rights to go against better judgment. Children are not only to blame for learning from the acts shown in video games but their parents are as well. Those who are more involved in their child's growth can promote their development of life lessons early on to build mental stamina and knowledge that the games aren't positively impacting them in any way. Children are easily manipulated by situations in their environment and if they continue to mature idealizing that these acts are socially acceptable, then they will lack the core values that drive away images of violence. There are obviously other factors that go into directing someone to commit something such as a public shooting but violent video games are definitely not aiding in the efforts to promote peace.

Caden

5/2/2021 05:03:25 pm

This could be easily avoided if young children are not given video games before they are ready.

Dillon

5/2/2021 06:08:55 pm

Children are manipulated by their environment, and will act similarly to that. Video games like you say do not support peace and therefore could cause violence.

Blazen

5/3/2021 08:00:13 am

Children will act according to their surroundings. Just don’t give them such a thing at too early of an age and it’ll be fine.

Caden Caywood

5/2/2021 05:01:32 pm

A video game cannot cause a mass shooting or any other violent behavior. Everything in it is just a game and people in the real world are not put in the same situations that their characters in the game are, such as carrying guns in public. Nobody can do something extreme in a game and immediately do the same thing in the real world.

Dillon

5/2/2021 06:10:32 pm

A video game does not directly cause violence. Overtime though, people could begin to see what happens in those games as more acceptable.

Eli

5/2/2021 07:44:19 pm

While some people are able to make that distinction people reality and fiction, there are some who can not. There are people in this world that when watching a tv show they truly believe that those are those peoples lives, so if that is real in our world, than people confusing video games with reality can be real as well.

Sam

5/2/2021 09:59:04 pm

Most people who are raised with solid morals and values would probably not be affected by these video games, but someone who is very ignorant or vulnerable may take this as an incentive that these actions are acceptable.

Blazen

5/3/2021 07:59:24 am

Well technically they can do something in a game and then go do it in the real world. It’s just very very unlikely.

Mackay Williams

5/3/2021 08:20:21 am

In the end the video game is just a way to relive any worldly feelings, like you said the video game is far from reality. It is usually the mental illnesses that make these actions look acceptable to pursue further into reality.

Dillon

5/2/2021 06:06:05 pm

There are many contributing factors that cause people to commit horrible acts of violence. In most cases it leads back to some form of mental illness. Video games themselves do not create violence but some can encourage violence to those who might already be predisposed to vicious outbreaks. Video games normalize mass killing by rewarding its players for each kill. When exposed to this at a young age it forms the way these people view violence in the wrong way. When people visualize something their brains are trained to act similarly. For example, places that air UFC fights such as bars, see fighting skyrocket in those places the nights that fights are aired. It would not be crazy to assume that video games could have the same affect. Large acts of violence ultimately come from mental illness, but video games can be a contributing factor towards displays of inhumanity.

Eli

5/2/2021 07:41:15 pm

In general it dehumanizes everything and makes us more exposed to the horrors of this world and makes it normal.

Will

5/2/2021 08:09:29 pm

At most these games will amplify the wanted intentions of a person, I don't feel they ever create those motives.

Sam

5/2/2021 09:01:09 pm

If children are being shown that these acts are acceptable then it definitely could lead to distorted morals which could inflict mental illness.

Aidan

5/3/2021 01:19:40 pm

That’s a fun essay you wrote there, lots of time put into that. Shame you’ll never get that time back.

Eli

5/2/2021 07:36:09 pm

While video games are a problem they are only an example of why we are becoming automated aggressors. Through the act of video games, horror movies and action movies, the performance of death becomes a common occurrence for children as they grow up experiencing these acts. Some people take notice of the power they have as they defeat these video games. They may soon aspire to this control and want to for themselves in reality. While these crazed video games may not be the sole reason for terrorist attacks it is what can add aggression and a justifiable mean for the offender. Other aspects must be accounted for the ultimate of terrorism to take place like patriotism, revenge, or moral wrongdoing, these acts are not solely derived for the dehumanization of video games.

Johnathon Simmons

5/2/2021 07:49:48 pm

"[A]utomated aggressors" is a great way of stating that people are becoming mindless and violent. You also go on to say that "Some people take notice of the power they have as they defeat these video games. They may soon aspire to this control and want to for themselves in reality" but have you ever seen an example of this? Do people long for the same kind of power they experience virtually through video games and do they want to obtain it through the same methods?

Johnathon Simmons

5/2/2021 07:48:33 pm

If one looks at the ratio of video game players, "[m]ore than 165 million Americans [...], and billions of people [...] worldwide" as stated by https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-08-06/video-games-violence-studies, to violent outbreaks, “In total, [...] at least 2,387 mass shootings” mentioned by https://www.vox.com/a/mass-shootings-america-sandy-hook-gun-violence, it's obvious that there is not a direct link from playing violent video games to committing violent actions. The ratio actually pans out to be about 69,124 video game players in America to 1 mass violent act in America. Although shooters such as the one mentioned in the prompt have referred to violent video games, people widely know for things besides violence are also big fans of video games such as Vin Diesel, Mila Kunis, Samuel L. Jackson, Jack Black, Henry Cavill, Michelle Rodriguez, Zac Efron, and Drake according to https://gamerant.com/celebrity-gamers-favorite-games/. Video games, although having little to no actual, tangible value, do have some positive aspects. https://mediasmarts.ca/video-games/good-things-about-video-games says they can “provide a fun and social form of entertainment, encourage teamwork and cooperation when played with others, make kids feel comfortable with technology—particularly important for girls, who don’t use technology as much as boys, increase children’s self-confidence and self-esteem as they master games, provide points of common interest and opportunities for socialization, develop skills in reading, math, technology and problem-solving, encourage participation in related offline activities, such as reading or sports, encourage civic participation, and improve hand-eye [coordination] and fine motor skills”.

Aidan

5/3/2021 01:19:03 pm

Wow very cool response I swear I’ve heard it before

Will

5/2/2021 08:12:22 pm

I feel that in some aspects, violent video games allow us to vent our emotions through virtual actions. Rather than inflicting them in a real environment.

Mackay Williams

5/3/2021 08:15:38 am

I find it obvious that our society is constantly finding and accusing any new discovery brought to attention by the public, to be the cause of school, airport, and church shootings. Violent video games, in this case, are one of the media's accusations and can be a concern for the future of our society. Children who participate in playing violent games, are more likely to be involved in acts of aggression, but I do not believe video games is what our society should be focusing on. The people of this society that have decided to take the lives of teachers and students, are found to be struggling with the many failures that have occurred in their lifetime, undoubtedly mentally ill with childhood traumas, abuse both mentally and physically, violence with alcoholic parents and siblings are an immense factor when we start to discover the root of such violent people. These factors are far more harming and harder to prevent, than a child playing a video game. We as a society must reconsider the most dangerous circumstances when looking into a child's life. Not to ignore the affect of video games, but to simply understand that there are far greater leading components when talking about these scenarios.

Aidan Adams

5/3/2021 01:18:34 pm

Come on guy could you stop pulling questions from AP English and hit us with something new? You really make me not want to partake in pacebook.

Video Games & Violence

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