Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior in Children
Violent Video Games
Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior in Children
In recent years, technological advances have introduced many new forms of entertainment, one of the most popular being video games. Since their introduction, professionals and parents have become concerned with the addictive power that video games can have on people, particularly children and adolescents. Today, concern has shifted from the addictive effects of video game playing to the possible effects that they have on players’ aggression levels. As defining aggression as any thoughts or behaviors related with the intention to cause harm. Many scholars have been researching videogame’s effects on children. The most popular aspect of videogame research is whether or not games increase aggression.
Seven hours is the amount of hours a day the average American child plays a video games (Anderson 354), and with technology advancing and games becoming more graphic, the concern over a violent game’s effect over a child’s development is growing. What does playing video games for seven hours do to a child’s development? Violent, role-playing video games adversely affects a child’s development and causes aggression in children and adolescents; these games desensitize players, reward hurt and destruction, and glorify dangerous weapons.
For some clarification, violent video games are defined as any game where the objective is to cruelly hurt or kill another character. Role-playing games are defined as any game where the player is responsible for the characters actions; they instigate all moves made by their character. Also, aggression is defined not to mean that a child will go to school and shoot everyone or even engage in fist fights as result of playing too many video games. Aggression here means non-physical acts as well as physical ones.
The first harmful effect of violent, role-playing games is their effect on a youth’s reaction to violence and gore. When a child spends so
Violent Video Games and Aggressive Behavior in Children
In recent years, technological advances have introduced many new forms of entertainment, one of the most popular being video games. Since their introduction, professionals and parents have become concerned with the addictive power that video games can have on people, particularly children and adolescents. Today, concern has shifted from the addictive effects of video game playing to the possible effects that they have on players’ aggression levels. As defining aggression as any thoughts or behaviors related with the intention to cause harm. Many scholars have been researching videogame’s effects on children. The most popular aspect of videogame research is whether or not games increase aggression.
Seven hours is the amount of hours a day the average American child plays a video games (Anderson 354), and with technology advancing and games becoming more graphic, the concern over a violent game’s effect over a child’s development is growing. What does playing video games for seven hours do to a child’s development? Violent, role-playing video games adversely affects a child’s development and causes aggression in children and adolescents; these games desensitize players, reward hurt and destruction, and glorify dangerous weapons.
For some clarification, violent video games are defined as any game where the objective is to cruelly hurt or kill another character. Role-playing games are defined as any game where the player is responsible for the characters actions; they instigate all moves made by their character. Also, aggression is defined not to mean that a child will go to school and shoot everyone or even engage in fist fights as result of playing too many video games. Aggression here means non-physical acts as well as physical ones.
The first harmful effect of violent, role-playing games is their effect on a youth’s reaction to violence and gore. When a child spends so
References: Levine, Madeline. Viewing Violence. New York: Doubleday, 1996. Print. Seltzer. “Tendencies” Cartoon. Parentstv.org 18 Nov. 2009: Web Annotated Working Bibliography Anderson, Craig A., et al. “The Influence of Media Violence on Youth” Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4.3 (Dec., 2003): Web. 15 Nov. 2009 A journal about the effects of media violence (T.V, movies and video games) on youth Gentile, Douglas A., et al. “The effects of violent video game habits on adolescent hostility, aggressive behaviors, and school performance” Journal of Adolescence. 27 (2004): Web. 30 Nov. 2009 Journal on the effects of video games on adolescence Haugen, David M. and Susan Musser, eds. “Media Violence” Opposing viewpoints Series. Detroit: Gale, 2009. Print. Levine, Madeline. Viewing Violence. New York: Doubleday, 1996. Print.