Video Games Cause Violence
In today’s ultra-violent media world, approximately 68% of Americans play video games. With one of the most popular video games of 2012 being Call of Duty, it can be argued that it is more than a coincidence that the level of violence in society today has risen at a similar rate to the popularity of these types of video games. Statistics like this may not be proven but cannot be ignored in any studies conducted in behaviour traits, however, the connection between aggression in modern society and the increasing popularity of video games must be deemed more than a coincidence.
Recent worldwide events have proven that the offenders have admitted using violent video games as strategies for their crimes. For those who don't know, Call of Duty is a first person shooter video game. It entails killing other players in order to gain experience and advance to the next level.
In 2011, Anders Breivik murdered 77 people on an island off the coast of Belgium. During his trial Breivik admitted to using Call of Duty to prepare himself for police response and an escape strategy. Some may argue that this does not prove that the video games did not trigger his behaviour, but the availability of it could be said to have contributed to the magnitude of the crime.
In a study conducted by Brad Bushman and Bryan Gibson, playing violent video games and then thinking about it can increase aggression for as long as 24 hours. The researchers randomly assigned college students to play video games for 20 minutes. Half of the games were violent and the other half were not. To test if thinking about the game would cause aggression, half of the players were told to think about the game and try to identify ways of improving. The next day, those who were told to think about the game were much more aggressive than the other groups.
Although there is evidence to suggest that violent video games cause violence, a relationship between virtual aggression and real-life aggression has not
Recent worldwide events have proven that the offenders have admitted using violent video games as strategies for their crimes. For those who don't know, Call of Duty is a first person shooter video game. It entails killing other players in order to gain experience and advance to the next level.
In 2011, Anders Breivik murdered 77 people on an island off the coast of Belgium. During his trial Breivik admitted to using Call of Duty to prepare himself for police response and an escape strategy. Some may argue that this does not prove that the video games did not trigger his behaviour, but the availability of it could be said to have contributed to the magnitude of the crime.
In a study conducted by Brad Bushman and Bryan Gibson, playing violent video games and then thinking about it can increase aggression for as long as 24 hours. The researchers randomly assigned college students to play video games for 20 minutes. Half of the games were violent and the other half were not. To test if thinking about the game would cause aggression, half of the players were told to think about the game and try to identify ways of improving. The next day, those who were told to think about the game were much more aggressive than the other groups.
Although there is evidence to suggest that violent video games cause violence, a relationship between virtual aggression and real-life aggression has not