Argument

Video games have been around for a long time and for almost as long as video game programmers were able to program violence into their games, there has been controversy about whether or not violence in video games causes violence in real life.  Every time there is a killer that was found to have played video games, there are always people that rise up to blame the killer’s homicidal behavior on violent video games. These people call for violent video games to be banned but what these people do not seem to understand is that just playing a violent video game does not make someone start killing people. There is usually something wrong with these people and blaming video games on these actions is ludicrous. I am not saying that study should not be put into what effect violent video games could have on a person, but banning violent video games completely because some unhinged people happened to play video games is going too far.  As someone who has played video games for most of their life, I can honestly say that I do not see how people could actually think that video games alone could cause someone to kill another person.

            There is an argument that minors should not be able to play violent video games, and while I do agree with this sentiment, I do not think that banning these games is the right way to go about it.  It should be left up to the parents to decide what their children can or cannot play.  The problem is that these days parents will buy their kid a game without even pay attention to the rating of the games.  Games are given ratings for a reason and that reason is to make sure that people know what the game contains and the age type that the game is recommended for.  If parents choose to ignore the game ratings and get their child a game that is too mature or violent for them, the parents are to blame for their child getting the game.  The game industry has no power over what parents buy for their kids, all they can do is put the rating on the game and hope that the rating is heeded by the buyers.  To try to go after the game industry because kids are getting a hold of violent video games is a waste of time because the only person that can keep kids away from violent video games are the parents.

            The jury is out on whether or not violent video games actually lead to aggression in people.  There are some studies that show that video games do lead to increased aggression but in most cases, the findings by these studies are very conflicting (Freeman, David). Some studies have even shown that video games could potentially have a calming effect on children with attentional disorders (Freeman, David).  What can be gained from these conflicting results is that while there could potentially be a correlation between violent behavior and videogames, there is not really enough information to give a definite answer on what, if any, effect video games could have on a person.

            Video games are always something that are blamed whenever a killer or shooter suspect is found to have played video games.  People are always quick to blame a killers’ aggressive and erratic behavior on violent video games.  What people always seem to overlook is that these people usually have mental and emotional problems that are much more likely to blame for the killings than the video games.  The most recent case of video games being blamed for violent acts was the recent shooting at Sandy Hook.  The suspect, Adam Lanza, was shown to have a massive obsession with guns and other weapons and he was also found to be autistic and was bullied in school (Rivera, Ray).  Yet after the discovery of his obsession with video games, people were quick to point the blame at his interest in video games instead of any of the other very possible causes for his homicidal behavior.  The people in the town went as far as to have a burning for violent video games ( Gabbatt, Adam).  I can understand some people’s sense of despair in the wake of such a terrible tragedy, but to blame video games to the point where you are holding a burning for video games is just ridiculous. 

It almost seems as though some people are just looking for something to blame for these type of tragedies.  It seems that with each new evolution of entertainment, there are always people that make some sort of controversy about it.  When rock and roll first came out, people were afraid that it would corrupt the youth and would bring about the end of decent civilization.  Elvis had to be filmed from the waist up when he appeared on television because he swayed his hips when he sang, and at the time, that was considered to raunchy to be shown on television.  Video games just seem to be the newest evolution of the controversial forms of entertainment.  In all honesty, while there are some very violent things in video games, it is not really anything that you cannot see in television and movies these days.  Some rated R movies show more violence than anything that I have ever seen in a videogame, and yet I never hear anyone blaming violent acts on movies.  I understand not liking the interactive aspect of video game violence, but there simply has to be some sort of understanding that video games cannot be solely blamed whenever there is a tragedy in which the perpetrator played video games.  Whether it is through movies, television, or even music, people are constantly exposed to violent imagery and ideas and besides the interactive part of it, there is really no difference between video games and these other forms of entertainment.  I can almost guarantee that if there is a new form of entertainment that comes out after video games and it incorporates violence in some way, there will be controversy over that as well.

I do not really see the debates on violent video games ending any time soon and I can foresee people who blame video games for violent acts to be around for a long time.  While it may be true that video games can contain a lot of violence, there has not really been any study that has shown a cement connection between video games and violent behavior in people.  I can attest to the fact that video games can at times be stressful, but I have never once seen the violence seen in video games as being something that I should do in real life.  Most video game players see the violence in video games as fiction and they treat it as just that, but there are some people who are unable to differentiate between the violence in video games and violence in real life.  These people usually have something wrong with them so that the thought of killing people does not seem inherently wrong to them.  The people who try to have video games banned do not seem to understand that banning video games will not really solve anything.  There is still violence in movies and in television, and people who mean to do violence probably watch television and movies as well.  Banning video games is not the answer to stopping violence and the sooner people realize this, the sooner they can begin to focus on more important things in our society.

Bibliography

Freeman, David. “Violent Video Games May Curb Bullying in Vulnerable Children, Study Suggests.” Huffington Post 28 August 2013, Web, 14 November 2013

Gabbatt, Adam.  “Connecticut Town to burn violent video games as Sandy Hook returns to school.” The Guardian 3 January 2013, Web, 14 November 2013

Rivera, Ray, Kleinfield, N.R., Kovaleski, Serge F. “Newtown Killer’s Obsession, in Chilling Detail”. The New York Times 28 March 2013, Web, 14 November 2013