Gaming is an activity that brings forth pleasure and relaxation of the mind. Games freshen the mind, keep the body fit and are important for both adults and children. Most individuals spend their leisure time playing games, which are either indoor or outdoor-oriented. Majorly a game is team oriented and in few occasions, it is individual oriented. In the latter scenario, a person plays alone for instance in the case of computer games. The challenge involved in a specific game is what makes it more interesting. Further, the sense of winning and being appreciated motivates players to do their best and to keep playing. All games have rules that have to be followed to the letter and adherence to them helps in making gaming a worthwhile pursuit. Games can play the vital role of teaching numerous aspects of life. Likewise, most games assist the player to gain practical skills which can be used in the day to day living. Anderson et al., (2007) argues that a game is a universal part of humanity and psychologically helps the functionality of the human body. It is this realization that led to a rise in video games, some of them violent.
Violent Video Games Debate
The clash on whether violent video games are bad or good for children has been in existence for a long time. Likewise, violent video games are widely distributed, and their total sales rise on an annual basis. The concern was not voiced until 2011 when the matter was presented in court. In 2011, the State of California introduced a proposal to the United States (U.S) Supreme Court seeking to prohibit the sale of violent video games. Ironically, the Governor of California had earlier been at the forefront of enacting a law that attempted to legalize the sale of the said video games (Gentile et al., 2009). This was seen as double standards, with many questioning his change of position. Against this backdrop, the discourse on whether or not violent video games have negative impacts on children is characterized by ambivalence, while conflicting schools of thought exist. This research paper seeks to examine the existing literature so as to understand whether violent video games are necessarily bad for children.
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Development Effects
Many questions have been raised concerning the amount of time that should be used in playing video games. These are mostly asked by the parties who are concerned with and interested in the healthy development of their children. Most often, parents fall into this category. Despite the concerns, it has been argued that games act as a source of fun and in some instances fuel imagination. When combined the two attributes positively impact the growth of children. The fact that gaming mostly takes place during leisure time poke holes in this question making it difficult to provide a definite answer. Conversely, Anderson et al., (2007) argue that so much playing affects the social development of children, a component that is vital to growth for an individual. This concern arises when children spend more time playing video games as opposed to physically interacting with their peers. However, violent video games serve as a secure channel of offsetting all the aggressive feelings which give the children opportunities to have a social experience (Kutner & Olson, 2008). Also, repetitive playing of a particular game increases the ability of children to learn different skills.
Causalities of Violent Video Games
Based on the temperament, violent video games affect children differently. For instance, aggressive children indulging in violent video games tend to become more violent compared to the others. On the hand, on playing violent video games, children who are calm tend to become more violent as compared to those that play nonviolent video games. Evidence of anger is often seen after a round of the game. Anderson et al., (2007) argue that watching aggressive videos is most likely to bring forth aggressive behaviour in short-term while in the long-term aggression could turn into violence. Therefore, in pursuit of more knowledge on this subject, it is not ethical for researchers to subject children to prolonged exposure to violent media, specifically videos (Gentile et al., 2009). Notwithstanding, violent video games may lead to addiction and fascination with violence.
Exposure to violent video games
The children that are exposed to violent video games are more likely to engage in physical aggression against their peers. This is because they are used to violence since children most often learn from their daily experiences and what they see around them. Since games have rules, the children who are exposed to violent video games tend to apply the gaming in the real world. In this case, they learn from the gaming characters and in the long begin being aggressive. However, exposure to violent video games cannot be sufficiently proven to be the primary cause of real world violence (Kutner & Olson, 2008). Violence is brought forth by a series of events and as varied as aggressive behavior is, so are the possible causes. Anderson et al., (2007) argues that exposure to violent video games increases violence based on the shift in emotions and attitude. The amount of cartoonish violent video games has decreased while the real, extreme and actual graphic gun games have increased in the market, making it possible for an increase in aggression. Therefore, despite the existing loopholes in this argument, exposure to violent video games has a likelihood of increasing aggression.
Aggressive tendencies and behaviors come about when there is an increase in aggressive thoughts and emotion and learning of new aggressive actions from what the video game player sees and practices often. Psychologically, exposure to bad occurrences increases the rate of heartbeat and causes an increase in blood pressure. However, this sense tends to be disoriented when the children’s minds are exposed to violent video games. Consequently, their emotions are desensitized, and they no longer view such violent acts as killing as wrong. Further, the children tend to believe that aggression is a normal occurrence, and therefore that is how people should behave in the real world. Heavy violence video game players view the world as a hostile place that needs one to apply hostile mechanisms to survive. Conversely, Kutner & Olson (2008) argue that violent video games can also teach morality. This is because the immorality in the video games raises awareness for the children to avoid such activities and live uprightly.
Realistic Versus Fantasy
Playing of violent video games is always judged as not being a reality and hence should not affect anyone in the real world. In support of this, Kutner & Olson (2008) contend that it is easy for an individual to distinguish between media violence and reality hence it is not a big issue. Violence and aggression are things that a person can pick from what happens around him or her since it happens psychologically (Anderson et al., 2007). Likewise, the children that engage in violent acts always know that the game was fantasy and what therefore different from happenings in the real world. However, children are more vulnerable to outside influence as compared to adults hence they may treat the games as a reality and could apply the techniques they learn while gaming in the real world. Researchers, paediatricians and parents to some extent agree that violent video games cause a considerable percentage of children to treat the occurrence as real.
Marketing Violence
In the recent years, the sale of violent video games has increased. Inherent in this is the huge expenditure incurred in marketing and promoting violent video games. As a result, violent video games have become more appealing to children. The video games industry believes that by selling violent video games, it will remain relevant in the market and this increasing customer satisfaction. This is as opposed to selling nonviolent video games. The deception is that only violent video games sell in the market. Contrary to this belief, many nonviolent products are exciting and whose sale is highly possible. The marketing of violence has led to an increase in aggressive attitude, values and behavior. This rise in violent media in the market increases the risk factor of aggression and violence in children (Anderson et al., 2007).
Public Perception of Casual Effects of Violent Video Games
Video games increase cases of violence to a smaller degree for the first time players. Kutner & Olson (2008) maintain that some children are not affected by the violence in the video games. However, Anderson et al., (2007) counters this argument saying that some individuals may experience the adverse effects later making them think that they are immune and not affected in the short run. The media industries deny any research conducted to prove that the violent video games have an effect on children’s behavior. The fact that the media industry is linked to the advertisement industry makes it hard for the release of the actual information regarding a particularly violent video game that is newly released to the market. Since the media industry denies any adverse effects, the public and parents remain confused with the question of whether violent video games are bad or not. This confusion deters parents from screening the video games that their children are playing.
Well-Designed Video Game
Video games are a very useful teaching tool that could enhance various skills in children. The content in the video game is critical as it imparts the same thing in children. For instance, in games that involve shooting, the decision as to whether to shoot or not to shoot improves decision making in children. It also improves the cognitive performance of the children playing such games (Kutner & Olson, 2008). These children are also more social as compared to those that do not play any game, and their problem-solving skill is also enhanced. Further, the hand and eye coordination for children that are excellent in these video games are very efficient as compared to those that do not play any games or even play other games. However, such children cannot control their emotions (Anderson et al., 2007). Psychologists reason that such video games bring about aggression and problematic children, and therefore there is no need to make them available to the children.
Going from the Lab to the Street
The 8 to 18-year-old children spend 49 minutes in playing video games and 19 minutes playing computer games per day. Boys aged 8 to 10 years are heavy players of video games. These children love playing violent video games because it allows them to become creative and the games also challenge them. These groups can learn new skills, relax and even create their world. Most children also love such video games because they enable them to face danger since they learn the skills while playing (Kutner & Olson, 2008). Hence these violent games could be outlets for safe aggressive feeling that children may experience. However, some of these children play these games to test what they are capable of doing when they are around their parents (Gentile et al., 2009). Some are driven by the desire to experience how rebellion feels like and by this they fulfil their curiosity.
Denial of Effects of Violent Video Games
In most cases, individuals who experience the effects of violent video games refuse to be exposed and assume that they are okay. As a result, researchers do not have tangible evidence. The scientific research that is conducted on this issue is therefore viewed as a rumor due to lack of proof. Subsequently, this prolongs the question of whether it is good or bad for children to be exposed to violent video games. A sense of reactance is then formed when a child becomes addicted to playing. When all of a sudden playing is taken away from them, it leads to the child being more aggressive and rebellious to the parents (Gentile et al., 2009). Additionally, cognitive dissonance may also arise when the children are in denial of not experiencing the effects of violence. Since some individuals have not killed, they claim that violent video games do not result in aggression.
Fear and Risk Taking
Some violent video games scare the children, and this causes them to be psychologically disoriented. Some of the children may fight the fear but afterwards want to be more experimental and risk takers (Kutner & Olson, 2008). Researchers recognize the potential hazard from violent video games, but most children innocently play the games in ways that would offer benefits and less risk (Kutner & Olson, 2008). This alters the children’s growth development as they may miss some stages of their childhood. Moreover, violent video games are not healthy for children because some even end up having nightmares (Anderson et al., 2007).
Parents and all the educators should adapt the skill of screening all the video games and checking the content before allowing their children to play. Violent video games result in more harm than good, and therefore avoiding them would be highly beneficial to the child, especially at young ages. Besides, there are other nonviolent video games that are intriguing and exciting. These could be played instead of the violent video games.
References
Anderson, C. A., Gentile, D. A., & Buckley, K. E. (2007). Violent video game effects on children and adolescents: Theory, research, and public policy . Oxford University Press.
Gentile, D. A., Anderson, C. A., Yukawa, S., Ihori, N., Saleem, M., Ming, L. K., ... & Huesmann, L. R. (2009). The effects of prosocial video games on prosocial behaviors: International evidence from correlational, longitudinal, and experimental studies. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin .
Kutner, L., & Olson, C. (2008). Grand theft childhood: The surprising truth about violent video games and what parents can do . Simon and Schuster.
