“Hello and welcome everyone. In this speech, I will focus on the correlation between video games and violence. There has been a long-standing debate on the correlation between video games and violence, as noted by Johnson et al. (2015). The ever-increasing incidences of mass shootings have reinvigorated the theory that there is a connection between video games and violence (Council on Communications and Media, 2009). An example is the case of the mass shooting on 3 August 2019 in El Paso, Texas, in which a lone gunman killed more than twenty people and injured several others (Kaufman, 2019). The gunman made compelling reference to video games that further prove the viewpoint that video games could influence people to adopt violent behavior (Bella, 2019). At the time of the incident, many argued that the fact that the gunman was familiar with video games could be sufficient evidence that video games are a major cause of violence. Other people, however, still believe video games were to blame for the unprecedented loss of lives witnessed that day. Nevertheless, there is no proven connection between video games and any form of violence.
Proponents of the view that video games cause violence claim to have established a connection between the two. Similarly, diverse studies posit that violent video games have a link with real-world aggressive violence such as the random shootings rampantly witnessed in most western countries today. Nevertheless, countervailing studies have found no convincing evidence to suggest that video games are to blame for the common shootings or nay form of violence. The main piece of evidence that exists to prove that video games have no link is that video games are spread across the world, but the incidents of shooting only happen in specific countries. Had there been a connection between video games and violence, then the whole world would descend to chaos. The fact that most shootings happen in the west means that there are other underlying reasons.
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Admittedly, there is a need to edit video games to eliminate the gory and horrific scenes of violence that some of them depict. Nonetheless, it is difficult to achieve that feat without violating the First Amendment, which guarantees fundamental rights such as the freedom of speech. For example, in 2011, the Supreme Court struck down a section of California law that sought to ban the rental and sale of violent video games through a 7-to-2 decision (Liptak, 2011). In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that such a law violated the First Amendment.
I acknowledge that my experience with video games is limited, but the content of violent scenes depicted in some of them is a serious cause for worry. Even during the hearing of the mentioned Californian case, one of the judges of the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Alito, concurred that some of the contemporary video games contained graphic images of violence that needed correcting. Images of players killing characters with unimaginable implements such as hammers, clubs, machine guns, and chainsaws are chilling, to say the least. The ways of death to the victims include archaic methods such as decapitation, dismemberment, being burnt alive, and chopping into pieces. The gushing out of blood provides gory images that are quite horrific.
Certain games promote antisocial themes that go against the community standing. For instance, some of the games allow the players to reenact acts of mindless shootings that happened in real life, such as the shooting that happened in El Paso, Texas. It is unimaginable that certain games are insensitive to the point of permitting the players to reenact horrific events such as various scenes from the Holocaust (Prescott, 2013). Such scenes are horrific and disrespectful to the communities who underwent such despicable horrors in the past.
Evidently, some video games are disrespectful to certain communities and humanity at large. Despite the glaring horror that such games depict, there is no hard evidence to connect video games to the rampant incidents of violence witnessed in the world currently. No proof exists to show that video games or the people that play them are responsible for mass killings or nay other forms of murders or violence. The notion that video games cause violence is not founded in fact because most of the studies that claim a connection between video games and violence are inconclusive. Some of the studies have been found to have flaws in their methodology. The only correlation only exits between video games and short-term spans, such as children making noise after video games, but the effects do not last.
Most proponents of video games argue that blaming video games for the incident of mass shootings is a convenient gimmick meant to distract from the main issue, which is a mass shooting. An overwhelming amount of research exists that proves that video games do not cause violence. It essentially means that video games not cause violence or predispose people to violence as claimed in certain quotas. Most video games make children and the people that engage in them to be creative. Additionally, video games lead to social interaction and collaboration. The obsession with virtual guns does not necessarily mean the inclination to violence.
As demonstrated, there is no connection between video games and violence in real life. While it is understandable that certain scenes found in video games are gory and horrific, the effects only last for a moment and do not necessarily translate into violence. People from all over the world play video games, but the fact that most mass shootings occur mainly in the west points to underlying reasons that go beyond the video games. It is, therefore, conclusive to stipulate that the blame attached to video games by claiming that they are responsible for violence is a convenient gimmick that has no justification in research and logic.”
References
Bella, T. (August 6, 2019). Politicians suggest video games are to blame for the El Paso shooting. It’s an old claim that’s not backed by research. Washington Post . Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/05/kevin-mccarthy-dan-patrick-video-games-el-paso-shooting/
Council on Communications and Media. (2009). Media Violence. Pediatrics , 124 (5), 1495-1503.
Johnson, L., Chen, T. A., Hughes, S. O., & O’Connor, T. M. (2015). The association of parent’s outcome expectations for child TV viewing with parenting practices and child TV viewing: an examination using path analysis. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity , 12 (1), 70.
Kaufman, E. (August 5, 2019). Fact check: Are violent video games connected to mass shootings? CNN . Retrieved from https://edition.cnn.com/us/live-news/el-paso-dayton-shootings-august-2019/h_36cb8e40e7533445b6d3a0589481b483
Liptak, A. (June 27, 2011). Justices Reject Ban on Violent Video Games for Children. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28scotus.html
Prescott, J. (Ed.). (2013). Gender divide and the computer game industry . IGI Global.
