Madison Butolph 1

Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

Video Games
The effect of violent video games on children and teens continues to be a highly debated
topic across generations, occupations and relationships. For over twenty years, parents, teachers,
politicians and even scientists have debated the link between violent video games and the effect
on youth. The media and entertainment fields have always been a convenient scapegoat for
parents and authority figures to blame the negative behavior of youth. From comic books,
rocknroll, heavy metal music, and now video games, the entertainment industry continues to be
blamed for youth violence. However, if government guidelines for age-based content ratings and
time limits are followed video games are a harmless form of entertainment. According to Amy
Kimensky of livestrong.com, the main causes of behavioral issues are genetics; personality and
mental illness, financial strain; children who are impoverished and home life. Parents need to be
responsible for monitoring the duration of which games are played, monitoring children's
behaviors, addressing psychiatric needs and teaching children the difference between real life
and fantasy. Research and statistics continue to show not only that violence in video games does
not make youth act out in violent ways but the opposite is actually true. According to Michael R.
Ward, Professor of Economics at University of Texas at Arlington, Video Games act more as a
catharsis for relieving stress and tension. In fact, statistically, youth violence has decreased over
the last twenty years as video games have become more popular. Alfred University conducted a
survey of more than 2000 students who ranked what they believed the cause of school shootings
were. Out of 16 reasons violent video games ranked number 11. The top reasons were revenge,
bullying, victims of abuse, and mental illness. If all children were raised in loving homes, in a
safe environment, with access to mental health wellness programs I believe youth violence rates
would continue to decline at a rapid rate.

Madison Butolph 1
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

As pointed out in the article Do violent video games lead to real violence, by Julia
Layton, for years and across generations the entertainment and media industries have been
blamed for the bad behavior of the youth. For example, her article states in the 1950s, lots of
people blamed comic books for kids acting badly. In the 1960s, rocknroll made kids do drugs.
In the 80s heavy-metal music was causing teens to commit suicide. The 1999 columbine
massacre,...might have ushered in the official age of blame the video games. Parents are quick
to blame a media and entertainment rather than take responsibility for lack of parenting. The
government requires video games to be clearly marked by the Entertainment Software Rating
Board, to include rating categories, content descriptors and interactive elements. According to
http://www.esrb.org/ratings, Rating categories suggest age appropriateness. Content descriptors,
indicate content that may have triggered a particular rating and/or may be of interest or concern.
Interactive Elements inform about interactive aspects of a product, including users ability to
interact, the sharing of users location...personal information...with third parties. Parental
controls are also available on any newer games which allow parents to exercise even greater
control over what their children are exposed to. However, many parents fail to follow these
guidelines. According to http://www.pbs.org/, A recent study by the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) shows that more than 90 percent of parents dont monitor ratings on the video
games played by their kids. In addition, parents rarely enforce time limits and maintain open
communication about the content of video games. As stated in, A Parents Guide to Video
Games, Parental Controls and Online Safety, Video games are no different than other forms of
media; they just present new challenges for parents.
Often, children and teens who act out in violent ways are experiencing some form of
mental illness, parental neglect, or other outside stressors that can cause bad behavior. According
to the article, do violent video games lead to real violence, a 2010 study published in the
Review of General Psychology ...researchers found the subjects most deeply affected by
violent game play were those who exhibited personality traits indicative of psychoticism, which
include lack of empathy, nonconformity and impulsiveness. This means a person with normal
mental health is less likely to be affected by violent video games than someone who suffers from

Madison Butolph 1
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

mental illness. Many experts agree there is no direct correlation between video game violence
and violence in youth. Again, according to Julia Layton, In science, correlation doesnt imply
causation... video game violence isnt necessarily cause and effect. It may be that real-life
violent psychopaths enjoy being virtual violent psychopaths, and they choose games based on
that preference. This means just because you can link some psychopaths enjoyment of violent
video games, you can't link this as the cause of psychosis, it may just be a preference. In the
article, Do violent video games lead to real violence, it states, ...assigning blame solely to video
games is a mistake...information is more conclusive that its family issues and that Its never
just one thing. Its always a combination of things. Just as you wouldnt give an alcoholic
alcohol, we shouldnt expose those with psychosis or mental illness to added violence and
neglect. According to the article, What Causes Behavioral Problems in Children?, by Amy
Kaminsky, behavioral issues are the result of genetics, financial strains and environmental
causes. Kids often act out as a cry for help, unfortunately, the warning signs are sometimes
ignored until its too late. Parents need to maintain open communication and supervision of their
children. Just as importantly, parents need to commit to maintaining a positive relationship and
proactive attitude when it comes to their children. Along with, monitoring video games for age
appropriate material and effective parenting, violent video games do not pose a risk to our youth.
Children need to be raised in a safe and nurturing environment where the parents regularly
discuss the difference between fantasy and real life. Schools and parents need to make sure
students are treating each other with respect. The same debate is happening on video games, and
both usually leave no bad behavior on the children, as long as the parents teach their children that
the comics/video games are not real. In the article Is Rocknroll a bad influence on young
people it says, A lot of parents like to blame rockn roll for the trouble young people get into
such as sex and drugs, but a lot of that starts at home. If your parents have raised you right,
music is not going to change how you think. This situation is a very similar to the one about
video games. It shows that if you are raised correctly, video games will not change your mind
about what is good and what is bad.

Madison Butolph 1
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

Michael R. Ward, Professor of Economics at University of Texas at Arlington points out

video games can evoke emotion and sensations as well as literature.Video games can be regarded
as modern day form of art....researchers looked at the behavior of 377 such U.S children
examining their game-playing habits and their negative social habits (getting into fights,
bullying, cutting class), and found no link between the two. In fact, in a small number of children
with attention-deficit symptoms, playing violent video games actually seemed to correlate with
slight reductions in bullying. As with many other art forms, video games may be a way to
express yourself in a creative way not possible in the real world. According to Professor Michael
R. Ward youth violence has been on a steady decrease of the past 20 years as video games have
become popular indicating video games can be considered a catharsis for relieving stress and
energy. In the article, Can Video Games Relieve Stress it states, A lot of people believe that
stress, depression, and other mental disorders are the result of a patterned way of thinking. You
know, every day you wake up feeling like another day, ugh!. Your brain starts to be trained to
expect to be stressed out, and your common stressors usually happen everyday. So youre
constantly living in a state of stress. Video games break that pattern and give your brain a mental
break. Its basically all about refocusing your brain onto something else and getting into a
different zone. This means that is you are used to living a stressful life, video games can help
stop that stress as well as watching your favorite TV program or listening to your favorite song.
With effective parenting, hopefully youth violence rates will continue to drop.
Those who argue violent video games are the cause of youth violence often suggest
school shootings are an example. For instance, when Evan Ramsey shot multiply students and
his principle he cited video games were to blame. When interviewed, Evan said, I did not
understand that if I pull out a gun and shoot you, theres a good chance youre not getting back
up. You shoot a guy in Doom and he gets back up. You have got to shoot the things in Doom
eight or nine times before it dies. This is a great example of how he did not know the difference
between fantasy and reality. With proper parenting and monitoring, Evans misconception of
reality and fantasy could have been addressed. Evan also had a turbulent childhood, his father
was sent to prison when he was 7, his mother was an alcoholic and he was in and out of foster

Madison Butolph 1
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

homes. In the next example, two high schoolers went to their high school and shot multiple
people, then committed suicide.There was speculation that the two committed the killings
because they had been bullied, were members of a group of social outcasts that was fascinated by
Goth culture, or had been influenced by violent video games and music; however none of these
theories was ever proven. Again, there is a link between violence and and violence in video
games. However, just because there is a correlation it doesn't mean video games were the cause.
There were several underlying issues that caused the violence. To support this hypothesis,
according to the same article, bullying can have a devastating affect on children, ...Bullied
children might retaliate through extremely violent measures. In 12 of 15 school shooting cases in
the 1990s, the shooters had a history of being bullied. Once we focus our blam in the correct
areas we can move forward in stopping youth violence.
In conclusion, it is clear our society needs address the underlying causes of youth
violence but violent video games are not one of them. Historically, the media and entertainment
industries have been blamed for the youth acting out as they are an easy scapegoat. Rather than
place the blame on video games we need to commit to taking responsibility for raising children
in a safe and nurturing environment. Parents need to be responsible for making sure the games
they purchase are age appropriate. They also need to monitor the time spent gaming and keep
open communication. The mental health of our youth needs to be a top priority to parents,
teachers and physicians. We need to stop the negative stigma attached to mental illness and
pursue help freely. Continuing the anti bullying movement will undoubtedly have a positive
impact in reducing youth violence. As mentioned before, video games are a modern day form of
artist expression which can lead to reduced stress and invoke emotion. If all children were raised
in loving homes, in a safe environment, with access to mental health wellness programs I believe
youth violence rates would continue to decline at a rapid rate.

Madison Butolph 1
Mrs. Allison
Period 3
December 9th 2014

Works Cited
"Can Video Games Relieve Stress? - True Stress Management." True Stress Management. 02
June 2014. Web. 06 Jan. 2015. <http://truestressmanagement.com/can-video-gamesrelieve-stress/>.
"Effects of Bullying." Effects of Bullying. Web. 04 Jan. 2015. <http://www.stopbullying.gov/atrisk/effects/>.
Jaccarino, Mike. "'Training Simulation:' Mass Killers Often Share Obsession with Violent Video
Games." Fox News. FOX News Network, 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/09/12/training-simulation-mass-killers-often-shareobsession-with-violent-video-games/>.
"Star-News - Google News Archive Search." Star-News - Google News Archive Search. Web. 07
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"Surrounded by Anti-comics Hysteria, This Brooklyn Mom Spoke Her (moderate) Mind." NYPR
Archives Preservation. Web. 07 Jan. 2015. <http://www.wnyc.org/story/are-comics-badchildren/>.