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Joey Campbell
Dziadek
English 1301
3 December 2010
Attack of the Games
From Super Mario Brothers to Pac Man, video games have done a complete one-eighty in
the world of gaming. Now, infested with crude behavior, sexual implications, adult language, and
violence, video games are more than just items for entertainment, instead video games have
twisted and manipulated their way into many households and influenced disturbing behaviors
upon children, teenagers, and adults alike. Unlike the simpler days, of which an individual would
enjoy the basic findings of Princess Toadstool in an ominous castle abducted by the classic
villain Bowser, a vortex of sin draws in gamers with an endless selection of games made
available to them that include nudity, domestic abuse, and criminal behavior. Video games
harnessing negative messages will eventually take complete authority of ones life and damage
their future for good, slowly rotting the mind of innocent children and teenagers with graphic
scenes of sexual conduct and barbaric behavior. Through this form of media violence video
gamers engaged in the malicious software, causing various changes to the individuals. Bringing
children into the picture creates more possibility for argument
Through the many forms of media violence, video games inculcate a harmful amount of
damage among children when exposed to it. In their book, Handbook of Research on Effective
Electronic Gaming in Education, Craig A. Anderson, Douglas A. Gentile and Edward L. Swing
address and explain in detail many negative outcomes to the exposure of video games to children
and their effects on the childs future. As experts who have fully researched the adverse effects of

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violent media on children, they explain both the short term effects and the cumulative, long term
effects of video games as well as how these violent games cause more aggressive behaviors and
attitudes in individuals (878). Anderson, Gentile and Swing assert that participants in the study
exhibited continued aggression outside of the confines of the clinical study by further acting out
in their daily routines. They cite Douglas A. Gentile and Craig A. Andersons work Media
Violence and Children stating that a child that plays video games, may have a hard time telling
the difference between fantasy and reality, exposing themselves to the diseased infested games
containing violence (878). Though children cannot defend themselves against this infection of
addiction from video games, their strength weakens as they progressively play for extended
periods of time. Also, In the article The Impact of Video Games on Children and Youth (The
Informed Educator Series), by Douglas A. Gentile and David A. Walsh research between the
authors also showed a deep connection between video games and aggressive thoughts, emotions
and behaviors, leading a childs future to oblivion if they continued to play without limitations.
Another article, Only a game? (Video Games and Violence) by Guy Cumberbatch, a
psychologist who specializes in media research and director of The Communications Research
Group, discusses how Craig Anderson of Iowa State University and Karen Dill of Lenoir-Rhyne
College in North Carolina, both agree in their findings that video games and aggression correlate
with one another. They compiled 78 male and 149 female individuals and asked about their
favorite video games and how violent they considered them. Background information about
previous game play during their childhood also contributed to the experiment resulting in the
conclusion that many of the individuals had aggressive behavior during middle school and high
school. From this information, Anderson and Dills observations on the test were clear, violent
games create violent thinking in ones thoughts and attitude.

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With the copious amount of media exposed to children without the supervision of their
parents, video games attract children with lights and sounds while enhancing their inner
aggression. Karen Moltenbrey, author of Video Game Violence: How Much is Too Much?
discusses the relationship discovered between video games and violence found in children who
engage in them. Moltenbrey focuses on one game in particular, Mad World, which includes
violent and aggressive behavior such as murder. She states that in German, Venezuelan, and
British lawmakers have a law pending that they hopes to pass, which will prohibit the sales of
video games that contain violence. She illustrates the problem with an anecdote on how a mother
planned on buying a hot video game for her son and did not bother to look at the game rating
on the box, which clearly stated that the games makers intended the games use for adults only.
If parents cannot limit or abolish the use of violent media in their homes, violence will overtake
their children and transform them into pixilated barbarians ricking havoc amongst those around
them.
In the article Violent Video Games Lead to Brain Activity Characteristic of Aggression,
Michigan State University Researcher Shows, the main topic depicts how one researcher from
Michigan State University, whos name not mentioned, and his colleagues show that playing
violent video games may trigger brain activity that could potentially serve as a link to aggressive
thoughts. They tested thirteen males using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to observe the
active areas of the brain that the games affected after playing a video game with gory violence.
Rene Weber, assistant professor of communication and telecommunication at Michigan State
University and a team member on the experiment, states that the research positively links video
games with aggression neurologically

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Donna St. George discusses in her article Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility how
Craig Anderson, a psychology professor at Iowa State University and director of its Center for
the Study of Violence, has discovered that children who play violent video games show an
increase in aggression months after playing and concluded that video games have harmful effect
on children and adolescents. Although video games contain a high dosage of extreme violence,
Anderson states that many other factors along with video games must remain in account as well,
such as, gang exposure, substance abuse, or antisocial parents.
Jayson Sharon, author of Video Games Tied To Aggression, discussion about two
researchers going head to head on the debate of whether or not video games contribute to violent
behavior. Craig Anderson, director of the Center for the Study of Violence at Iowa State
University in Ames, performed a study on 130,000 individuals in elementary school who played
video games and showed violent or aggressive behavior. But another study held by Christopher
Ferguson, an associate professor at Texas A&M International University in Laredo, states that the
research contained numerous flaws and that the public overestimates the influence of power in
video games. Both researchers refute to one anothers comments as they discuss the issues and
factors that lead to aggression in individuals from playing video games.
As gaming becomes more advanced and alluring with colorful software and
pixilated fun, many still disagree that video games contain barbaric violence that dominate
an innocent childs mind. In the article Fair Play: Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games,
a surplus amount of information explains and describes topics on video game violence, gender of
which games portray dominant and inferior, and data showing which race appears most often as
the hero, the athlete, or the enemy . The article also contains information detailing that many
games victimize races, in that most African Americans in sports games show more aggressive

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behaviors than other individuals present. Although the racial differences make for great gaming
and entertainment, having certain genders and ethnicities portrayed as the villain leads and
ingrains in a childs mind of how to stereotype later in their lifetime.
Along with stereotyping, gender discrimination also influences gamers negatively
through pixilated enjoyment. In Parks & Recreation, the article "Research update: the joystick
generation: video games have measurable social effects on adolescents. authors Jami Barenthin
and Marieke Van Puymbroeck discuss how the presence of female characters in games have
more revealing clothing than male characters and large chests disproportional to their bodies.
The number of indeterminate genders appeared more often than female characters, lowering
female assistance throughout gaming. Allowing children to view and stereotype gender roles
leads to a dysfunctional social skills and can later lead to in appropriate social behavior and
views, setting up a child for social suicide.
As video games make matters worse for adolescents, academic performance comes to a
standstill when fighting against video games for the attention from children. In the article The
Impact of Video Games on Children and Youth (The Informed Educator Series), Douglas A.
Gentile and David A. Walsh cover many positive and negative issues under the topic of video
game violence. They discuss the relationship between the amount of time spent playing video
games and the school performance to match it, showing a major drop in a childs academic
learning ability.
Of course the blame does not lie on the children themselves, but rather on the
irresponsible parents and their attitude of their childs psyche. In their report Fair Play: Violence,
Gender and Race in Video Games, the organization Children Now, asserts that judging a game by
the rating present on the case, such as E for Everyone, M for Mature audiences only, or T

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for Teens, remains highly misleading for many parents trying to find an appropriate game for
their children to play. If parents do not try to make the conscious effort to distract their children
from malicious software, then long-term effects can cause their children to plummet down a trail
of failure. As well as stereotyping strangers children have never met, academic studies can take a
turn for the worse when left unsupervised and limited on the time spent with video games.
As parents become less concerned with their childs fascination to video games and the
violence ingrained in the game, desensitization of gory bloodshed in games slowly takes over the
child. In Video Games and Violence from the Encyclopedia of Ethics in Science and
Technology, author Nigel Barber discusses how desensitization to violence in video games has
awarded players for their excellent marksmanship to the criminal acts they commit in the game,
ignoring the consequences of their destructive behavior. Barber also states that a connect
between violence and gaming has occurred with a 14-year-old named Michael Carneal on
December 1, 1997, of which Carneal opened fire on his classmates at Heath High School, killing
three young women known as his friends. Many argue that this criminal act played as an
imitation off a movie Carneal once seen, Menace II Society in which an unreasonable amount of
violence takes place in a school setting. The link between violence and games that condone with
the desensitization of it allow children to learn firsthand how to prepare themselves to go on a
killing spree without any guilt from their heinous acts.
Though video games cause an extreme disruption in a childs attitude, there remains hope
in that video games may lead to other successes among children and teenagers in the near future.
Erica R. Hendry, author of the article Exercise video games get kids hopping, offers a study from
The University of Nebraska and the Netherlands of how game consoles, like the Wii and Dance
Dance Revolution, are boosting childrens activity by simulating movement from physical daily

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activities. Taking the name as exergames, these activities include tennis, boxing, bowling, and
golf that are included on the Wii. Hendry states that schools in West Virginia also intend to make
video games such as these as part of the P.E curriculum, increasing cardiovascular and muscletraining exercises for students.
Referencing the research of Koedinger Corbett and W. Hadley, Anderson, Gentile, and
Swing, reiterates that affirmative outcomes of video games included teaching information and
learning skills across many subjects, such as, algebra, geometry, and biology (877). They cite
numerous studies that concur how video games have the ability to teach children a broad
spectrum of skills, such as photography and computer programming techniques, as well as
improving math and reading skills (877). Unexpected benefits resulted from the frequent use of
video games such as an improvement in perceptual skills, allowing the gamer to become more
attentive and observant in their daily lives (878). This shows how a simple pixilated device can
benefit children in a variety of ways, including physical activity many may not prefer.
Researchers also believe, along with physical activity and exercise, that video games
challenge individuals mentally with complex motives and puzzles. In the article Some Video
Games Can Help Stimulate Brain, author Rich Suwanski discusses how Dr. Robert P. Friedland,
a professor at the University of Louisville's Department of Neurology, agreed that "many games
involve learning complex situations and intricate spatial representations, and that certainly
challenges the brain" while Two University of California showed that Tetris improved short term
brain function. Also, people who play mental and learning activities became less likely to have
Alzheimers disease, giving children and teenagers an advantage to preventing their young minds
go to waste.

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While some games challenge the brain and decrease harmful diseases, others have the
ability to raise ones self esteem in a single game play. In the Futurist, the article Video Games
and Behavioral Modification author Patrick Tucker depicts how psychologist Mark Baldwin of
McGill University has developed a game that will allow more positive patterns of thought to
those who exhibit insecurities or bullying behavior. The games Grow Your Chi!, EyeSpy: The
Matrix, and WHAM! trick the brain into displaying positive images in order to give the gamer a
healthier emotional state (8-9). From playing the software for five minutes, Baldwin has
discovered improvements in self esteem and less aggressiveness with his subjects (9). Playing
games such as these not only brings entertainment to the individual, but also allows them to have
a healthier mindset in the process.
Along with brain challenging games, researchers have also found that video games
harness the ability to improve ones eyesight with quick flashes of graphics and sound. In Video
Games aid Vision Vitamin D Levels Decline, by Elizabeth Cooney, discusses how young
colleagues at the University of Rochester, lead by Daphne Bavelier, have found that playing
action-packed games, such as Call of Duty 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004, can improve the
contrast sensitivity in eyesight by 48 to 53 percent more than the trainees, who played the Sims
3, a slower paced game. The discovery lead to another finding in that the contrast sensitivity
level remains the same years after the experiment, guaranteeing a great and long-lasting
outcome.
In an article published by Review of Optometry, Violent Video Games Enhance Teens'
Vision? the author claims that playing violent, action-oriented video games has positive effects
on individuals than slower, non-violent ones. The author expands how playing first-person
shooting games can enhance the way the brain processes visual information for an individual.

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This begs the questions asked by Yin Tea, a professor of optometric and the chief of pediatrics
and binocular vision at Nova Southeastern University-College of Optometry: Do video games
have to be violent to provide effective visual treatment? (6). Of course visual stimulation will
create a fixation among the population, but the need to kill fictional characters creates disturbing
results in the end. Though no one would argue against improving the vision of Americas youth
however, the means by which this occurs must not create other societal problems. In other
words, better vision does not constitute support of violent video games.
As video games become more violent, the need to enhance them with gory and malicious
graphics will always remain a constant demand for the public. Along with aggression, video
games induce multiple life threatening situations to the younger generation such as obesity,
smoking, alcohol use, and early-age sexual intercourse. Through each one, their future and lives
will dramatically become altered and manipulated with the assistance of video games and the
corrupt violence instilled within its pixels. In addition to the above article, Craig A. Anderson
and Soledad Liliana Escobar-Chaves, authors of Media and Risky Behaviors, explain in detail
about the many effects media exposure has on teens and adults alike. They both expand on the
topics of how media exposure creates life-threatening decisions made by individuals, causing
obesity, smoking habits, alcohol intake, and sexual desires in ones daily life. Both authors also
agree on the correlate between aggression simulated through the media and the aggression seen
in individuals who watch the media of which violence and aggression shows. Not only does
media game violence affect children in the United States, around the world as well.

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Work Citied
Anderson, Craig A., Gentile, Douglas A. and Edward L. Swing. Learning Processes and Violent
Video Games. Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming in Education:
2. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference, 2009. 876-892.
Anderson, Craig A., and Soledad Liliana Escobar-Chaves. Media a Risky Behaviors. The Future
of Children. 18.1 (2008). Web. 2 March 2010. < http://www.princeton.edu/ futureofchild
ren/publications/docs/18_01_07.pdf>.
Barber, Nigel. "Video Games and Violence." Encyclopedia of Ethics in Science and Technology.
Facts On File, Inc., 2002. Science Online. Facts On File. Foy H. Moody Lib., Corpus
Christi, Tx.. 11 Apr. 2010. <http://fofweb.com>.
Barenthin, Jami, and Marieke Van Puymbroeck. "Research update: the joystick generation: video
games have measurable social effects on adolescents." Parks & Recreation. 41. 8
(August 2006): 24(6). Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Foy H. Moody Lib., Corpus
Christi, Tx.. 11 Apr. 2010. <http://find.galegroup.com>.
Cooney, Elizabeth. Video games aid vision Vitamin D levels decline. Boston Globe, The (MA)
Section: Living Arts: 3. 30 March 2009. Newsbank. Foy H. Moody Lib., Corpus Christi,
Tx. 17 March 2010. <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>.
Cumberbatch, Guy. Only a game? (Video Games and Violence). New Scientist. 166. 2242 (June
10, 2000): 44. Student Resource Center - Gold. Gale. Foy H. Moody Lib., Corpus Christi,
Tx.. 13 Apr. 2010. <http://find.galegroup.com>.
Fair Play: Violence, Gender and Race in Video Games, 2001. Children Now. 1 December 2001.
16 February 2010. < http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/
reports_and_research /article/219>.
Gentile, Douglas A. and David A. Walsh. The impact of video games on children and youth

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(The Informed Educator Series). Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service, 2010.
<http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/dgentile/publications.htm>.
George, Donna St. Study Links Violent Video Games, Hostility. The Washington Post. 3
November 2008.
Hendry, Erica R. Exercise video games get kids hopping. USA Today. (31 August 2008):
Middle Search Plus.
Moltenbrey, Karen. Video Game Violence: How Much is Too Much? Computer Graphics World
32.11 (November 2009): 4 Mas Ultra-School Edition.
Sharon, Jayson. Video games tied to aggression. USA Today. 1 March 2010: A1. EBSCOhost.
Suwanski, Rich. Doctor: Some video games can help stimulate brain. Messenger-Inquirer
(Owensboro, KY). 13 Dec. 2009. 17 March 2010.
Tucker, Patrick. Video Games and Behavioral Modification. Futurist 43.1 (2009): 8. MAS Ultra
School Edition<http://web.ebscohost.com/>.
Violent Video Games Enhance Teens' Vision? Review of Optometry 146.5 (15 May 2009): 6
Academic Search Complete.
Violent Video Games Lead to Brain Activity Characteristic of Aggression, Michigan State
University Researcher Shows. Ascribe Newswire: Health 11 October 2005:

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