Video_Games_Do_They_Cause_Violence

Discussion – a discussion must have an even number of arguments and a conclusion that states your position e.g Therefore, ...... Discuss whether video games cause violence. Video games came out in the late 1970’s. They are like movies except you act them out, The player usually has to participate in the way the game ends. In 2010 video games include games that are handheld such as Nintendo DS or a mobile phone games or games plugged into a television such as Nintendo Wii and Sony Playstation 3. Video games are very popular these days and are the ideal source of entertainment for children, teenagers and children. They can even hold tournaments which allow you to win money. There are many reasons to believe that video games cause violence. In August 1999 some teenagers in America went on a rampage at their school killing 11 people and wounding 21. The parents and authorities believed that because they played excessive amounts of the game ‘Doom’ this is why they went on a murderous rampage. Grand Theft Auto is the most accused video game in history because it is a game where the main objective is to carjack, rob banks and shoot the police and innocent bystanders. In 2006 18-year-old Devin Moore was arrested for suspicion of stealing a car in Alabama. He went to the police station nice and calm and was charged. As he was going out he snapped and shot 3 policeman and stole a police car stealing the keys. Each policeman was shot through the head and killed. Before this he played 48 hours of Grand Theft Auto nonstop, some psychologists believe that all the game playing is just rehearsing the real thing and when he was in the same situation he knew what to do went mad on a rampage and killed the policeman. This is why people accuse Grand Theft Auto and other violent video games of brainwashing. The main reasons people believe video games cause violence is because it involves violent behaviour e.g going around and shooting people. It allows people to rehearse and love violence and psychologists believe that this promotes violence in the real world. People who play violent video games are more likely to be aggressive and bully others. Video games promote selfishness and low ‘helpful’ behaviours such as helping another person who is in trouble. However,the U.S. Secret Service and Department of Education analyzed 37 incidents of school violence and discovered that the most common thing about the shooters were boys and had a history of depression and and attempted suicide. While many of the shooters did play video games, this study did not find a relationship between game play and school shootings. In fact, only one eighth of the shooters showed any special interest in violent video games; far less than the number of shooters who seemed attracted to books and movies with violent content. Another reason people believe that video games do not cause violence is that there are other forms of violence that can be watched e.g on TV or in books. Movies and books have also contributed to media violence as well as video games however, people tend to blame video games more. Video games can offer many benefits. For example, players can act out their fantasies e.g if you have always wanted a dog but are not allowed to have one, there are video games such as Nintendogs that allow you to take care of a virtual puppy. The majority of games are not violent and do not promote violence. Video games can offer a great form of entertainment and even be educational. Furthermore, some countries such as Australia ban video games that have extremely violent content. In Australia games have a maximum rating of MA15+. Any game that has a higher rating than this is banned as Australia does not allow R18+ and X18+ video games. This means that games made for Australia (and countries restricting games) are sent back to the gamemakers who are asked to reduce the violent content. Therefore, games in Australia are less violent than those in America. In conclusion, I do believe that violent video games cause aggression and violence in extreme cases.