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Joey Campbell

Dziadek

English 1301

3 December 2010

Attack of the Games

rom !"per #ario $rothers to %ac #an& 'ideo games ha'e done a complete one(eighty in

the )orld of gaming* +o)& infested )ith cr"de beha'ior& se,"al implications& ad"lt lang"age& and

'iolence& 'ideo games are more than -"st items for entertainment& instead 'ideo games ha'e

t)isted and manip"lated their )ay into many ho"seholds and infl"enced dist"rbing beha'iors

"pon children& teenagers& and ad"lts alike* .nlike the simpler days& of )hich an indi'id"al )o"ld

en-oy the basic findings of %rincess /oadstool in an omino"s castle abd"cted by the classic

'illain $o)ser& a 'orte, of sin dra)s in gamers )ith an endless selection of games made

a'ailable to them that incl"de n"dity& domestic ab"se& and criminal beha'ior* ideo games

harnessing negati'e messages )ill e'ent"ally take complete a"thority of ones life and damage

their f"t"re for good& slo)ly rotting the mind of innocent children and teenagers )ith graphic

scenes of se,"al cond"ct and barbaric beha'ior* /hro"gh this form of media 'iolence 'ideo

gamers engaged in the malicio"s soft)are& ca"sing 'ario"s changes to the indi'id"als* $ringing

children into the pict"re creates more possibility for arg"ment

/hro"gh the many forms of media 'iolence& 'ideo games inc"lcate a harmf"l amo"nt of

damage among children )hen e,posed to it* n their book&Handbook of Research on Effective

Electronic Gaming inEducation& Craig A* Anderson& Do"glas A* Gentile and Ed)ard * !)ing

address and e,plain in detail many negati'e o"tcomes to the e,pos"re of 'ideo games to children

and their effects on the childs f"t"re* As e,perts )ho ha'e f"lly researched the ad'erse effects of

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'iolent media on children& they e,plain both the short term effects and the c"m"lati'e& long term

effects of 'ideo games as )ell as ho) these 'iolent games ca"se more aggressi'e beha'iors and

attit"des in indi'id"als 45657* Anderson& Gentile and !)ing assert that participants in the st"dy

e,hibited contin"ed aggression o"tside of the confines of the clinical st"dy by f"rther acting o"t

in their daily ro"tines* /hey cite Do"glas A* Gentile and Craig A* Andersons )orkMedia

Violence and Children stating that a child that plays 'ideo games& may ha'e a hard time telling

the difference bet)een fantasy and reality& e,posing themsel'es to the diseased infested games

containing 'iolence 45657* /ho"gh children cannot defend themsel'es against this infection of

addiction from 'ideo games& their strength )eakens as they progressi'ely play for e,tended

periods of time* Also& n the article The Impact of Video Games on Children and Youth The

Informed Educator !eries"#by Do"glas A* Gentile and Da'id A* 8alsh research bet)een the

a"thors also sho)ed a deep connection bet)een 'ideo games and aggressi'e tho"ghts& emotions

and beha'iors& leading a childs f"t"re to obli'ion if they contin"ed to play )itho"t limitations*

Another article& $nl% a game& Video Games and Violence"by G"y C"mberbatch& a

psychologist )ho specializes in media research and director of /he Comm"nications 9esearch

Gro"p& disc"sses ho) Craig Anderson of o)a !tate .ni'ersity and :aren Dill of enoir(9hyne

College in +orth Carolina& both agree in their findings that 'ideo games and aggression correlate

)ith one another* /hey compiled 65 male and 1;< female indi'id"als and asked abo"t their

fa'orite 'ideo games and ho) 'iolent they considered them* $ackgro"nd information abo"t

pre'io"s game play d"ring their childhood also contrib"ted to the e,periment res"lting in the

concl"sion that many of the indi'id"als had aggressi'e beha'ior d"ring middle school and high

school* rom this information& Anderson and Dills obser'ations on the test )ere clear& 'iolent

games create 'iolent thinking in ones tho"ghts and attit"de*

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8ith the copio"s amo"nt of media e,posed to children )itho"t the s"per'ision of their

parents& 'ideo games attract children )ith lights and so"nds )hile enhancing their inner

aggression* :aren #oltenbrey& a"thor of VideoGameViolence=Ho' Much is Too Much&

disc"sses the relationship disco'ered bet)een 'ideo games and 'iolence fo"nd in children )ho

engage in them* #oltenbrey foc"ses on one game in partic"lar&Mad (orld& )hich incl"des

'iolent and aggressi'e beha'ior s"ch as m"rder* !he states that in German& enez"elan& and

$ritish la)makers ha'e a la) pending that they hopes to pass& )hich )ill prohibit the sales of

'ideo games that contain 'iolence* !he ill"strates the problem )ith an anecdote on ho) a mother

planned on b"ying a >hot? 'ideo game for her son and did not bother to look at the game rating

on the bo,& )hich clearly stated that the games makers intended the games "se for ad"lts only*

f parents cannot limit or abolish the "se of 'iolent media in their homes& 'iolence )ill o'ertake

their children and transform them into pi,ilated barbarians ricking ha'oc amongst those aro"nd

them*

n the article Violent Video Games )ead to *rain +ctivit% Characteristic of +ggression#

Michigan !tate ,niversit% Researcher !ho's& the main topic depicts ho) one researcher from

#ichigan !tate .ni'ersity& )hos name not mentioned& and his colleag"es sho) that playing

'iolent 'ideo games may trigger brain acti'ity that co"ld potentially ser'e as a link to aggressi'e

tho"ghts* /hey tested thirteen males "sing #agnetic 9esonance maging 4#97 to obser'e the

acti'e areas of the brain that the games affected after playing a 'ideo game )ith gory 'iolence*

9ene 8eber& assistant professor of comm"nication and telecomm"nication at #ichigan !tate

.ni'ersity and a team member on the e,periment& states that the research positi'ely links 'ideo

games )ith aggression ne"rologically

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Donna !t* George disc"sses in her article !tud% )inks Violent Video Games# Hostilit%ho)

Craig Anderson& a psychology professor at o)a !tate .ni'ersity and director of its Center for

the !t"dy of iolence& has disco'ered that children )ho play 'iolent 'ideo games sho) an

increase in aggression months after playing and concl"ded that 'ideo games ha'e harmf"l effect

on children and adolescents* Altho"gh 'ideo games contain a high dosage of e,treme 'iolence&

Anderson states that many other factors along )ith 'ideo games m"st remain in acco"nt as )ell&

s"ch as& gang e,pos"re& s"bstance ab"se& or antisocial parents*

Jayson !haron& a"thor ofVideo Games Tied To +ggression& disc"ssion abo"t t)o

researchers going head to head on the debate of )hether or not 'ideo games contrib"te to 'iolent

beha'ior* Craig Anderson& director of the Center for the !t"dy of iolence at o)a !tate

.ni'ersity in Ames& performed a st"dy on 130&000 indi'id"als in elementary school )ho played

'ideo games and sho)ed 'iolent or aggressi'e beha'ior* $"t another st"dy held by Christopher

erg"son& an associate professor at /e,as A@# nternational .ni'ersity in aredo& states that the

research contained n"mero"s fla)s and that the p"blic o'erestimates the infl"ence of po)er in

'ideo games* $oth researchers ref"te to one anothers comments as they disc"ss the iss"es and

factors that lead to aggression in indi'id"als from playing 'ideo 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-air .la%/ Violence# Gender and Race in Video Games&

a s"rpl"s amo"nt of information e,plains and describes topics on 'ideo game 'iolence& gender of

)hich games portray dominant and inferior& and data sho)ing )hich race appears most often as

the hero& the athlete& or the enemy * /he article also contains information detailing that many

games 'ictimize races& in that most African Americans in sports games sho) more aggressi'e

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beha'iors than other indi'id"als present* Altho"gh the racial differences make for great gaming

and entertainment& ha'ing certain genders and ethnicities portrayed as the 'illain leads and

ingrains in a childs mind of ho) to stereotype later in their lifetime*

Along )ith stereotyping& gender discrimination also infl"ences gamers negati'ely

thro"gh pi,ilated en-oyment* n.arks 0 Recreation& the article 9esearch "pdate= the -oystick

generation= 'ideo games ha'e meas"rable social effects on adolescents*? a"thors Jami $arenthin

and #arieke an %"ymbroeck disc"ss ho) the presence of female characters in games ha'e

more re'ealing clothing than male characters and large chests disproportional to their bodies*

/he n"mber of indeterminate genders appeared more often than female characters& lo)ering

female assistance thro"gho"t gaming* Allo)ing children to 'ie) and stereotype gender roles

leads to a dysf"nctional social skills and can later lead to in appropriate social beha'ior and

'ie)s& setting "p a child for social s"icide*

As 'ideo games make matters )orse for adolescents& academic performance comes to a

standstill )hen fighting against 'ideo games for the attention from children* n the articleThe

Impact of Video Games on Children and Youth The Informed Educator !eries"#Do"glas A*

Gentile and Da'id A* 8alsh co'er many positi'e and negati'e iss"es "nder the topic of 'ideo

game 'iolence* /hey disc"ss the relationship bet)een the amo"nt of time spent playing 'ideo

games and the school performance to match it& sho)ing a ma-or drop in a childs academic

learning ability*

Bf co"rse the blame does not lie on the children themsel'es& b"t rather on the

irresponsible parents and their attit"de of their childs psyche* n their report-air .la%/ Violence#

Gender and Race in Video Games& the organization Children +o)& asserts that -"dging a game by

the rating present on the case& s"ch as >E? for E'eryone& >#? for #at"re a"diences only& or >/?

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for /eens& remains highly misleading for many parents trying to find an appropriate game for

their children to play* f parents do not try to make the conscio"s effort to distract their children

from malicio"s soft)are& then long(term effects can ca"se their children to pl"mmet do)n a trail

of fail"re* As )ell as stereotyping strangers children ha'e ne'er met& academic st"dies can take a

t"rn for the )orse )hen left "ns"per'ised and limited on the time spent )ith 'ideo games*

As parents become less concerned )ith their childs fascination to 'ideo games and the

'iolence ingrained in the game& desensitization of gory bloodshed in games slo)ly takes o'er the

child* n >ideo Games and iolence? from theEnc%clopedia of Ethics in !cience and

Technolog%& a"thor +igel $arber disc"sses ho) desensitization to 'iolence in 'ideo games has

a)arded players for their e,cellent marksmanship to the criminal acts they commit in the game&

ignoring the conse"ences of their destr"cti'e beha'ior* $arber also states that a connect

bet)een 'iolence and gaming has occ"rred )ith a 1;(year(old named #ichael Carneal on

December 1& 1

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acti'ities* /aking the name as e,ergames& these acti'ities incl"de tennis& bo,ing& bo)ling& and

golf that are incl"ded on the 8ii* endry states that schools in 8est irginia also intend to make

'ideo games s"ch as these as part of the %*E c"rric"l"m& increasing cardio'asc"lar and m"scle(

training e,ercises for st"dents*

9eferencing the research of :oedinger Corbett and 8* adley& Anderson& Gentile& and

!)ing& reiterates that affirmati'e o"tcomes of 'ideo games incl"ded teaching information and

learning skills across many s"b-ects& s"ch as& algebra& geometry& and biology 45667* /hey cite

n"mero"s st"dies that conc"r ho) 'ideo games ha'e the ability to teach children a broad

spectr"m of skills& s"ch as photography and comp"ter programming techni"es& as )ell as

impro'ing math and reading skills 45667* .ne,pected benefits res"lted from the fre"ent "se of

'ideo games s"ch as an impro'ement in percept"al skills& allo)ing the gamer to become more

attenti'e and obser'ant in their daily li'es 45657* /his sho)s ho) a simple pi,ilated de'ice can

benefit children in a 'ariety of )ays& incl"ding physical acti'ity many may not prefer*

9esearchers also belie'e& along )ith physical acti'ity and e,ercise& that 'ideo games

challenge indi'id"als mentally )ith comple, moti'es and p"zzles* n the article !ome Video

Games Can Help !timulate *rain& a"thor 9ich !")anski disc"sses ho) Dr* 9obert %* riedland&

a professor at the .ni'ersity of o"is'illes Department of +e"rology& agreed that many games

in'ol'e learning comple, sit"ations and intricate spatial representations& and that certainly

challenges the brain )hile /)o .ni'ersity of California sho)ed that /etris impro'ed short term

brain f"nction* Also& people )ho play mental and learning acti'ities became less likely to ha'e

Alzheimers disease& gi'ing children and teenagers an ad'antage to pre'enting their yo"ng minds

go to )aste*

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8hile some games challenge the brain and decrease harmf"l diseases& others ha'e the

ability to raise ones self esteem in a single game play* n the-uturist& the article >ideo Games

and $eha'ioral #odification? a"thor %atrick /"cker depicts ho) psychologist #ark $ald)in of

#cGill .ni'ersity has de'eloped a game that )ill allo) more positi'e patterns of tho"ght to

those )ho e,hibit insec"rities or b"llying beha'ior* /he games Gro) Fo"r Chi& Eye!py= /he

#atri,& and 8A# trick the brain into displaying positi'e images in order to gi'e the gamer a

healthier emotional state 45(iolent ideoGames Enhance /eens

isionI? the a"thor claims that playing 'iolent& action(oriented 'ideo games has positi'e effects

on indi'id"als than slo)er& non('iolent ones* /he a"thor e,pands ho) playing first(person

shooting games can enhance the )ay the brain processes 'is"al information for an indi'id"al*

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/his begs the "estions asked by Fin /ea& a professor of optometric and the chief of pediatrics

and binoc"lar 'ision at +o'a !o"theastern .ni'ersity(College of Bptometry= >Do 'ideo games

ha'e to be 'iolent to pro'ide effecti'e 'is"al treatmentI? 47* Bf co"rse 'is"al stim"lation )ill

create a fi,ation among the pop"lation& b"t the need to kill fictional characters creates dist"rbing

res"lts in the end* /ho"gh no one )o"ld arg"e against impro'ing the 'ision of Americas yo"th

ho)e'er& the means by )hich this occ"rs m"st not create other societal problems* n other

)ords& better 'ision does not constit"te s"pport of 'iolent 'ideo games*

As 'ideo games become more 'iolent& the need to enhance them )ith gory and malicio"s

graphics )ill al)ays remain a constant demand for the p"blic* Along )ith aggression& 'ideo

games ind"ce m"ltiple life threatening sit"ations to the yo"nger generation s"ch as obesity&

smoking& alcohol "se& and early(age se,"al interco"rse* /hro"gh each one& their f"t"re and li'es

)ill dramatically become altered and manip"lated )ith the assistance of 'ideo games and the

corr"pt 'iolence instilled )ithin its pi,els* n addition to the abo'e article& Craig A* Anderson

and !oledad iliana Escobar(Cha'es& a"thors ofMedia and Risk% *ehaviors& e,plain in detail

abo"t the many effects media e,pos"re has on teens and ad"lts alike* /hey both e,pand on the

topics of ho) media e,pos"re creates life(threatening decisions made by indi'id"als& ca"sing

obesity& smoking habits& alcohol intake& and se,"al desires in ones daily life* $oth a"thors also

agree on the correlate bet)een aggression sim"lated thro"gh the media and the aggression seen

in indi'id"als )ho )atch the media of )hich 'iolence and aggression sho)s* +ot only does

media game 'iolence affect children in the .nited !tates& aro"nd the )orld as )ell*

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8ork Citied

Anderson& Craig A*& Gentile& Do"glas A* and Ed)ard * !)ing* >earning %rocesses and iolent

ideo Games*?Handbook of Research on Effective Electronic Gaming inEducation=

2* ershey& %A= nformation !cience 9eference& 200

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4The Informed Educator !eries"* Arlington& A= Ed"cational 9esearch !er'ice& 2010*

Khttp=LL)))*psychology*iastate*ed"Lfac"ltyLdgentileLp"blications*htmN*

George& Donna !t* !tud% )inks Violent Video Games# Hostilit%* The(ashington .ost* 3

+o'ember 2005*

endry& Erica 9*E1ercise videogames get kids hopping* ,!+ Toda%* 431 A"g"st 20057=

Middle !earch .lus*

#oltenbrey& :aren* VideoGameViolence=Ho' Much is Too Much&Computer Graphics (orld

32*11 4+o'ember 200

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