Violent Video Games

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how violent video games should be a clear cause for concern among all American citizens, especially parents and teachers and how children are the most at-risk group for developing signs of increased aggression due to playing too many violent video games for too long. It contends that American culture is violent enough without school shootings and that psychologists and sociologists need to study the effects of video game violence more so that public policy can better reflect the needs of children and of all citizens. It concludes that, because preliminary studies show at least a correlation between violent video games and aggressive physiological response as well as emotional, mental, and physical aggression, violent video games should be banned or at least restricted.

From the Paper:

"As Walsh notes, "Pong" was one of the first video games, an innocuous non-violent digital version of table tennis. Pong evolved quickly into combat games that involved the player blasting spaceships to bits or hitting creatures on the head with mallets. Some violent video games even came with toy guns in place of the joystick, so that viewers could shoot at targets physically. Nothing could be closer to inducing actual violence than a game with a gun. Many of the violent games using guns are hunting games, implying that violence against animals might also be an added concern. Today, video games are more violent than they ever have been; they have come a long way since Pong. Games like Doom and Mortal Kombat require constant killing of enemies. In many cases the imagery that accompanies the killing is gory. Blood spurts through the air and splatters on-screen. Severed limbs tremble and spew bodily fluids. Ultra-realistic settings make the viewer feel even more like he or she has been transported to another world, that the game is a semblance of reality."

More papers on Violent Video Games:

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