Debate Essay about Violent Video Games

Beals1 Wesley Beals Ms.Halbert English 9 Honors 13 March 2015 The Cons of Banning Violent Video Games Have you ever heard the term “gamer” and if you have, what comes to mind? A gamer is someone who likes to play video games and in America we have a lot of them. In America, about two out of three houses contain a gamer. Video games as a media had had a very humble beginning. They first started as very simple games in the 1950s and over the next couple of decades they have changed into one of the main form of media that most people use today. Many of these people play games to relieve stress or to experience an adventure. Today many claim that violent video games should be banned for minors because they become violent and antisocial when they play these games. Others feel that parents can decide what is appropriate for their children. However, the government should not ban violent video games because parents can decide what is appropriate for their children, not everyone who plays these games are becoming violent, and if they were to ban the games it would not keep the games out of teen hands. Many people think that the government should not be stepping in and playing parent because parents can do the job without help. While living with parents, parents shield their children from worst things than violent video games. These things could include crime, violent movies, and other bad things. A game developer named Ted Price says “he has four children, ages 3 to 10, and says he can shield them from inappropriate material through the Entertainment Software Rating Board ratings (Can the government).” This shows that some parents are aware Beals2 of violence in video games and are trying to protect their children from them. This shows that if a game developer can protect their kids from violent video games all parents can. Also Joshua Gillin, who writes the Tampa Bay Times, says “As a parent, helping a child find the balance between those two distinctions [fiction and reality] is not the time to play around (Don’t forget to).” This shows that parents should talk to their kids about video games and how they are not to be taken seriously. Parents should also talk on how it is not appropriate in real life. This also says that we should not think is not a problem. This makes sense because the whole point of being a parent is to teach your children about how to survive in the real world. Also Marina Krcmar, an associate professor of communication at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, says “Talk about games: Parents' thoughts may cause kids to think differently about games, especially if a game is violent and kids didn't think about the violence (Study the player).” This shows that parents can help their kids realize the violence in the games and make them think differently about the games they play. On the flip side, sometimes a parent does not know how violent a game can get when looking at the game case it comes in. The Democratic senator of California Leland Yee says, “A parent who wants to screen a movie to see whether it is suitable for a child need only watch it… No parent can just play the game and know everything in it (Can the government).” This says that if a parent were to buy a game for their child they would not be able to know if it was suitable for their child. However, a parent can see what is appropriate by looking at the bottom right hand corner at the Entertainment Software Rating Board ratings [ESRB] to tell. The ESRB rates games for what is in them. Also on the back of the case you can see why the game received its rating. So a parent can decide what is appropriate based on the ESRB rating. Beals3 The government should not ban these games because not everyone who plays a violent video game becomes violent and anti-social. This is a misconception that a lot of people have. Many researchers are trying to understand what happens to the brain when we play violent video games. In one study by the University of Buffalo shows that doing bad things in games could lead to moral sensitivity. According to Matthew Grizzard who is the assistant professor of the University of Buffalo “violent video-game play may actually lead to increased moral sensitivity (For gamers being)." So it seems that it does not make teens more violent but more morally sensitive. In some ways it is a stress reliever and makes someone calm or less stressed. According to Christopher Ferguson of Stetson University and independent researcher Cheryl Olson violent video games have a slight calming effect and helped reduce aggressiveness and bullying. So it seems that it relieves stress in a non-violent way that could have been used for bad things like fighting or crime. Lastly the violent video games are not always the problem sometimes it is the player that plays the game. Psychologist Patrick Markey of Villanova University says “For some individuals who have certain dispositions, if they play video games they're much more likely to be negatively affected (Study the player).” This can show that it depends on what kind of mood you have while playing the game. On the other hand teens might think that doing what is depicted in the games is okay. Ron Moten the co-founder of Peaceoholics says “Many of these youths wound up where they were for committing crimes very like the ones they were committing in the video game (Video Games Are Responsible).” This show that some of the teens are becoming violent and committing crimes like what they do in the game. Later Moten says “Violent video games and movies desensitize youths to violence and lead to more violent behavior (Video Games Are Beals4 Responsible).” So this also shows that youth do not think it is wrong because the game does not show consequences for the actions of the characters in the game. However there are many studies and originations that state the opposite. In December 2013 the American Psychological Association said “that playing shooter video games improved a player's capacity to think about objects in three dimensions just as well as academic courses to enhance these same skills (Violent video games have).” This shows that even violent video games helps teens improve certain skills. Through the many studies by the collages and originations it shows that violent video games help us be better at certain skills and they do not make people violent. Even if a ban were to happen it would not keep the games out of teen hands. In our growing age of virtual gaming, when a game is released it not only goes to stores but also to the virtual store. If the ban were to pass teens could just get the online and bypass the easy security measures and get the game. All the security measure is that it asks the person who is going to buy the game if they are 18 and the person can easily lie and get the game regardless of age .This shows that all that would happen would be cutting the sales of the physical copies of the game. It also shows that if you cannot get it in stores you can get it online. Also if even if a ban were to happen teens will still find a way to get it. In the 1920s there was a law that said that alcohol was ban and this was called Prohibition. During this time period mobsters and moonshiners were everywhere selling their illegal alcohol. This shows that if a person wants something really bad they will do anything to get it. Like if a teen wanted a game really badly then they would do anything to get it. On the other side of things maybe a ban might keep the violent games out of teen’s hands because teens might not want to expend tons of effort for just one game or do not feel it is worth Beals5 getting caught by the police. Most teens in high school just want their parents to buy them anything they want and are mad when they do not get what they want. They would be too lazy to go to the store with their parents or they would not be willing to think out the plan to steal it. This shows that teens might not want a game that much to expend a ton of effort. However, they could easily get it on the virtual store by bypassing the easy security by saying that your birthday is in 1997, or they could find some other way to get it. So there are many easy ways to work around a ban and it would not keep the games out of teen hands. In conclusion, the ESRB rating, multiple studies and a historical example show that the government should not ban violent video games. With all these points considered, a ban seems to be very unnecessary as it would cause video game companies to lose money and business. Finally, the ban would be unnecessary because parents, studies, and easy ways to get around a ban. So whenever violent video games come up in the news or people talk about them, think about how a ban would affect the video game industry. Would the effect be positive or negative? Beals6 Work Cited page Biskupic, Joan. "Can states keep kids from violent video games?" USA Today 28 Oct. 2010: 01A. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. Gillin, Joshua. "DON'T FORGET TO TALK TO KIDS ABOUT GAMES YOU'RE BUYING." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 13 Dec. 2013: Opposing 70. Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. Gillin, Joshua. "FOR GAMERS, BEING BAD CAN ACTUALLY BE GOOD." Tampa Bay Times [St. Petersburg, FL] 4 July 2014: Opposing 56. Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. Moten, Ron. "Video Games Are Responsible for Increased Youth Violence." Has Child Behavior Worsened? Ed. Amy Francis. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2014. At Issue. Rpt. from "Violence on the Screen, Violence in the Streets." Washington Post 28 Dec. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.. Jayson, Sharon. "Study the player, not the video game." USA Today 15 Sept. 2011: 03D. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. Beals7 “Preface to 'Are Violent Video Games Harmful?'." Violence in the Media. Ed. Dedria Bryfonski. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2014. Current Controversies. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. “Video games do not make vulnerable teens more violent." Mental Health Weekly Digest 9 Sept. 2013: 285.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. "Violent video games have pluses; brain development in babies with Alzheimer's gene." Washington Post 3 Dec. 2013. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.