Violence in Video Games: Modern American History Analysis

The Bobo Doll experiment demonstrated that children were able to learn through following their adult role models. They used an inflatable doll and placed it, along with other toys in a room with a preschool aged child. He would then either have an adult come in and beat up the bobo doll, have the child watch a non-aggressive adult, or simply let the child play. He found that nearly 90% of those who witnessed violence decided to become aggressive toward their own bobo doll, while those who did not witness any violence, tended to play with the other toys. (Nolen).

Even though Bandura found a link between aggressive role models and their child counterparts, we can not just assume video games would do the same thing. While the topic has been debated for many years, no one has a very clear answer as to whether we should allow our children to play video games or not. Adults everywhere just want their children to be happy and healthy, which is why in this paper, there are clear points showing video games do not cause violence.

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A video game is, “an electronic game in which players control images on a video screen” according to the Merriam Webster online dictionary. There are of course many non-violent video games such as Pong, Super Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, etc. Violent video games include Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, even Pokemon. While many people are inclined to believe that violent video games do cause violence, an overwhelming amount of research shows that violence can be contributed to outside factors, and not solely on the basis that violent people play video games.

Those who believe video games do cause violence bring up the Columbine shooting. The perpetrator was found to have played violent video games. “Then came the school shootings in Paducah, Kentucky; Springfield, Oregon; and Littleton, Colorado. In all three cases, press accounts emphasized that the shooters loved Doom, making it appear that the critics’ predictions about video games were coming true” (Sternheim). Doom is a first person shooter game where the player is to fight demons through different levels of hell.

Katherine Newman, who works at Johns Hopkins University wrote, “Millions of young people play video games full of fistfights, blazing guns, and body slams… Yet only a miniscule fraction of the consumers become violent” (Newman). This means that there is no correlation between school shootings and violent video games. It also shows that since not everyone becomes violent, there is no correlation between becoming violent and video games that include violence.

Another reason some believe violent video games do cause violence is because exposure to these games is linked to lower empathy, and less kindness. In a study published by the American Psychological association, “The evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior” (Anderson, et. al). Prosocial behavior is known as positive actions that benefit others. A casual risk for falling is simply standing up or running, so we can not simply link violent video games to violence.

On the other hand, video games are linked to stress relief. A peer-reviewed study found that, “61.9% of boys played to 'help me relax,' 47.8% because 'it helps me forget my problems,' and 45.4% because 'it helps me get my anger out” (Olson, et. al). So not only are violent video games supposedly bad, but they have also been proven to relieve stress. Therefore, video games even if violent can be considered inherently good. So while they are a casual risk for increased aggressive behavior, they are a great way to relieve the added stress of living in our corrupted society.

The United States military in the past has been known to play video games in order to increase hand-eye coordination. The Marines licensed Doom II to create Marine Doom. Many believe that it would be okay for those who are strong and in the military to play those games, but they become afraid when children get a hold of them. Dave Grossman, who is a retired lieutenant colonel in the United states army said, “Through interactive point-and-shoot video games, modern nations are indiscriminately introducing to their children the same weapons technology that major armies and law enforcement agencies around the world use to ‘turn off’ the midbrain ‘safety catch’ that prevents most people from killing” (Grossman). While this is a valid argument, there are many things that point towards video games not causing violence.

While video games increase hand-eye coordination, they do not necessarily lead to gun violence. In fact, gun violence is lower in countries with higher video game use. “... it turns out that the date doesn’t just support this connection. Looking at the world’s 10 largest video game markets yields no evident, statistical correlation between video game consumption and gun-related killings” (Fisher). Since there is no viable correlation between videogames and violence, it is impossible to scientifically link the two together. In order for it to be okay for military personnel to play but not civilians, it must be understood that those in the military are on a moral high ground.

In a scholarly article, Christopher J Ferguson said, “Although males were more aggressive than females, neither randomized exposure to violent-video-game conditions nor previous real-life exposure to violent video games caused any differences in aggression” (Ferguson et al.) This was reference to the first study they looked into. The second study looked into other possible reasons behind adult violence. “Results indicated that trait aggression, family violence, and male gender were predictive of violent crime, but exposure to violent games was not” (Ferguson et al.) The surgeon general even said

Risk factors may be found in the individual, the environment, or the individual's ability to respond to the demands or requirements of the environment. Some factors come into play during childhood or even earlier, whereas others do not appear until adolescence. Some involve the family, others the neighborhood, the school, or the peer group (Office of the Surgeon General).

The rational conclusion therefore shows that there is much more going into adult violence than simply video games. It is much more likely that outside factors like race relations, prejudice, and societal expectations would cause adults or adolescents to become violent than video games would.

In addition, violent video games sales have increased, and at the same time, juvenile crime rates have gone down significantly. Newzoo, a technology company, put out a report reading, “We forecast that 2.3 billion gamers across the globe will spend $137.9 billion on games in 2018” (Wijiman). Meanwhile, “Annual trends in video game sales for the past 33 years were unrelated to violent crime… Monthly sales of video games were related to concurrent decreases in aggravated assaults” (Markey, et. al). This shows that there is no direct correlation between violent video games and juvenile, or childhood aggression.

Lastly, the older generations unfairly discredit things that youth like, such as video games. They tend to have a “moral panic” and “Eventually, they can stir a level of concern far out of proportion with the actual threats” Other examples of this throughout history include comic books, rock and roll, and hip hop. (Goose Bumps). A doctor from oxford university said,

Analyses indicated that older Americans were approximately five times (4.9x) more likely than younger people to believe that games may be a cause of mass-shootings.In contrast, younger Americans were more than three times (3.3x) more likely to think games provide a good outlet for everyday frustrations. Older Americans were also twice as likely (2.2x) more likely to favor new legislation restricting the sale of games. A follow-up analysis revealed older Americans were significantly less likely to be certain with respect to their beliefs about games being cathartic (Przybylski).

There is absolutely no reason for their panic, though. Another doctor, this time from Stetson University, said “Like most other 20-year-olds, Lanza did indeed own both violent and non-violent video games. But, contrary to the rumors, he spent most of his time playing non-violent games. The state’s report specifically mentioned Super Mario Brothers and Dance, Dance Revolutionas two of his favorite games” (Leow). Lanza committed the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The rumors were wrong, and he was violent after playing non-violent video games.

To conclude, for a long time now there have been video games. Many will continue to believe video games cause violence. They will point to the Collumbine shooting, the marines who used video games to train, and lower empathy or lack of prosocial skills. However, it is a very good way to relieve stress, is not listed as a risk for violence, and most studies on whether or not video games cause aggression are inherently flawed. Since there are no verifiable ways to link video games to violence, it is only fair to infer video games do not cause violence.

Works Cited

1. Anderson, Craig A, et al. “Violent Video Game Effects on Aggression, Empathy, and Prosocial Behavior in Eastern and Western Countries: a Meta-Analytic Review.” Psychological Bulletin, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Mar. 2010, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20192553.
2. Ferguson, Christopher J, et al. “Violent Video Games and Aggression: Causal Relationship or Byproduct of Family Violence and Intrinsic Violence Motivation?” Criminal Justice and Behavior, 1 Mar. 2008, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0093854807311719.
3. Fisher, Max. “Ten-Country Comparison Suggests There's Little or No Link between Video Games and Gun Murders.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 17 Dec. 2012, www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2012/12/17/ten-country-comparison-suggests-theres-little-or-no-link-between-video-games-and-gun-murders/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2187d7fae805.
4. “Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear.” Moral Panics | Goose Bumps! The Science of Fear, www.fearexhibit.org/media/moral_panics.
5. Grossman, Dave. “Teaching Kids to Kill | Killology Research Group.” Killology, 2000, www.killology.com/teaching-kids-to-kill.
6. Loew, Timothy. “The Great Video Game Moral Panic.” Boston.com, The Boston Globe, 6 Feb. 2014, archive.boston.com/business/innovation/state-of-play/2014/02/the_great_video_game_moral_pan.html.
7. Newman, Katherine S. Rampage The Social Roots of School Shootings. Paw Prints, 2008.
8. Nolen, Jeannette L. “Bobo Doll Experiment.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Nov. 2015, www.britannica.com/event/Bobo-doll-experiment.
9. Office of the Surgeon General (US). “Chapter 4 -- Risk Factors for Youth Violence.” Youth Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2001, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44293/.
10. Olson, Cheryl K, et al. “Factors Correlated with Violent Video Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls.” The Journal of Adolescent Health : Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2007, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17577537.
11. Przybylski, Andrew. “Americans Skeptical of Link between Mass Shootings and Video Games.” YouGov, 17 Oct. 2013, 9:18, today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2013/10/17/americans-skeptical-link-between-mass-shootings-an.
12. Sternheimer, Karen. “Do Video Games Kill?” SAGE Journals, 1 Feb. 2007, journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1525/ctx.2007.6.1.13.
13. “Video Game.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, 2019, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/video%20game.
14. Wijiman, Tom. “Global Games Market Revenues 2018 | Per Region & Segment.” Newzoo, 30 Apr. 2018, newzoo.com/insights/articles/global-games-market-reaches-137-9-billion-in-2018-mobile-games-take-half/.