1

Troy Roberts
Comm. 2500

Virtual Violence, Video Games, and Media

The arguments against violent video games are well documented. Many parents would
blame misbehaviors and violent outbursts on video games. They would believe that their
children are acting out as a result of the content that they consume through video games, and
the media. Research has yet to prove such an argument. The simple fact of the matter is that
there may be more serious consequences as a result of extensive video game usage, than
increased aggression and violence. In this paper I will be exploring what I believe to be the key
issues facing our society as a result of the evolution of the video gaming industry.
First, I want to explore the thought of increased violence, and aggression as a direct
result of aggressive, or violent video games. In 2005, California passed a law that prohibited the
sale of games rated M (for Mature) to Minors. This was in an effort to limit the amount of
violence that children at a young age are exposed to. However, this law met a great deal of
opposition from the Entertainment Merchants Association and Entertainment Software
Association, claiming that there has not yet been conclusive data, to show that minors who play
violent video games, are subject to violent actions or thoughts.1 The result of the trial was that
there is not conclusive evidence to persuade a judge to forbid the sale of Rated M video
games to minors, at least not yet. A key point to remember here is that Video Games are a

Azar, Beth Virtual Violence December 2010 Vol 41, No.11 Print Version: page 38

rapidly evolving technology. It wasnt until the 1990s that violence emerged into video games
at all. As weve seen with much technology, it is developing far faster than we can study, and
understand the consequences. I do believe that users that consume too much of the violent
video games, will suffer consequences. However, until we can study these games, and the
effects on the human brain, no one can say for sure just how the games will impact our youth.
For now, we cannot say for certain, that shootings in schools have anything to do with these
violent games at all. I believe that the responsibility falls upon the parents to monitor, the
content that their child consumes. There are rarely one size fits all solutions to these
problems, but it is my belief that parents need to know their child. If they feel their child is
more subject to violent behavior after playing these games, they should limit the time they play
the game, or disallow the games altogether. The producers of these games are simply making a
product that will sell, we need to make the decision whether to consume it or not for ourselves.
One effect of video games that we can say for certain is that of attention deficits.
According to a study done by Iowa State University2, they found that Pathological Players are
3 times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit disorders such as Attention Deficit
Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, than adolescents that were not subjected
to the same level of play. Pathological players in this study are defined as players who consume
8 hours or more per day or 40 hours total in a week. The effects are not felt immediately,
however. The researchers found that it took an average of 13 months, before teachers started
2

Anderson, Craig A., Warburton, Wayne A. The Impact of Violent Video Games: An Overview .) Growing Up Fast
and Furious: Reviewing the Impacts of Violent and Sexualized Media on Children, (pp. 56-84). Annandale, NSW,
Australia: The Federation Press.

to diagnose the students with the disorders. More importantly, this study teaches us that the
video games slowly erode the childs ability to focus on one task at a time. The rapid video
effects of the games, meant to stimulate the brain, and keep players active for hours on end.
This hinders the ability of a child to try and visualize material themselves, tasks such as reading,
and writing become difficult for children that are exposed to this level of content. Again, we
have to ask ourselves, what parent allows their child to play video games for 8 hours per day?
Unfortunately the amount of pathological players is growing. According to this same study,
Warburton indicates that the amount of pathological players has doubled in the last five years.
They attribute this fact, to the growing amount of households that have both parents working,
and single parent households. Without a parent there to monitor the amount of content that
children consume, they can reach these dangerous levels. Once again, the responsibility falls
upon the parents, to know their child. To make sure that the amount of time playing these
video games is monitored, so that they do not reach these high levels of playing, and risk
developing some of these attention disorders as mentioned above.
According to Warburton, adolescents school performance is also affected by video
games. 3 The obvious reason for this is simply the difference in time available to the youth that
play video games, vs. those that do not. Warburton states in his study in which 1491 youth
were surveyed, they found that these children that did play video games were 30% less likely to
read every day, and 34% less likely to do their homework each day. 30% of children not reading
each day would definitely affect our reading levels in junior high and high school levels. This
3

Anderson, Craig A., Warburton, Wayne A. The Impact of Violent Video Games: An Overview .) Growing Up Fast
and Furious: Reviewing the Impacts of Violent and Sexualised Media on Children, (pp. 56-84). Annandale, NSW,
Australia: The Federation Press.

could be one reason that we have seen a dip in our reading comprehension in the high school
level in recent years. However, on the flip side of this study, it could be that students who
already struggle in school lack the feeling of mastery and achievement in the classroom, so they
seek that sense of achievement in video games. If youth dont feel that they can succeed in the
classroom, then they will pursue that feeling of achievement elsewhere.
The last effect I wanted to discuss in my paper was that of Video Game Addiction. I cited
earlier in my paper the idea of pathological players. It is a harsh reality to realize that there are
children out there that are playing video games for 8 hours per day, surpassing 40 hours per
week in some cases. These children (generally between the ages of 12-18) become accustomed
to the reward system in video games. However, this is not how the real world works. Youth
who dedicate this amount of time to video games will struggle with school, but will also find it
difficult to find, and then hold a steady job. Without the ability to get off of their couch, and
experience the world, they can also develop a warped sense of reality. They can begin to think
that there is nothing more outside their bedrooms. The dangerous part of video game
addiction, is that youth can become more attached to passing the next level of a game, instead
of learning how to build and cultivate relationships, which is contributing to a society that is
becoming socially retarded.
In conclusion, so much of the societal effects that stem from video games, come down
to lack of control and intervention from parents. As parents, they need to be responsible for
their children, and to know how much they are consuming, and what they are playing. We
cannot rely on scientists to break down the video games, and the impacts they have on our

children for us. If we know what is happening within our own homes, and have rules set, it is
much less likely that our children will be spending these mass amounts of time playing these
games. We should monitor their behavior after they play a game. How does it affect them? Are
they more aggressive? Do they tend to be more belligerent after playing? As I pointed out
above, most of these consequences take time to develop. If we are not currently monitoring
their activity, we can begin to set rules now, to help them avoid some of the effects that can
stem from extensive video game usage.