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Eric Aragon
Kristin Kaz
English 115
28 November 2015
Violent Video Games and the Human Mind
Many people play video games as a means of having fun, killing time, or even as
a daily job, as many YouTubers have been doing so for many years. Although video
games are meant to provide entertainment, video games with significant violence
scenes are beginning to negatively affect the mindsets of their players, from young
children to adults. These types of video games affect players in various different ways,
but people who constantly play hours of video games each day dont seem to realize
how they are being affected. Video games with violence have been existing for many
years now and have influenced horrific crimes across America. Violence in video games
will change the human body both physically and mentally which will cause players to act
in a more aggressive way.
Violence in video changes how a player interprets life both physically and
mentally. In some cases, video games have led to crimes involving the perpetrator to be
connected to playing violent video games, like first person shooters. In a recent article
involving this type of situation by professors Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori, and Yukawa from

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the University of Tsukuba in Japan, they state, The Newton Massacre was the second
deadliest mass shooting by a single person in American history and was committed by
twenty-year old Adam Lanza who was known to have frequently played violent first
person shooter game (2). The Newton Massacre of 2012 was one of the most horrific
shootings in the world leaving twenty children and six staff members to be killed. Adam
Lanza was said to have played violent first person shooters which involve games based
on guns and shooting, hence him being involved in a crime relating to weapons and
shooting a wide majority of people. By playing violent video games, Adams mindset
was changed causing him to commit a hostile crime. From the same article professors
Shibuya, Sakamoto, Ihori, and Yukawa say, This study found that after playing the
game Grand Theft Auto IV in a criminal manner increased implicit criminal thinking (2).
This study implies that after playing Grand Theft Auto IV, one of the most violent video
game franchises out there, changes the way you think in a more criminal like manner.
These types of video games, whether theyre first person shooters or involve a wide
amount of profanity and violence, will cause change in the players way of behaving.
Many video game companies out there in the world design their games to be as
violent as can be, but dont realize how these games change players to act more
aggressively. Video games that involve the player to play as a criminal or play with
violence can influence the body physically. According to author Byrds article, reviewed

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by the Houston Law, states, Some researchers have concluded that exposure to violent
video games causes an increase in aggressive behavior, cognitions, and affect (1).
These affects can be long lasting and can result players to act in a more aggressive
manner. If players act more aggressively, it will lead to criminal behavior or violence in
the long run. For example, a game like WWE, which involves players to wrestle and
fight, can influence the player to act more violently like in the game. It can result in the
player wanting to fight because it may seem cool in the game, but in reality the video
game is changing the perception of the player. In further more studies, author Whitaker
and Brad, from the Washington and Lee Law Review, state, Experimental studies have
shown that playing violent games directly causes players to behave more
aggressively.., About fifteen to thirty minutes before measuring aggression (1). Video
games change the mindset of players very quickly in only a couple of minutes of
gameplay. The study shows us how only after thirty minutes of gameplay the player will
experience to act more hostile. Now imagine how many people in the world will change
their behavior with only thirty minutes of playing, with or without them actually knowing
it. Clearly, violent video games will change the behavior of players physically.
Many people out there will argue that playing violent video games has no
connection to the human body nor the human mind. Theres plenty of players out there
in the world who play video games and dont have an issue with their behavior changing

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at all. Millions of players play thousands of hours each year and dont develop any
physical or mental problems. Many players seem as normal as people who dont play
them at all. According to author Byrds article, reviewed by the Houston Law, says,
Since the release of Mortal Kombat and Doom in 1992 and 1994, respectively, the rates
of both violent crimes and homicides committed by children have decreased sharply
(1). With the release of these games, one involving gruesome scenes of violence with
blood and the other involving a first person shooter type video game, how can the crime
rate of children be at an all-time low? If these video games really change the mindset of
people, how come the crime rate committed by children has dropped dramatically?
Theres plenty of YouTubers that play hundreds of hours of games each week for their
subscribers and seem perfectly fine. For example, the famous YouTuber Vanoss, with
over 10 million subscriber, is a daily uploader and seems perfectly fine. Furthermore,
many may argue that violent video games will not change the mentality of players.
Video games can lead to many dangerous crimes and situations. Although many
may say video games dont change the human body and mind at all, there is plenty of
research done to prove why video games are harmful to humans. According to author
Engelhardts article, from the Wiley Peer Review Resources, he states, numerous
experiments have shown that exposure to violent video games (VVG) causes increases
in aggression (1). There has been numerous researchers proving that playing violent

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video games causes a change in behavior. How can we simply ignore these facts while
other people claim that games dont affect the human body and mind at all? So, people
need to wake up and realize what video games truly do to players!
Big gaming industries have no idea what theyre doing to players. Solutions like
the rating on a game has been implemented to decrease the chances of a younger child
being able to purchase such violent video games, but this is useless since a parent can
just buy the game themselves and hand it to their child. I believe violent video games
simply shouldnt be made, but in this world that simply cannot occur in a day. When
humans realize what these games are truly doing to humans, thats when theyll
implement a better way for violent video games to be extinct.
Violent video games can lead to both changes physically and mentally. Players
who play these types of video games can result to an influence of crime-like behavior,
be more aggressive, think more like a criminal, and even lead to mental issues. Many
may argue that playing video games wont change the way players portray life, but I
believe thats wrong and theres plenty of evidence that can prove why video games
cause the human mind to act differently. Games like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and
Mortal Kombat can leave players with a more aggressive mindset then before. In

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conclusion, violent video games will change players to act differently through the human
mind and body.

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Works Cited
Ihori, Nobuko, Sakamoto, Akira, Shibuya, Akiko, Yukawa, Shintaro. The Effects of the
Presence and Contexts of Video Game Violence on Children: A Longitudinal
Study in Japan. Simulation & Gaming, 39.4 (2008): 528-539.
Byrd, Patrick, Its All Fun and Games until Someone Gets Hurt: The Effectiveness of
Proposed Video-game Legislation on Reducing Violence in Children. Houston
Law Review, 44.2 (2007): 401.
Bushman, Brad J., Whitaker, Jodi L., A Review of the Effects of Violent Video Games
on Children and Adolescents. Washington and Lee Law Review, 66.3 (2009):
1033.
Engelhardt, Christopher R., "Violent and Nonviolent Video Games Differentially Affect
Physical Aggression for Individuals High Vs. Low in Dispositional Anger."
Aggressive Behavior, 37.6 (2011): 539-546.