LAMAR 1 Joel Lamar Diana Watkins Composition II TR 9:00 1 October 2013 Life is a Game I see something wrong with

our youth playing video games. People say the downfall of our youth is video games, is the video game to blame, or is it the player himself? Video games are clearly rated right on the front of the game; after that it is all on the parent if they want to buy the game for their children. Obviously if the video game is rated for T for teen, teenagers should only be playing the game. With how realistic the video games are today, I see a major problem with how the video games are going to impact our generation and the many generations that will come. Many believe playing video games are brainwashing our younger generation. The reasons being game play is active as TV is passive, violent games result in violent character, and violent games reward violent behavior. Playing videos games is one of the most active technological advanced hobbies a person can do. People learn better when they are actively involved. Suppose you wanted to learn how to fly a plane. What would be the best method to use: read a book, watch a TV program, or use a video game flight simulator?(Bushman). Some people are natural gamers they can just pick any game controller and be good from little to no experience playing. When watching TV, the viewer just sits there, watches, and has no control of whats going on which is called passive. Where when playing a video game, the user has total control of whats going

Lamar 2 on which is called active. They are unique because they encourage players to become a part of the game's script. Players are encouraged to actively participate as a character by choosing how they will interact with other characters including which weapons will be used while fighting or attacking other characters (Norcia). When the gamer is playing the video game, his brain thinks he is that character that he is playing as. In turn his brain begins to think that he can actually go out and start killing innocent civilians for no apparent reason. This is due to the first person gameplay that is offered as a view. One of the main reasons video games produce violent human characters is because the player is in the first person during gameplay, seeing the view of the killer creating killer instincts. On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Although nothing is for certain as to why these boys did what they did, we do know that Harris and Klebold both enjoyed playing the bloody, shoot'em-up video game Doom, a game licensed by the U.S. military to train soldiers to effectively kill. (Shin). If he does something repeatedly everyday it becomes second nature to him. Video games are very realistic now days because of how detailed the graphics are. When the gamer shoots an opponent, blood gushes out of the dead body as the body falls to the ground. Gamers can see in great detail of how the opponent was killed which

LAMAR 3 instills a crave for blood, and also being rewarded for doing advanced kills also instills the same thirst. While playing the game, whenever the gamer gets a headshot the gamer is then rewarded for attaining a headshot. When the gamer is rewarded for shooting someone in the head, he picks up the trait that if he keeps aiming for the head he will be able to achieve a headshot. Rewarding the gamer for a headshot or even achieving a kill promotes violent character. The gamer thinks that if he commits violence in the real world he would get rewarded for it. We do not need to promote violence in video games our youth is beginning to have behavioral issues. Not all video games are bad, many actually educate the gamer instead of provoke violence. Violence is not in every video game; all video games are educational in some way. Whether it being how to sing your ABCs, or how to successfully rob a bank. The gamer will learn the techniques to complete the task at hand. When playing a sports video game, nothing is installed into the gamer besides the will to win. However, there survives that small percentage of games that generate violence and should not be created, played, or imitated. These are the video games that are brainwashing our youth. We will never be able to stop our youth from playing video games; it is an epidemic that will never go away. Children these days barely step foot outside these days; they spend most of their time in front of a TV instead of going outside and going on an adventure. However, violent games do affect children, as the studies show, especially early teens, and I feel that there needs to be a stricter regulation regarding the availability of these games to young children.(Shino). It is all up to

Lamar 4 the parent in the end; the child really does not know any better. If the parent would put a restriction on how long he could play the video game, or only buy video games that are rated for their childs age.

LAMAR 5 Work Cited Bushman, Brad. The effects of violent video games. Do they affect our behavior? ITHP. 12 Feb 2013. Web. 28 Sep 2013. http://www.ithp.org/articles/violentvideogames.html Norcia, Andrea. Parents & Teachers: Violent Video Games & Aggressive Behaviors. PAMF. August 2012. Web. 28 Sep 2013. http://www.pamf.org/parentingteens/general/media-web/violentgames.html Shin, Grace. Video Games: A Cause of Violence and Aggression. Seren Dip. 4 Jan 2008. Web. 27 Sep 2013. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1723