Violent Video Games: The Politics and Science of Leisure By Matthew Olivero Theres blood splattering.

Your focused eye cannot miss the gore of your falling enemies. Your ear is flooded with the numbing noise of the emptying of your gun magazine. Your hands are sweaty and struggle to grasp a vibrating controller. As you are glued to the television screen, transported into a twisted narrative world, you begin to lose awareness that you are even playing a violent video game. Wheres the harm in this?

A recent study published in Media Psychology found that playing violent video games causes reduced feelings of empathy for other people and increased aggressive thoughts in its players. The researchers said their findings give reason for concern, and violent video game critics certainly agree.

Alex Semplinksi, 21, a third-year geo-physics major at UCSB, also sees a link between playing violent video games and aggression, although he said he does not know how significant the connection is. In these games you have kids killing people for hours on end. There has to be a link, Semplinski said.

While many studies link violent video game exposure with aggressive thoughts and behavior, the strength of this connection is heatedly contested. Many scholars argue that numerous other factors influence this relationship.

Mike Arnstein, a 21-year-old second-year Santa Barbara City College student, agrees. Arnstein said that any violent video game effects are dependent on how much someone plays. The kids whose lives revolve around these games and do not get out of the house to experience

real life are probably prone to being more aggressive as a result of their constant exposure, Arnstein said.

Dori Olivero, a 50-year-old parent of two college-aged sons, reasons that any violent game effect is a function of who is playing the game. It really depends on the person and if he or she is mature enough to realize that a game is just a game, Olivero said. Doris husband, David Olivero, 50, also highlighted the importance of individual factors: If you have mental problems or are a social misfit, these games can't be a good thing for obvious reasonsjust as a firearm in the hands of these same people can be a disaster. He stated that ones family, peers and education are also pertinent to violent video game effects.

Many parents believe that teaching and supervising their children is crucial if they are to allow them to play violent video games. Kim Figone, a 48-year-old parent of three, stays on top of her youngest son, Dominic, 10, and his consumption. I strongly believe that there needs to be discussion between child and parent about the difference between reality and fantasy, she said. Figone also said that allowing unsupervised and unlimited violent video game play could have serious consequences.

Some studies have found that individual trait differences are better predictors of aggression than playing violent video games. A study in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence found that aggressive behavior was best predicted by internal factors such as antisocial traits and depressive symptoms.

This is interesting in light of a common belief held by video game players: that they are unaffected by their violent video game consumption. Arnsteins response highlights this pattern.

Personally, I dont believe Ive been affected by playing violent video games, Arnstein said. Im not a very violent or aggressive type of person.

Other studies have found no link between violent video game exposure and aggression. These scholars often point to the limited and short-term effects that are the norm for studies that do find negative outcomes. Christopher Ferguson, an influential social psychologist in the realm of violent media and aggression, defended violent video games in an article appearing in Time magazine. Ferguson stated that there is no good evidence that violent games contribute in any significant way to mass homicides or violence among youth.

Still, many are concerned that violent games offer a unique virtual experience that can be detrimental to society. Riley Hubbell, a 20-year-old third-year sociology major at UCSB, said that violent video games enable players to put themselves in the shoes of a killer. I think that violent video games provide a way to live vicariously through another person, she said. Now, you can envision yourself in the act of killing other people.

Although some people see more or less of a connection between violent video games and violence in society, others stand firm in their opinion that societal violence and tragedy is inevitable, violent games aside. David Olivero said that violent video games do not play a major role in societal violence. A nut case is a nut case, violent games or not, he said.

Violent Video Games and Politics: Scapegoat or Authentic Concern? If a divided academic community wasnt enough, politicians have entered the violent video game discussion exacerbating an already partisan debate. Following recent gun-related

tragedies, including Aurora, Colo. and Newtown, Conn., politicians were quick to voice their concern that violent video games are an important contributor to real world violence.

Critics of violent video games, like Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, have expressed their concerns that these games cause vulnerable players to be more violent and that excessive game play has the potential to desensitize its players to real-life violence.

Some have questioned the authenticity of political concern. These critics see violent video games as a scapegoat for the larger societal problem with violence that has gone unaddressed. Melissa Accornero, a 26-year-old UCSB graduate, said that society likes to point fingers for its problems. I think violent video games are an easy target to explain violent behavior, she said.

The National Rifle Association was also fast to blame these games for instilling children with violence following the rampage in Connecticut. Many have seen this as a purely political move aimed at drawing attention away from the real problem: guns.

Recent unwanted political attention has caused the video game industry to rally Congressional support in an effort to battle the threat of regulation, according to the New York Times. Regulation, however, seems unlikely in sight of past legal efforts that aimed to restrict violent video game sales.

In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled against a California law that would have made the sale of violent video games to minors illegal. The Court ruled that violence in video games is a form of free speech, as is violence in other media such as television. As a form of free speech violence

in video games is protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution and, therefore, shielded from government interference.

To some this ruling is troubling because it has set a precedent for future rulings in the Supreme Court. This means that politicians face an uphill battle in any effort to regulate violent games.

Violent video game players are split in their opinions regarding video game regulation. Some appear to be in favor of certain government regulations of violent video games. There should be a better way of regulating violent games so younger kids are unable to buy them, said Arnstein.

Hubbell voiced a similar opinion and stated that if the government bans drugs because of their psychological effects, then the government should also ban sale of violent games to children because of their potential psychological effects.

On the other hand, Semplinski said that government regulations are often ineffective. He stated that regulation of violent video game sale would be easy to get around. Kids have older friends, Semplinski said. If someone gave me five bucks to buy them a violent game, I know I would.

Agreeing with the ruling of the Supreme Court, Make Figone, 49-year-old husband of Kim, said that any legislation that goes beyond the current video game rating system in place would be unconstitutional. The current rating system is a voluntary effort on part of the video game industry, which to many appears to appease political pressure.

Violent Video Game Appeal: Violence or Adventure?

Mike Arnstein and Alex Semplinksi have a daily ritual. From Monday to Friday Arnstein and Semplinski return from their classes at SBCC and UCSB, sit down in their crammed living room and get on the joysticks. Their games of choice: Call of Duty, Halo or Grand Theft Auto.

Two college roommates living with six other men in the beachside town of Isla Vista, Calif., Arnstein and Semplinski are like a lot of their peers. They play violent video games to relax and escape from the mundane.

The Pew Research Center reports that fully 97% of teens play some form of video game. Furthermore, the center found that more than half of American adults play video games. Not surprisingly, the center identified not just any type of game, but violent video games as a popular genre.

So, what is the appeal of violent games? For many, the adventurous environment and fantasy world of these games is more attractive than the violence.

Arnstein said that violent video games are more challenging than other genres, such as sports, making them more fun to play. They offer an adventure that you cant experience in real life, he said. A way to virtually experience something that you wouldnt necessarily want to experience in real life.

Nick Tomasello, 20, a third-year political science major at UCSB, echoes this appeal. Its kind of fantasy oriented. Like killing people: youre not allowed to do this in the real world,

but you are able to do it in a virtual world like a violent video game, Tomasello said. The appeal of these games comes out of being immersed in a world that is foreign.

As Arnstein and Tomasello indicate, playing violent video games is attractive in large part because of the immersive, unfamiliar and adventurous environments they offer. Escaping into a video game world allows you to do things you cannot do in real life. In the case of violent games this often means killing and dying.

Most players do not find being engaged in graphic violence gratifying, but they still enjoy an experience that is often far-fetched and outrageously fictitious. Arnstein reflected on the enjoyment he experiences through the absurdity of doing something that is so unrealistic in a violent video game. Like blasting a cop, running pedestrians over or massacring people in Grand Theft Auto, he said.

In the future, academia will continue to study violent video games and politicians will discuss what place, if any, these games have in our society. In the meantime, as scholars debate, parents sweat and politicians bicker over violent video games, society will continue to play. Wheres the harm in this?