Violence and video games

The first arcade video game was created in 1971. Since then, video games have become increasingly more violent. The first lifelike violent video game was Mortal Kombat, created in 1993. Video games have attempted to accommodate society more and more by making significant changes to game play. From different characters to new and interesting settings, the dynamics of these games have reached unforeseeable heights.

There have been many instances in which someone who has spent a significant amount of time playing video games that are considerably violent exhibits violent behavior themselves, and even goes as far as committing crimes. Their behavior was thought to be linked to their participation in the playing of those games. Some studies have shown that video gamers who play games that showcase unethical behavior tend to portray that in real life through attributes of their character, one major attribute being aggression. Studies are still being carried out in order to examine any correlations, or lack thereof, between violent video games and violent video game players. It is still a goal of many to determine whether or not there is enough evidence of correlations to confirm that violent games lead to corrupt behavior. There has been both data supporting the connection and data denouncing it. Neither hypothesis boasts enough correlative data to be supported as a viable conclusion.

Some essential aspects of the claim that unethical behavior in video games drives violence in the real world are the age of the players, their sex, and the length of exposure (time spent playing video games). According to US demographics of video game players, as of 2016 more than half of the video gamer population is under 18, 59% of those who play on a regular basis are men, and the average player has been playing for 13 years. Violence and aggression is most often portrayed by male adolescents. This isn’t to say that patterns supporting the correlation aren’t present in women’s and adult behavior, but many studies are done using video game players under the age of 18 for sampling and result in a stronger correlation for boys.

Studies Regarding Video Games and Violence

Oxford Internet Institute Study

A study done by researchers at the Oxford Internet Institute and published in the Royal Society Open Science had a sampling comprised of British 14 and 15 year olds.

Entertainment Software Association

1,102 children between ages 12 and 17 were given a survey which indicated that 50% of the boys who were surveyed prefer games with Mature (M) and Adult-Only (AO) ratings which are more likely to showcase violence.

Iowa State University Study

In an Iowa State University study, children ranging from 5 years old to 12 years old were said to have not shown more aggression or less empathy after a short period of time playing violent video games. However, those with long term exposure did show associations with lower pre-existing empathy.

The controversy surrounding violence and video games became most prevalent in the early 2000s. At that time, many studies were being conducted and connections were being made between the video games and unethical thoughts, attitudes, and actions. It appears as though the studies done in more recent years (roughly 2014-present day) are mostly in contrast to the earlier studies and deny that there is any real significant connection between exposure to violent games and practiced violent behavior.

Effects of Video Games Study

A study done in 2015 on the impact that violent video games have on the behavior of young adult gamers with autism showed no record of increased aggression, despite the fact that an earlier article from 2012 suggested that video game players with autism and other mental illnesses were more inclined to experience negative video game effects.

Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Study

A 2016 study examined whether or not playing video games with violent content temporarily increased aggressive inclinations and results showed that the aggression of players was not influenced by the games they played.

Behavioral Study

Another study conducted in 2016 was done to identify any connections between video games that are said to be violent and sexist—with Grand Theft Auto as an example—and lack of empathy and unethical actions or attitudes of men toward women. No direct effects were found, but apparently there was evidence supporting that there were some casual effects.

Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics is one of the most talked about topics when video games and violence are in the same conversation. Many people believe that putting violence in video games shows its players that it’s okay to be violent in real life. Based on Shannon Vallor’s “Social networking technology and the virtues” it is the most logical response to believe that being exposed to violence in video games every day can affect one's virtual ethics. In her article, Vallor explains that technology does not only affect how people think, but also their actions. Although there are studies that demonstrate that there is no correlation between signs of aggression and violent video games, Vallor shares the belief of many that violent video games can encourage and facilitate violent behavior in real life.

Children & Violence in Video Games

Violence in video games can have a more profound impact on children as they are impressionable and still learning right from wrong. They imitate things that they experience on TV, in movies, and video games. There are many research studies that show a link between playing violent video games and exhibiting physical aggressive behavior. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty promote killing, drug use, and stealing. Children play these video games and assume that that behavior is acceptable in real life because they don't know any better. Long-term exposure to violent video games may result in desensitization in terms of a lack of empathy.

Conclusion

The endless number of influences that could contribute to aggressive thoughts and behavior make violent video games just one risk factor in a pool of many. Things such as learned behavior in poor environments, access to weapons, cognitive deficits, etc. are all driving factors in criminal behavior. Yet, this still doesn’t dismiss nor identify video game violence as an influence for bad behavior. There isn’t enough evidence for one claim to invalidate the other so whether or not there is a correlation between the games and the behavior of the players still remains a controversy and the answer is still up in the air.