Playing Violent Video Games Does Not Result in Teenage Violence

Video Gaming Does Not Alter an Adolescent Mindset Causing Aggressive Behavior

Video games are an interesting form of entertainment that encourages the participants/players to become a part of the game's script. Video games have been in existence for over 30 years, but today's video games are sophisticated and require the player to constantly concentrate on the game. The games engage the players on a deeper level emotionally and physically that is possible when people are watching TV or a movie. This engagement level has led to many researchers indicating that video games can lead to violent behavior especially in adolescents. This might be true to some extent, but violent behavior has more to do with a teenager's upbringing and not the video games they play. Researchers have only concentrated on the immediate effects that a video game has on an adolescent. Scientific research has shown that the effects only last for a maximum of ten minutes for some participants. This clearly demonstrates that playing video games does not alter a teenager's mindset causing aggressive behavior. There have been reports indicating that there has been a decline in youth violence over the past several years, which should not be the case considering that video games have become more prominent. The violence level in video games has been on the rise over the past several years, and more and more adolescents are playing these video games. Therefore, the notion that video games lead to aggressive behavior in adolescents is false.

Pros and cons of gaming in adolescents

There have been research that has indicated that playing video games encourages teenagers to be more social and interactive. Adolescents who play video games have been shown to be more interactive and social with their peers who play the same games. This encourages socialization and bonding, which would discourage any violent behavior. Sports video games are mainly played by teens who love the sport, and most of them would practice with the video before they practice in real life (de Gortari and Griffiths). This is beneficial in terms of playing because they can perfect their skills and improve on them when playing their favorite game in real life. Video games have been associated with the ability to improve student's learning ability. The ability to solve problems also improves because games require the players to make split second decisions and process information more quickly. Video games that include motion control are a good way for the teenagers to exercise because they would have to mimic real movements when playing the game. Using such a technology would be beneficial to the teen because they would be fulfilling two things at the same time. There is also a possibility that a game requiring active-play would lead to increased physical activity in real life.

Some of the cons for playing video games are addiction and violence. Video games are quite addictive because they immerse the player in the world that looks so real. Video games nowadays encourage the participants to become a part of the game, which makes most people be hooked to playing the game because they want to discover more and more. This level of interest can last for hours and before long one might find themselves addicted to playing the game. Video games provide adolescents with a pleasant feeling that stimulates the brain. This pleasant feeling is what causes a person to want to play the game repeatedly. The rewards players get are normally placed at strategic levels and places, which encourages the player to strive to reach these levels (Gitter et al.). Violence is normally labeled a con for playing video games, but the debate is still raging on because most proponents argue that video games result in violent behavior especially in adolescents. However, this has not been the case considering the prevalence of video games in the past several years and the reduced rate of teenage violence. The main point is that violence might be present in video games, but this does not necessarily mean that the player would become violent in real life.

Video games do not alter mindsets of teenagers