This essay examines the negative effects of violent video games on children, with particular focus on boys. Drawing on research by Sherry (2001), Alloway and Gilbert (1998), Gentile and Anderson (2003), and others, the paper argues that violent video games exploit boys' developmental need to understand masculinity, presenting a distorted and harmful model of manhood equated with aggression and violence. The paper situates video game violence within the broader nature-versus-nurture debate, considers how social learning mechanisms — including reward structures and repetition — reinforce aggressive behavior, and concludes that manufacturers bear a moral responsibility to produce games that model positive values rather than gratuitous violence.
The paper effectively uses the nature-versus-nurture framework as a structuring device, conceding that humans have innate aggressive tendencies (nature) before arguing that violent video games act as an environmental trigger (nurture). This technique — acknowledging the opposing framework before reframing it — strengthens the essay's credibility and prevents the argument from appearing one-sided.
The essay opens with historical context (Bandura, 1965) and a clear thesis, then moves through thematic analysis of gaming culture and masculinity, review of learning mechanisms, synthesis of empirical findings, a nature-versus-nurture discussion, and a normative conclusion calling for industry responsibility. It closes with both an annotated bibliography and a standard reference list — an unusual but transparent dual citation format that supports the argumentative and pedagogical aims of the paper.
Ever since Bandura's research in 1965, in which young children imitated violent behavior they had seen in a cartoon, there has been much discussion and concern about the impact of media violence on children and young people (Hockenbury & Hockenbury, 2003). The question constantly arises whether children behave aggressively because of something genetic (nature) or whether something in the environment (nurture) causes violent behavior. Media companies, concerned about profit, deny that there is a significant correlation between media violence and violent behavior. They claim violent TV narratives, for example, only reflect what is already present in society, and there is no direct causal link. From this point of view, it has been argued that human beings are violent by nature, and some people have more "violent genes" than others.
This essay argues that violent video games do have a negative effect on children. They appeal mainly to boys without active fathers. They teach those boys that violence is masculine, that real men are violent, that violence is fun, a good way to resolve conflict, and that the player is rewarded for taking violent action.
Sherry (2001) conducted a study on the effects of violent video games on aggression and found that the aggressive effects were temporary. He attributed the increased aggression resulting from playing such games to "arousal" — in other words, playing violent electronic games arouses natural aggressive tendencies found in all human beings. This points to "nature" but requires "nurture" to trigger the aggression.
In an essay on video game culture, Alloway and Gilbert (1998) point out that "video game culture is a strongly male-focused and intensely masculinist, aggressive, and violent culture" (p. 95). Girls and women do not generally play video games, although sometimes they "tag along" and watch the boys. Themes in video games are far more aggressive than those on television, with more male voices and more male figures represented. The world of video games is thus highly gendered toward males and centers on a particular brand of masculinity.
Of course, the violence in these games is not isolated from the reality of violence that is everywhere in our culture. Violence is accessible almost anywhere — on TV, in films, in cartoons, on MTV, on the internet, on the radio, in advertisements, brochures, magazines, and newspapers: "The video game site is but one site within a complex set of sites. The violent narratives common to video game texts are 'readable' and recognizable because they repeat narratives written elsewhere" (Alloway & Gilbert, 1998, p. 97).
Alloway and Gilbert (1998) believe that the industry producing violent video games is appealing to a need in boys to learn how to be men. In much the same way that Barbie teaches little girls to be feminine — how to look, what to wear, how thin to be, what to buy — violent video games offer an exciting and seductive portrayal of so-called real men and the opportunity to play at being such a man: "Many of these texts [games] align masculinity with power, with aggression, with victory and winning, with superiority and strength — and, of course, with violent action. They offer positions for young male game players that promise success as masculine subjects" (p. 97).
These boys are playing video games for learning purposes, pretending to be men. The games thus nurture violence by appealing to natural aggressive instincts. The companies that make the games are promoting a distorted message about what it means to be a man — a message that is destructive to the healthy development of manhood, though the boys themselves do not recognize this. They do not criticize or reflect. The game itself keeps them from having to think. There is no opportunity to consider whether the action a player must take in order to score is a moral action (Funk, 2001). Players simply participate in the action, which is designed to be visceral and to provide pleasure and fun through violence.
Magazines about video games make this explicit. Consider this advertisement describing the graphics in a new edition of Cosmic Carnage: "The effect is similar to watching a movie where the camera zooms in for a close-up, catching an R-rated view of that head being ripped from its shoulders" (p. 107). According to Jones (2007), advertisements like that — targeted at children under 17 — are very common.
Violent video games provide all the conditions identified by Hockenbury and Hockenbury (2003) for producing imitation on the part of children exposed to them. The games are attractive and offer boys at least a temporary sense of adult status. Boys who play are part of a social group and experience a sense of belonging through participation. They are entertained and are not punished for their violent actions; in fact, they are rewarded with points. The violence is "fun" and socially acceptable. Gentile and Anderson (2003) further note that violent video games require players to repeat violent actions continuously. Repeating an action over and over is a primary mechanism of learning — meaning the games effectively create a learning environment that teaches children to be violent and to find enjoyment in it.
Alloway, N. & Gilbert, P. (1998). Video game culture: Playing with masculinity, violence and pleasure. In Howard, S. (Ed.) Wired Up. London: UCL Press. [The researchers theorize that boys, frequently without fathers active in their lives, play video games because they want to learn what it means to be a man. The games allow them to practice adult masculinity but portray a violent, distorted view of manhood.]
Bensley, L. & Van Eenwyk, J. (2001). Video games and real-life aggression: Review of the literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29, 244–57. [The authors claim to have found no causal relationship between adolescent violence, homicide, weapon-carrying, and other markers of antisocial behavior and the emergence of graphic violent games on the market. They suggest aggressive effects may be due to individual characteristics of the player rather than the games themselves.]
Gentile, D.A. & Anderson, C.A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. In D.A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing. [The authors contend that learning comes from repetition. Because violent games require violent acts to be performed over and over, they create an ideal learning situation — but what players are learning is antisocial behavior and the belief that violence is an effective way to resolve conflict.]
Hockenbury, S.E. & Hockenbury, D.H. (2003). Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers. [The authors argue that even a small amount of violent behavior triggered by exposure to TV or video game violence is unacceptable for society, and that video game violence should be regulated.]
Hough, K.J. & Erwin, P.G. (1997). Children's attitudes toward violence on television. The Journal of Psychology, 131, July, 411–15. [The researchers asked 316 children aged 11–16 to answer 47 questions. They found that attitudes toward violence were linked to how many hours per day the children watched TV — the more they watched, the more likely they were to believe violence was an acceptable way to solve problems.]
Jones, R.O. (2007). Marketing violent entertainment to children. New York: Novinka Books. [This book summarizes a report from the Federal Trade Commission to the President and Congress. Video game manufacturers — along with other media producers — routinely violate their own self-regulatory guidelines by marketing and advertising M-rated electronic games to young people under 17 years old.]
Make meaning, not war: Rethinking the video game violence debate (2004). Independent School, 63(4), 38–44. [This article, aimed at educators, argues that education, "game literacy," and "comparative media studies" — rather than government regulation — offer a better way to help students become more informed consumers and more discerning about the content of the games they play.]
Alloway, N. & Gilbert, P. (1998). Video game culture: Playing with masculinity, violence and pleasure. In Howard, S. (Ed.) Wired Up. London: UCL Press.
Funk, J. (2001). Children and violent video games: Are there "high risk" players? Retrieved 18 April 2008 from http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/funk1.html
Gentile, D.A. & Anderson, C.A. (2003). Violent video games: The newest media violence hazard. In D.A. Gentile (Ed.), Media violence and children. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishing.
Hockenbury, S.E. & Hockenbury, D.H. (2003). Psychology. New York: Worth Publishers.
Hough, K.J. & Erwin, P.G. (1997). Children's attitudes toward violence on television. The Journal of Psychology, 131, July, 411–15.
Sherry, J. (2001). The effects of violent video games on aggression: A meta-analysis. Human Communication Research, 27(3), 409–431.
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