Discuss the research regarding the effect of violent video games, including the results of recent studies, the reasons why video games may increase the probability of aggression, and why violent media affects younger children differently than adolescents and adults

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer includes that today's kids can experience more gore in a day through television and video games than most people used to experience in a lifetime, even during military combat. Many reviews have concluded that violent video games increase aggressive behavior in children and young adults. Unfortunately, much of the early research may have led to overly strong conclusions. For example, in one earlier study, college students played a violent (Mortal Kombat) or nonviolent (PGA Tournament Golf) video game. Next, they competed with another student (actually an actor) in a task that allowed aggression and retaliation to take place. Students who played the violent game were much more likely to aggress by punishing their competitor. However, these two games differed not only in their degree of violence, they also differed in degree of competitiveness, difficulty, and pace of action. A more recent study compared a violent action game (Conan) and a nonviolent racing game (Fuel) that were equally competitive, difficult, and fast-paced. In a subsequent task, college students who played the violent game were no more likely to be aggressive than those who played the nonviolent game. In other words, it is entirely possible that the competitiveness, difficulty, or pacing of a game influences aggression levels just as much, if not more, than the violent content of the game. Until further research can more definitively disentangle these issues, the question of whether playing violent videogames triggers aggression towards others remains unresolved. Violent media may increase the probability of aggression because it teaches people how to be more aggressive in real life. Another possibility is that repeated exposure to media violence may desensitize people, making them less likely to react negatively to violence and, hence, more prone to engage in it. Either way, according to clinical psychologist Christopher Ferguson, experiencing media violence does not invariably "cause" any given person to become more aggressive. At best it can make aggression more likely. Many other factors, such as personality characteristics, family conflict, depression, and negative peer influences, also affect the chances that hostile thoughts will be turned into actions. In recent years, the violent crime rate among youth has declined even as sales of violent video games have risen. However, none of this is to say that we should be unconcerned about the long-term effects of experiencing violent media, including imitation, desensitization, and vicarious traumatization. This is especially true for younger children, who are more likely to be influenced because they don't always fully recognize that media characters and stories are fantasies. In fact, the more personalized, intimate experience of video games may also heighten their impact.