Videogame Violence

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

download word file, 3 pages 1.0

When I think back to when I was young, I had one video game; Atari. Atari games were, for the most part, non-violent. As I grew older more and more games began to surface. Video games like Nintendo, Sega Genesis, and Playstation evolved. With these new toys came many new game features. There was more blood and guts, guns, knives, and even some domestic violence. "A recent summary of over 200 studies, published in 1990, offers convincing evidence that the observation of violence, as seen in standard everyday television entertainment, does affect the aggressive behavior of the viewer…" (Eron 716). For this reason, I am in full support of censorship of video games in order to protect America's youth.

Over the past few years, video game technology has made some drastic changes. Arcades are now filled with more violent, sophisticated, and addictive games. Children, as well as young adults, are captivated by these new inventions.

In fact, video games have become one of the most popular forms of entertainment. The non-profit organization Mediascope reports, "Globally, annual video game revenues now exceed $18 billion annually." (Grossman/DeGaetano 726). Many reports have shown that the more violence children are exposed to, the more violent they become. Television, movies, and video games have desensitized our children to violence. An example of video game violence affecting youth today is noted in the text, written by Grossman and DeGaetano. A 14-year old boy walked in on a prayer group that was breaking up and went on a shooting rampage. Yet there was something odd about his shooting technique. "He never fired far to the right or left, never far up or down. He simple fired once at everything that popped up in his "screen" (733). It also noted that the boy never moved his feet...