Xbox Is Not Raising Kids to be Mass Murderers



Xbox Is Not Raising Kids to be Mass Murderers

Video games are often the target for politicians searching for a scapegoat for someone’s act of violence. Anti-video game activists often claim that “the generation of young people who play such games are similarly being brutalized and conditioned to be aggressive in their everyday social interactions” (Jenkins). However, these claims are often repetitive and there is never any proof of a connection between violent games and violent behavior. Certain statistics even disprove such accusations. Violent video games do not cause violent behavior in kids or adults.

While politicians such as Joe Lieberman and Mitt Romney claim that the perpetrators of mass killings such as the Columbine or Sandy Hook shootings were led to do so by playing games such as Doom and Call of Duty, they never have any true evidence of this. According to USA Today journalist Mike Snider, Lieberman says that he only heard a rumor that Adam Lanza played violent games (Snider). Despite the obvious fact that there is no proof for their claims, they insist on bringing up the same arguments just so they can ban the sale of video games. After such attacks emerged for the Sandy Hook shooting, it was reported that “no clear link has emerged between the Connecticut rampage and the gunman Adam Lanza’s interest in video games” (Lichtblau). In addition to the lack of proof to back up claims about violent games causing these killing, there are fact that prove these claims wrong.

Video game sale began to skyrocket at the same time that the juvenile crime rate has plummeted. While game sales have quadrupled, “the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low” (Jenkins). These facts are the final nail in the coffin of this debate. Journalist Yvonne Zipp says that a statement from Maria Krcmar, a professor of communication at Wake Forest University in North Carolina says “the scientific community is about a decade away from conclusive understanding about the effects of video games on children” (Zipp). While there are cold, hard facts that defend those who argue against the accusations of politicians, the argument can still be held as to whether or not it can cause aggressiveness in children.

Violent videos game may have an effect on children and how they interact towards others. In their book Grand Theft Childhood, media analysts Cheryl Owen and Lawrence Kutner, they say their research showed a link between middle schoolers who play games and bullying (Owen and Kutner). The research proves that there is at least some correlation between violent video games and violent activity in kids. The kids in question played M-rated, or Mature, video games exclusively (Owen and Kutner). There are also other studies similar to this that have had similar results, so it may be possible that violent video games cause violent behavior.

The violence in games such as Mortal Kombat and Doom has not caused people to do violent acts. There are no true fact to back up the claim that they do, and there are facts that contradict these accusations. However studies continue to pop up that say that there is a connection between virtual and real-world violence. The argument has been going on for decades and shows no sign of ending, but there will never be a day when a man goes to kill his neighbor just because he played a first-person shooter.

Works Cited

Jenkins, Henry. "Reality Bytes: Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked." . Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2013.

Kutner, Lawrence, and Cheryl K. Olson. Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008. Print.

Lichtblau, Eric. "Makers of Violent Video Games Marshal Support to Fend off Regulation." New York Times. 12 Jan 2013: A.10. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Feb 2013.

Paulson, Ken. "How Obscene Is Video Game Violence?." USA TODAY. 09 Nov 2010: A.9. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 11 Feb 2013.

Snider, Mike. "Bill to Focus on Video Game Violence." USA TODAY. 20 Dec 2012: A.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Feb 2013.

Willis, Laurie. Video Games. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2010. Print.

Zipp, Yvonne. "Violent Video Games--The Myths and the Facts." Christian Science Monitor. 03 Jun 2008: N.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Feb 2013.

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