There is an ongoing huge debate over whether or not violent video games have an impact on kids and adults. In view of the many murders that have recently occurred and are still occurring in this country, the question still remains, are serious video games responsible?
Everyone from Fox News pundits to the NRA, to Obama advisor Dan Axelrod, violent sports are one of the main culprits in our recent increase in gun violence.
Are they correct, or are they using this platform to further their agenda to increase ratings and popularity?
The basics of the material presented here are from the website www.ProCon.org. It is an independent, nonpartisan, non-profit organization. Also from www.theesa.com website, Entertainment Software Association.
Who plays Video Games?
68% of households play video games according to all rating tables. Interestingly, 49% of players games in the 18-49 age group. The average playing age is 35. Males play 53% of the games while females make up the other 47%. 34% of 7th and 8th grade males are cited as playing 6-7 days a week. Girls play about 12%, respectively. American households bought close to 230 million video games in 2011.
Do Violent Games Cause Violent Actions?
According to the collected data, the top three video games that males played were Grand Theft Auto, Madden Football, and Halo respectively. The game is described as crazy, while the other two are blood and gore, violent violence and drugs.
However, figures show that youth violence involving serious violent crimes has fallen from 115,000 in 1995 to less than 74,000 in 2008. While Violence in video games sales increased exponentially at the same time. While violent youth crime has fallen significantly (36%), other factors have not.
Behavior Problems in Youth
While violent crime by youth has dropped substantially over the last 10 years, the problem of behavior has not declined as much. Approximately 55% of boys in grades 9-12 were involved in a physical fight in 1993. That margin only declined to 45% in 2007. It’s only a 10% drop.
Women’s liking for physical altercations has gone from 34% in 1993 to about 27% in 2007.
What is important in these analyzes is the percentage of males and females who were involved in behavioral problems whether adults played rated games like Grand Theft Auto and Halo type games or not.
51% of male, 9th-12th graders who rated themselves as adults had played physical combat games, 60% had been hit or beaten. 23% damaged property just for fun. 60% of those students struggled with the principal or teacher, and 35% received poor grades on their report cards. 22% got suspended from school
When it comes to women, the results are not much better. 40% playing completed games entered the battle. 49% hit or hit someone. 15% damage to things for fun. 49% got in trouble with principals or teachers. 37% got poor grades. 22% of women were suspended.
What is this?
The highest percentage of males and females, grades 9-12 are involved in behavior problems that are considered perfect student verse games mocking non-adult games estimated to be around 1.5 times higher than they played.
It indicates that while adult games are valued, they do not seem to produce people who are involved in serious, violent crime, such as murder and homicide. On the other hand, it suggests that the problem of behavioral crimes has increased, such as assault and felonies. It also indicates a marked increase in difficulty with peer or authority figures.
