Video Games Encourage Violent Behavior - Yes or No?
Prologue to Aggression
The number of people who play or have played video games is definitely on the high side. There is also a good amount of video games that are portrayed as being violent to some degree.
My Thoughts
I personally believe that video games can promote violent behavior under certain circumstances. It primarily depends upon how the gamer's parents brought them up in my opinion. If the mother and father of the gamer brought him/her up with love and forgiveness, then the odds of that happening are slim. On the other hand, if they were abusive towards the child, the chances of that happening would definitely be higher.
Video Games' Irrelevance to Aggression
There is, of course lots of research that go into whether or not video games cause aggressive behavior. Games such as, Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto are said to have driven kids to attack each other. This article, however shows that this is not the case.
Differing Opinions
Many people including myself will argue that video games are not to blame for any violent behavior whatsoever. Studies in psychology, however contradict this argument by showing how people have done the unthinkable once being exposed to the violence nested in the video games that they play. These studies are shown in the article.
The Unknown Truth
Since violent video games are played by millions of people around the world, some can argue that there lies a possibility of individuals amongst that group succumbing to aggressive behavior as a result of playing these games. This article will show the truth behind the matter has yet to be revealed and will remain unknown until further notice.
Virtual World Vs. Real World
We can all agree on the fact that playing a "violent video game" is little to nothing compared to what we can be exposed to in the real outside world. Bear in mind that bullying still exists and many kids have to deal with it. Examples of what truly causes violent behavior in youths are listed in this article.
Don't Blame Video Games
Whenever crimes such as, mass shootings occur, people cannot help but wonder what drove the shooters to do such things in the first place. People will often suggest that violent video games are to blame for these incidents. However, research studies of the American Psychological Association suggest otherwise in this article.
One Final Statement
To conclude, violent video games should not be blamed as the source of a youth's aggression. What the blame should be on is how the kid was brought up and/or how he/she was exposed to things in real life as opposed to on their television screen. Considering the fact that there is more research supporting this statement than the opposing argument, it is safe to say that a game's violent content should be the least o people's worries.