Violent Games and Their Effects: A Comprehensive Essay for Writing 4

This essay, submitted by a student, explores the multifaceted effects of violent video games, particularly on children and adolescents. It examines the increasing popularity of violent games and their potential link to aggressive behaviors, citing research and real-world examples like school shootings. The essay discusses negative impacts such as lowered empathy, mental health issues (including gaming disorder), and neurological problems, while also acknowledging potential benefits like improved strategic thinking and stress relief. It emphasizes the need for responsible gaming habits, parental guidance, and societal awareness to mitigate the risks associated with violent games, concluding with a call for balance and control in the use of video games as entertainment. The essay utilizes several references to support the claims and provides a balanced perspective on the issue.

TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Effects of Violent Games
Student: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao
Student ID: 01701653
Course: Writing 4 (001153)
Lecturer: Do Hoang Nga
Submission date: May 14, 2019

Assessment
Examiner’s Name and Signature Score
(In figures)
Score
(In words)

In the 21st century, because of the growth of technology, it is believed that modern
life entails the demands of people in entertainment. Social media such as Facebook,
Twitter, and other entertainment is more and more modern. Especially, video games or
online games are proving themselves to be a huge influence on the entertainment industry.
Recently, top of the game is violent content games which attracting all the ages,
especially children and adolescents. Moreover, there is an argument this is the reason for
violence and crimes more increase the quantifies in the world. We believe that violent
games now extend a fence of being harmful with the player particularly children and
adolescents.
The violent game now gets more and more attention from children and adolescents.
The number of teens playing games is an approximate absolute, they play games every
day or three to five day a week (Lenhart, et al., 2018) and according to Anderson, et al.
(2008) (as cited in Buchman & Funk, 1996), violent games are more attracted than non-
violent games. Almost violent media just only concern about television, film and it
sometimes without imagines or it is always hidden. Otherwise, violent games attract not
only by realistic graphic design about blood or gore, sound but also by enticing contents.
It is the game that focuses on shooting the bluff, killing as much as possible. Violence is
too much and easily stimulates the "hero" and "unique" character of young people. For
example, Playerunknow Battlegroups (PUBG), this is the game use gun or any means
necessary to become winner, notably it allows player uses first-person shooter game to
play, ones ‘sees’ the video game world through the eyes of a character (Oxford Learner’s
Dictionaries, 2019), the player can move, exploring the game’s environment and shooting
at various game characters. The effect will make players feel as though he or she is the
one fighting, killing or be killed, this makes the game becomes popular and even gets a
large numerous of players who interested in violent games.
Violent players tend to take part in aggressive behaviors and having negative
thoughts. According to the president of the United States, Trump (2012) shared in his
meeting that the violent game “shaping young people’s thoughts “. In other words, violent
games have a close relative with violent action. Carey (2013) noted that in many similar
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studies he has found the same thing as more rudely in the violent game players. Anderson,
Gentile and Buckley (2007), in their study on violent video games they found that
children who become more aggressive over time usually consume violent media. In
realistic, violent games not only promote aggression in their direct social networks but
also in their friends (Greitemeyer, 2018). This is the reason that makes players have
lowered empathy levels to their peer, lack of communication skills and lead to reduce
interaction with other people over their lifetime. Seriously, violent games make people do
not value human life. Gunfire massacres at the United States schools in 2012, this is the
best of example which shows us more about the harmful effects of violent games, the
murder is Adam Lanza, he just only is 20 years old, and the police had found in his room
a lot of violent games like Call of Duty and other violent games. Video games kill people,
not a gun (La Pierre, 2012).
There is no doubt that violent games also bring negative effects to the neurological
and other health problems. In 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO)
acknowledged “ game disorder “ is listed as a mental health condition. This makes players
always think about games, increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming
takes precedence over other life interests or daily activities and even continue when
knowing negative consequences (WHO, 2018). Sometimes they have to lie to play the
game so they will lack relationships in the real-world. They even assume games is the
way to escape from the present. Especially, bringing illusions, violent games makes
players always sink themselves into it. Frequent computer users may suffer from diseases
such as high blood pressure, nearsightedness, wrinkles and freckles, ect. Not to mention if
your computer is not in the right position there will also be many problems for your body,
such as back pain, blurred vision, scoliosis, mental illness, disease resistance, heart
activity and ect.
Although violent games have some negative effects, they also bring unique positive
effects (Chiang, Lin, Cheng, & Liu, 2011) that we have to pay attention to it. Although
some researches claim that violent in game and real-life has a close relationship, in a
study of Carnagey, Anderson and Bushman (2007) they also said that violent game
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players were less incentive by the real-life violence than were nonviolent game players.
As with just about every video game with violence, the missions of trying to shoot your
enemies before they shoot you is the whole rules of playing. So this is one way to
improve their strategic thinking, creativity, memory and social skills. Beside that, this is a
way to clear your mind, like anger or frustrations in the real world and can release their
mood in a safe environment, in the fake world.
In short, violent games have many negative effects on players especially children
and adolescents. However, while every pack of cigarettes has an age range purchased,
even on "black web" sites that contain a warning line that matches the age of access, the
types of violent games that kill each other are not. For that reason, the most important
thing is that you have to identify your main task without wasting time, money on useless,
even harmful things. Just consider video games as an entertaining, controlling and
mastering yourself. Besides, the constant attention and strict management of the family to
help their children stay away from the harmful passions is also very important. The school
and society also need to coordinate the education of the younger generation, creating
useful and healthy activities for all students to participate in.
(1018 words)
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References
Anderson, C. A., Sakamoto, A., Gentile, D. A., Ihori, N., Shibuya, A., Yukawa, S., Naito,
M., & Kobayashi, M. ( November, 2008). Longitudinal effects of violent video
games on aggression in Japan and the United States. PEDIATRICS,122(5). DOI:
10.1542/peds.2008-1425
Anderson, C. A., Gentile, D. A., & Buckley, K. E. (2007). Violent video game effects on
children and adolescents: Theory, research, and public policy. New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Carey, B. ( Febuary 11, 2013). Shooting in dark. The New York Time. Retrieved from
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/science/studying-the-effects-of-playing-
violent-video-games.html
Carnagey, N. L., Anderson, C. A., Bushman, B. J. (2007). The effect of video game
violence on physiological desensitization to real-life violence. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 43(4). Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2006.05.003
Chiang, Y. T., Lin, S. S. J., Cheng, C. Y., & Liu, E. Z. F. ( 2011). Exploring online game
players' flow experiences and positive affect. Turkish Online Journal of
Educational Technology - TOJET, 10(1), pp 106-114. retrieved from
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ926559
Greitemeyer, T. (2018). The spreading impact of playing violent video games on
aggression. Computers in Human Behavior,80, pp. 216-219
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La Pierre, W. R. (2012) New 'Practice Range' app says it's from NRA, which blamed
video games for violence. NBC News, January 15, 2013
Lenhart, A., Kahne, J., Middaugh, E., Macgill, A. R., Evans, C., & Vitak, J. (2008,
September 16). Who is playing games?. Teens, Video Games, and Civics: Teens'
Gaming Experiences Are Diverse and Include Significant Social Interaction and
Civic Engagement. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED525058
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2019). Oxford University Press. Retrieved May
5, 2019, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/video_games/first-
person-shooter-game
Trump, D. (2012). Trump blames violent video games and movies for 'shaping young
people’s thoughts'. The Washington Post. Retrieved April 28, 2019, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-blames-violent-video-
games-and-movies-for-shaping-young-peoples-thoughts/2018/02/22/2831d98e-
1814-11e8-930c-45838ad0d77a_video.html?utm_term=.52abc6e5a4dd
World Health Organization (2018, June 18). Classification of diseases (ICD). Retrieved
May 5, 2019, from https://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/
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