Forrest
Arle
Mrs. Jenn
English 1
March 11, 2014
Violent
Videogames
Have you ever wondered if
playing violent videogames really does have effects on the way we interact with
others or our thought processes? Well I was, so I decide to do some research on
a variety of professional analysis; including, social experiments and years of
research. The affects of violent videogames can be split up in to two
categories, neurological and social effects.
The first article I came across is
written by Tom Jacobs, who is a veteran journalist that has worked with The Los Angeles Times, and other
reputable news companies over the past twenty years. The article written by
Jacobs, titled “Violent Videogames and bad Behavior”, goes in to detail on a
number of studies conducted on what types of behaviors are stimulated by
playing violent videogames. For example, the experiment found that those who
play 30 minutes of violent videogames are more impulsive and rash in their
behaviors. Compared to an individual who had not played any videogames previous
the experiment the subject who did, was more likely to divulge in candy, along
with increased aggression, and overall tendency to cheat. Jacobs concluded by
stating that the effects of videogame violence should be measured in terms of the intensity of the effects, rather than
just the presence/absence of such consequences.
I believe that
Tom Jacobs is a reputable source to a degree. I do trust his facts because he
has been working in the journalism business for over twenty years now and I
believe that shows that he has lasted with big news companies who require work
close to perfection. That being said I did find some of his diction to be
slightly biased, however that does not take away from the facts he got all his
information from the studies. The author wasn’t really arguing the videogames
do or do not cause sociological effects on the subjects; he was more stating
the facts of the studies.
My next source is an interview from MSNBC
with criminal psychologist Stanson Samenow, who argues that violent videogames
do not turn responsible people into a violent individuals, what is critical is
not what’s on the screen but what is in the mind of the viewer. Samenow
explains that people who commit acts of violence are drawn to violence, but to
say that watching violence made them that way is a complete and total stretch.
He also points out in the interview that japan has a much higher percentage of
people playing violent videogames but have a lower amount of violence, this
information suggests that there is no correlation between the two.
Stanson Samenow has spent over 40 years
interviewing offenders from multiple demographic backgrounds around the world.
Samenow made sure to back up everything he said in the interview with hard
evidence and used logic to bring his point across. Samenow acknowledged that
some people might believe that people will end up copying violent acts they see
in videogames and movies. He responds by stating that the people who would copy
acts of violence were already violent people and playing videogames is the
underlying cause of the problem.
My
visual source is a picture I found that displays some interesting statistics on
videogame violence and its impact. The graph itself in part of an article
written by David Walsh, who is a doctor working at the National Institute on
Media and the Family. The graph compares the amount of violent video games
played between low hostility students and high hostility students. Out of the
low hostility students 38% play violent video games, while out of the high
hostility students 68% play violent video games. The astonishing part is the
kids with low hostility were ten times more likely to be violent if they played
violent video games. The graph is very basic and I thing is very helpful in
illustrating the effect of violent video games on hostile and non-hostile
students. While the article was very long and had complicated diction the chart
is a really straightforward and I think a reader of pretty much any age could
understand it easily.
After
searching the web for quite some time I found that the most helpful sources
were the videos I watched. I believe I find videos easier to understand because
they incorporate in visuals and arguments voiced by experts, and the
combination works best for me. Also in the video sometimes the person giving
the interview would ask a question to the expert, which helps clarify. For
example if I was just reading an article I would have to search, for who knows
how long, to find the answer to a question.
Sources
from the same genre can be very different depending on what audience its
directed at. For example an article explaining the effects of pollution on the
environment could be simplified for young kids with a main message to recycle.
One the other hand if the article is aimed at a college level audience it could
be filled with data and technical information.
I
believe things you read and see definitely do effect you’re thoughts and
decisions. However I don’t necessarily think that the genre matters when it
comes to conveying information. There can be a really impactful video that gets
a lot of peoples attention, but there can also be a very boring video on the
same topic, it totally depends. For me I
have had of life changing information presented through books and magazines,
but for the most part short articles and the “modern day” media like,
Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.
I feel much more informed after
reading up on all these articles and hope to pass the knowledge on the next
time someone if wondering about violent videogames. I think the sources all
helped contribute to the same big picture and supported each other so I know
about the topic.
Works Cited
Jacobs, T. (2014). Violent videogames and bad behavior: the evidence mounts. Retrieved
from http://www.psmag.com/navigation/books-and-culture/violent-video-games-bad-behavior-evidence-mounts-74372
Playing Violent Video Games Makes a
Difference. 2000.
Photograph. National Instatute on Media and the Family. Culturalpolicy.edu.
Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Samenow, S. (2012, December 19). Stanson
Samenow on MSNBC demolishes mythical link between violence and videogames,
movies [Video file].
Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfjxhwV4coA
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