Are violent video games healthy for the general public, especially children under the age of 17, and do they lead to violent behavior?

The first violent video game called “Death race” created controversy, questioning whether the game was suitable for the general public. The main issue was the screaming which came from “gremlins” that were run over by the player in order to gain points. Ever since that video game was released, people concluded that violent video games aren’t healthy for the general public, especially children under the age of 17, and blamed these games for the increase in violence and aggression in their players. However, this is not the case. Violent video games are not responsible for any significant change in aggression or violence in its players, and instead, do more good than harm.

Violent video games provide an outlet for its players for any negative behavior, thus reducing any of this behavior in the real world. According to Huffington post’s article “9 ways video games can actually be good for you”, “people (teens especially) who have depression or occasional depressive thoughts (negative behavior), usually recover from playing various types of video games, including but not limited to violent video games” (Drew Guarini). For example, even though I am generally a happy person, I tend to feel from time to time a bit down from personal problems that occur in my life. Every time I put in an hours’ worth of video game time, I always feel better since the nature of violent video games distract me from my problems and erase them completely from my mind. Since the nature of these violent video games include intense moments and more than often require staying focused on the game itself, my problems tend to fade away within the first few minutes.

Even with these benefits, some still object to violent video games, claiming that these video games ‘increase aggression”. According to one study identified in Fox news’ article “Do violent video games boost aggression? Study adds fire to debate.” “People between the ages of 8-17 in the study showed in increase in aggressive behavior, claiming that the increase of violent video game time resulted in an increase of aggressive thoughts” (Rachael Rettner). While the study does seem to be plausible since children of that age group are most subjective to a change in behavior, studies such as these aren’t accurate in determining that violent video games are the cause of the problem, as there too many variables that can affect a child’s behavior. The article even states that “experts not involved with the study say that the research has flaws, and does not add anything meaningful to the debate over whether violent video games increase aggression”. In addition, the study only shows a specific age group of 8-17, while the majority of violent video gamers are 17 or older. Since most violent video games (not all) are M-rated games, which require you to be 17+ in order to purchase the game, it’s safe to assume that majority of violent video gamers are of this age group. This further weakens the articles claim that violent video games “boost aggression”, since they didn’t target the main age group, 17+.

Violent video games are also beneficial since they tend to increase the moral sensitivity of the player. In an article on the university of buffalo website, titled, “’Bad’ video game behavior increases players’ moral sensitivity”, the author Pat Donavan claims that “violent video games increase a players’ moral sensitivity and in turn promote people to participate in voluntary action in the real world” and backs up this claim with a study published in the journal, Cyberpsychology. This can be found throughout the majority of violent video gamers including myself. For instance, when I play a game that contains a ‘good’ character and a ‘bad’ character, I more than often choose the good than the bad character, as I will feel guilty if I played a negative role in the games’ virtual world. Since my actions result in a positive influence in the game, I find myself making a positive influence in the real world. With this in mind, violent video games can be beneficial in this case, since it brings the good out in people.

Despite this, some still object to violent video games, claiming that they instead tempt the player to choose a bad character, and in some cases this might be correct. When playing a video game, you could be bored of playing one side (the good side) and might want to try a new side (the bad side). Exposing yourself to the negative role might have the same affects as exposing yourself to the positive role- making bad decisions in the game lead to bad decisions in the real world. However, unlike Pat Donovan’s article, there is no significant proof that this is the case. More often than not, negative behavior in the game tends to result in guilt, making the player switch back to the good character and continue having positive behavior in both the virtual and real world, despite the violence.
While in many cases, violent video games might seem like they are completely negative due to their aggressive content, they actually help out in numerous ways and do not affect the behavior of the player in any significant way. While violent video games aren’t for everybody, they are certainly not responsible for the unnecessary violence in the world; instead, they are responsible for the smiles of millions of players around the world.

Donovan, P.  (2014, June 26). ‘Bad’ video game behavior increases players’ moral sensitivity. Retrieved from: https://www.buffalo.edu/news/releases/2014/06/037.html
Guarani, D.  (2013, November 7). 9 Ways Video Games Can Actually Be Good For You. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/video-games-good-for-us_n_4164723.html
Rettner, R.  (2014, March 25). Do violent video games boost aggression? Study adds fire to debate. Retrieved from: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2014/03/25/do-violent-games-boost-aggression/