Although I am not qualified to make claims that video games can or cannot cause certain violent behavior in people, I can talk about my experiences with video games and how they have made me feel. I have played many video games that could be deemed violent. In fact the first game I ever had was James Bond’s: Goldeneye, and even though I wasn’t old enough for the rating on the game, I still loved it! I thought going around and taking down the bad guys was the coolest thing ever. But every time after I was done playing I knew it was just a game, farfetched, and that no one could be as invincible as James Bond and not have any consequences for those kinds of actions. I knew this because I was brought up in a family that taught me right from wrong, and killing is definitely wrong. It is partly the parent’s responsibility for making sure that their kids know what is right and what is wrong before they even pick up the controller. This could be a step before playing video games that could make a big difference after someone plays a game. If they don’t know what is right and wrong, then they may assume there would be no bad consequences for the kind of actions portrayed in video games.
Another big factor, especially in young teens, is their peers. If young kids are hanging out with the “wrong crowd” then they may be hearing, seeing, and even doing things they shouldn’t. This doesn’t necessarily mean playing violent games all the time. But maybe drugs and alcohol, stealing, vandalizing, ditching school, and then maybe playing the occasional game here and there. Then one day they might get caught doing something bad by their parents, and they have fallen so far down into a world of rebellion that the only way they know to get out of it, is by taking innocent lives or their own life, and they learned this through violent games. The cause of this is not solely video games, but what they did with their peers as well. There has been countless times while I have been with my friends, and they all want to do something (say sneak around at night, or go to someone’s house I wouldn’t necessarily go to on my own) that I didn’t want to do, but I did just because they are my friends and I don’t want to be the sore thumb of the group. Of course we weren’t doing anything illegal or hurting anyone, this just goes to show that it’s easy to get caught up when you’re with your friends.
And what I think to be one of the biggest factors is what happens at home. If someone had a bad childhood, maybe they were abused, sexually assaulted, saw one of their parents being abused or were living in poverty, then they would be more prone to violence way before they even saw a video game. This can also lead to one big cycle. If someone had a bad childhood then they are likely to have more bad experiences trying to get away from their past. They may take their anger out by listening to music, playing sports, or by playing video games. They then start seeing more violence, and it may be just enough to push them over the top and start committing violent acts.
We may never know what causes people to snap and get sent over the edge. Although I think jumping straight to the conclusion of video games is pre mature, I believe that violent video games could be a factor. I also think there should be stricter rules on the rating of video games and who can play them, and parents should be watching more closely to what their kids are doing especially when they are young.
Here are some interesting statistics on video games done in 2010 by the Entertainment Software Association
- Computer and video game sales have grown to $11.7 billion in the past year, more than quadrupling since 1996
- Thirty-seven percent of households play games on wireless devices.
- 189 million game counsels were sold along with 29 million games.
- Surprisingly only 16 percent of games were rated M for mature, and "Family Entertainment was the most popular genre.
