Not All Violence:
Video Games Improve Essential Skills and Build Positive Children
Persuasive Essay
Shelby Hersem
Despite recent opinions through news outlets, social media accounts, and other online reports, video games are not as detrimental to a child’s behavior and brain activity as one worried parent may assume. Today’s parents worry over the enervating tantrums, shouts at the living room TV, disciplinary action at school, and their child “hanging out with friends online, Mom!” As tensions rise in homes and hours spent with PS4 controllers turn into teenagers’ weekends, is it fair to blame the violent video games that children and adolescents often play? Americans open their news feeds to see violence, political turmoil, and international affairs--it does not make the nation a violent one, so do violent video games affect the innocent, young population the same way? Before perturbed parents and common consumers declare violent video games as a negative influence on children, one must consider the positive effects of video games on adolescent brains as well as the relationships formed through video games.
Gaming entertainment brands have designed storyline gameplay along with first-person shooters to capture players’ attention through gore, violence, and vulgarity, but studies have found that healthy brain activity occurs when children play video games: positive chemicals are released when children play video games, positive behaviors and skills improved, and important childhood friendships are also formed through gaming (Bösche). As technology advances and new video game consoles are released, school-age kids are more likely to spend time online with their friends. Rebecca Bernstein at Concordia University conducted a study to examine the pros and cons of video gaming; she found that “video games may help those who have social anxiety disorder learn how to initiate relationships and learn about social cues.” Another research article argues that “fifth-graders who play video games for two or more hours a day are more likely to have symptoms of depression than those who play less" (Bernstein), but as children are able to form relationships through common hobbies, it is important to consider time moderation for children playing video games and the friendships made.
With a growing technology market, children have access to video games at their reach almost always: a library computer, an at-home iPad, a friend’s Playstation, or even mom’s phone. These outlets to gaming can open a world of unsolicited gore and vulgarity, but video games do not create violent children nor do they create possible school shooters, as important figures have argued. In March of 2018, hours after Florida’s tragic Parkland shooting, President Trump addressed America's grief along with the unsettling number of school shootings in America. The president blamed a “glorification of violence” through “gruesome and violent” video games (Draper). The Supreme Court, after closely inspecting the American Psychology Association’s verdict on the lack of research on video games and their lack of connection to violence, ruled 7 to 2 that California could not block the sale of violent games to kids” (Arkin). Video games do not correlate to school shootings despite statements made by President Trump.
An experiment conducted by students Youssef Hasan, Laurent Bègue, and Brad J. Bushman at University Pierre of Mendès-France proposed very strong claims about negative health effects during gameplay. Regardless of their assertion that, “violent video games increase physiological arousal, such as “heart rate (Barlett & Rodeheffer, 2009), blood pressure and skin conductance (Arriaga, Esteves, Carneiro, & Monteiro, 2006), and stress hormones such as epinephrine and nor-epinephrine,” these reactions do not prove a correlation between violent video gameplay and real-world violence. The “fight-or-flight” reaction released by the amygdala is important to note when considering a potential enemy or shocking moment in a video game, as a negative reaction is simply instinctual (Hasan et al). The link between violent video games to shootings and stress is unrefined; human reaction simply reflects natural, neurological reactions and is not connected to violent behavior shown by children.
Video gaming has changed significantly in the past decade with new first-person-shooters, virtual reality headsets, and simulations--but so have reviews. These new entertainment forms have certainly opened a new door for studies on addiction and childhood developmental skills, and there is much to be discovered. When children play video games, their eyes send the brain a plethora of information, whizzing at unimaginable neuronal speed. The brain releases a chemical rush of adrenaline to flank the enemy and a triumphant release of dopamine with a captured flag. Caitlin Gibson, a writer for The Washington Post, found a “1998 study showed that video games raise the level of dopamine in the brain by about 100 percent, roughly the same increase triggered by sex.” The joy children experience through video games and skill-building platforms is worth more than the worry over potentially violent behavior (Gibson). In that same article, children who played video games consistently over one week had higher “cognitive function” and more “emotional control” than their peers (Gibson). Studies conducted by The Journal of Media Psychology and NBCL found data that showed healthy brain activity levels and positive release of chemicals during a child’s time playing video games. These discoveries were rebuked by neuroscientist Peter C. Whybrow, who argued that games are ‘digital heroin,’ he also compared video game addiction to “illegal drugs, in terms of their influence on the brain” (Ferguson and Markey). The positive neurological reactions are shown when children play video games prove that they are a pastime, hobby, education platform, and a way for children to make friends, not an illegal drug or abused substance.
Addictive behavior and video games are frequently associated with one another, especially since adolescents spend hours a day on their consoles, and, in 2016, “[The] typical gamer spent over two hours per day playing games” (Ingraham). Podcast producer Jeremy Snead had the opportunity to speak to Professor Chris Ferguson on his talk show, The Media Juice Podcast, to discuss the American Psychiatric Association’s classification of “addictive behavior” and video games (Ferguson and Markey). Snead lightly mentioned the disconnect between parents and video games as “the first time a hobby has become a mental health diagnosis” (Snead). Snead also notes that people can be addicted to a handful of things other than gaming, like gambling, eating, and even dancing. More importantly, the speaker highlights that people who “stay in bed too much...wouldn’t be labeled with ‘a bed addiction’” (Snead). Internet addiction is not a solidified diagnosis and is loosely based off of addictions like alcoholism. Video games cannot be labeled as an addictive threat because gaming is a hobby and learning opportunity for children.
Teamwork skills are important in a household, classroom, sports team, or Scouts group; and children learn how to work as a team in online video games. Friendships can also build as adolescents play games and practice internet safety. Ronaldo Tumbokon, a writer for Raise Smart Kids, mentions multiplayer games like “Team Fortress 2, [which] involves cooperation with other online players in order to win.” On a game like TF2, the team must use their personal skills to work together. Teachers found that their students were “better collaborators” after the students played video games (Tumbokon). As children learn to become better leaders and team players through their adolescence, they are led to become better adults. Video games are positively impactful through the relationships built online, the motor skills practiced, and teamwork utilized to reach a common goal.
Violent video games aren’t leaving the shelves and the video game industry has an eager audience and room to experiment with new games and products. Unfortunately, it is a common theme for society to blame technology for rising problems. The young population is moving into a new era of relationships: ones that are online. Multiplayer games that require teamwork have proven to be successful tools to build friendships and heighten learning experience in the classroom. Violent video games have no correlation to violent children, school shooters, or drug addicts, they are skill-building, chemical-releasing, laughter-creating ways for kids to have fun. Upcoming research on the positive chemicals released during gameplay, violent behavior in children, and the connection between the two, will provide parents with the option to decide on a healthy and suitable video games for their children. With the soft light of a television screen, today’s children are surrounded by opportunities to game, online teammates, maybe even a little violence, but video games have a lot to discover and a correlation to violent children will not found.
Annotated Bibliography
Arkin, Daniel. “Here's What We Know about the Links between Video Games and Violence.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 2 Mar. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/news/us -news/here-s-what-we-know-about-links-between-video-games-n852776.
I chose to include this source in my research because it offers a lot of statistical data about recent shootings, video games, and the opinions of gamers on current events. The website also provides me with quotes from the National Rifle Association and President Trump, who argue that violence is triggered by video games.
Bartlett, C. P., and C. Rodeheffer (2009). “Effects of realism on extended violent and nonviolent video gameplay on aggressive thoughts, feelings, and physiological arousal.” Aggressive Behavior, no. 35, May-Jun. 2009, pp. 214-215. NCBL, doi.org/10.1002/ ab.20279.
This journal is very helpful to my persuasive speech because it provides me with factual information, collected data, and examples of experiments, which, in this case, scientists observed a moderated amount of time playing differently rated games. Bartlet’s studies also claimed that the levels of realism in a violent game are important to consider when studying the brain’s reaction to violence through the color of blood shown and the amounts of “cartoonish” visuals shown.
Bernstein, Rebecca. Exploring the Pros and Cons of Video Gaming. Concordia University, 23 May 2017, www.online.concordia.edu/computer-science/pros-and-cons-of-video -gaming/.
Bernstein’s article is important to consider in the drafting process of my argumentative essay because she made the information easy to understand by dividing each claim into subtopics. Her article includes arguments against and for video games and includes data about visual coordination, color awareness, aging, anxiety, and depression after playing video games.
Bösche, Wolfgang. “Violent video games prime both aggressive and positive cognitions.” Journal of Media Psychology: Theories, Methods, and Applications, Jan. 2010, pp. 139-146. ResearchGate, doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105/a000019.
Bösche includes information on the “weapon effect,” gore and violence receiving more sales than censored games, the mammalian instinct of play fighting, and why the brain is able to enjoy a violent video game. Because humans have the mental capabilities to decipher when an act of violence is a threat or not, we are able to distinguish between enjoyment and fear, and almost “silence” our fight or flight response. The researcher also includes an in-depth study of German males experiencing different levels of violence.
Draper, Kevin. “Video Games Aren't Why Shootings Happen. Politicians Still Blame Them.” The New York Times, 5 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/05/sports/trump violent -video-games-studies.html.
This article strongly argues that there is no link between violence in America, as well as shootings, and video games. The author refutes quotes from President Trump and the lieutenant governor of Texas. I plan to use this website to provide me with more information about the true beginning of the argument against gaming, school shootings, and public opinion on video games as a whole.
Ferguson, Christopher J., and Patrick Markey. "Video Games Aren't Addictive.” The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2017. Proquest, explore.proquest.com /sirsissuesresearcher/ document/2258149764?accountid=338.
Ferguson and Markey go deeper than other articles into the chemical releases shown in the brain while video games are played. Their article is crucial to my research and thesis because they bring important and never before seen arguments about addiction in general. In recent studies, there are suggestions that gaming addictions are as damaging as a heroin addiction, but as Ferguson said, a depressed person doesn’t have a bed addiction.
Gibson, Caitlyn. “Video Games Are More Addictive than Ever. This Is What Happens When Kids Can't Turn Them off.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 Dec. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/sf/style/2016/12/07/video-games-are-more-addictive-than -ever-this-is-what-happens-when-kids-can't-turn-them-off/.
Gibson provides a very thorough and emotional memoir of two parents and their son with ADD who had a troubling history of relationships with his peers at school. After reading a small amount about his upbringing, I can only assume that Byrne’s parents never tried to give Byrne counseling or treatment for his anxiety and ADD. He was an extremely intelligent and hardworking young boy who really just had a hard time making friends because of his different, well, hardware.
Byrne grew up with great grades and was rewarded with a laptop and was gifted an Xbox from a relative. Perhaps it is wrong of me to speculate, but I don’t believe that Byrne’s parents tried to regulate his gaming habits before it was too late. Instead, they waited until it was too late and then shipped him off to the middle of nowhere where he could be “solved.” As a 17-year-old who returned from the boarding camp with a healthy mindset, his parents gawked at the idea of their teenage boy playing games for one to two days a week. This article can provide me with some insight into the worry of parents.
Hasan, Youssef, et al. “Violent Video Games Stress People Out and Make Them More Aggressive.” Violent Video Games Stress People Out and Make Them More Aggressive, vol. 39, no. 1, 2012, pp. 64–70.
Hasan’s journal was the one I enjoyed the most because of its steadfast stance on video games while every other journal and article tries to reflect each side of the argument against violent video games. Such a standpoint on video games and the violence shown in some is important to my persuasive essay because I am trying to gather more opinions against gaming.
Silva, Raul. “What Are Some of the Causes of Aggression in Children?” Child Mind Institute, childmind.org/article/aggression-in-children-causes/.
The Child Mind Institute is a well-known company that researches learning and mental health disorders in children. The organization’s website can develop my ideas on aggression in children. This article is similar to my first source and helps me define the leading causes of childhood and adolescent violence.
Snead, Jeremy. “Video Game Violence with Chris Ferguson.” The MediaJuice Podcast, 6 Nov. 2019, www.mediajuicestudios.com/2018/11/06/ podcast-Chris-Ferguson/.
I absolutely loved listening to the conversation between Snead and Ferguson--I came across the podcast after seeing so many quotes from Chris Ferguson in news articles and I decided to Google his name. Ferguson is witty and he talks about the war against video gaming. He has spent a large portion of his life researching the effects of video games on children and teaches at Stetson University. The conversation supplied me with light and snappy quotes to add to my heavy and factual thesis.
Tumbokon, Ronaldo. “25 Positive and Negative Effects of Video Games" Raise Smart Kid, 19 Oct. 2019, www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and -bad-effects-of -video-games.
Tumbokon’s article is the first to include points about neural plasticity, which I find very interesting. A child’s neural plasticity is much higher than one of an adult, and I want to research further into the changing brain of a child who only plays age-appropriate games according to the rating of each title, and the brain of a child who plays games out of their age range. I think the difference would be very interesting, especially if the experiment went on for a long amount of time. The author also includes new arguments about gray brain matter, spatial skills, social cues, teamwork, cognition, and offers more information on the overarching argument about anxiety and depression that I see throughout many different articles.