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Ann Ferrell
Paloma Santillan
4/29/2014
Position essay
Joysticks arent guns
Just a week ago was the 15 anniversary of Columbine, the school shooting that
took place in Jefferson County, Colorado. Remembering these pitiful events
wakes feeling in people but also brings back an endless debate: Are these
tragedies caused by kids playing violent videogames? Do videogames make us
violent? Although the answer may seem to be a yes, the uncertain connection
between past violent crimes and the use of videogames, the lack of long term
experiments, and the opposition between the variation in violent juvenile crime
and popularity of videogames indicates that there is not a direct connection
between violent videogames and aggressive behavior.
Contrary of common belief, playing violent videogames and later presenting a
violent behavior is not a pure cause and effect relation. For an example we can
take Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the shooters from Columbine. One of the
many causes the media found for this tragedy was the avocation these kids had
for videogames like Doom, a science-fiction, first-person shooter videogame.
However, they didnt consider that they had other problems on their own, like
existentialism issues, ideas about death, and a notorious misanthropy (Cullen).
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Additionally, issues like peer pressure, bullying, and aggressive parenting can
be actual causes for violent behavior in youth. According to Christopher
Ferguson, Professor of Behavioral, Applied Sciences and Criminal Justice at
Texas A&M University, the strongest causes of youth violence were association
with delinquent peers, parents using verbal cruelty with the kids, antisocial
personality, and depression, being the last one a common consequence of the
above (Multivariate Analysis). According to this study, exposure to violent
media like television and videogames was not found to be a definite cause for
violent behavior in youth. This shows that, even if videogames are present, they
are not as relevant as the interpersonal relationships of the players and their
own personality.
Also, according to a report made by United States Secret Service, over half of
school attackers showed interest in violent movies, video games, books, and
other media. Two quarters showed special interest in movies and books, but
just one eight showed interest in violent videogames. A majority showed special
interest in their own work, like poems, diaries or blogs (31), which is the case of
Eric Harris. With this information, it is visible that the main issue is not the
videogame itself, but the violent theme in all its forms. This also proves that the
criminals are not necessarily turned violent by the videogames. In reality, they
already present violent attitudes and needs, which they feed by consuming
violence in the form of videogames among others.
Another indicator is the fact that the rates in violent juvenile crime have
decreased while the sales of videogames have done the contrary. According to
a report made by the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention (OJJDP) the number of juvenile arrests for murder and no negligent
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manslaughter in kids younger than 18 years old was 1000, and for all violent
crimes it was an estimate of 75,900 in 2010 This represented a decrease of
20% on the first one and of 21% on the second one from 2001. This are the
lowest rates since at least 1980 (4).On the other hand, the sales in videogames
have soared in the past decade, reaching sales of 14.8 billions of dollars in
2012 compared to the 6.9 billion in 2002. We also have to consider that the top
selling videogame was Call of Duty: Black Ops II, a violent game (Essential
Facts 12). If a direct relationship between violent games and crimes existed, the
numbers would be directly proportional; but on the contrary, they are inverse.
On top of that, there has not been enough research or experimentation about
long term effects of playing these games. Different experiments have been
made to test how the exposure to violent videogames immediately affects the
behavior of the gamers, some of them testing hostile expectations and
aggressive behavior (Hasan), and some others testing levels of dehumanization
(Greitemeyer). In both experiments students were divided into groups, some
with violent videogames and some with nonviolent ones, and putted under
pressure afterwards. As expected, the ones who were exposed to the violent
ones presented a more hostile and aggressive attitude that increased within
three days; however, these experiments didnt last longer that three days, so
they only obtained short terms results. This could mean that, if the experiment
goes on for a longer period, the increase in aggressive behavior would be
bigger (Hasan), but this affirmation comes mainly from speculation.
On top of that, gamers dont feel that it create violent ideas or an aggressive
behavior in themselves. According to Jiang Wong, video game connoisseur and
devoted gamer who plays from 20 to 40 hours a week, this kind of games are
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more often used as a way of relaxation and stress reliever. He affirms they don't
make him violent, just angry in moments of failure like it would happen in almost
every situation. There is no violence in his gaming group, only the usual
discussions that happens when very competitive people are put together. It is
more a desire for victory than for an actual fight (Wong). The last games in his
list are God of War, League of Legends, and Diablo III.
Timothy Susanto, another devoted gamer you plays an average of 2 hours a
day, affirms that can he get a bit aggressive playing videogames, but mainly
because of the frustration that the difficulty level of some games can cause. His
gaming group also present a slightly aggressive attitude while playing these
games, but it will be only because of game glitches and connection problems,
and not because of the violence of the game itself (Susanto). The last game in
his list are Dark Souls II, a fantasy role-playing game, Call of Duty Black Ops, a
first-person and third-person shooter game, and Halo, a military science-fiction
game.
It is clear that a direct connection between violent videogames and aggressive
behavior can be discarded by the uncertain connection between past violent
crimes and the use of videogames, the lack of long term experiments, and how
the rates in juvenile crime has dropped while popularity of games has raised.
We can conclude that it is not about what gamers play but more about who they
are and where they come from, and how their characters respond to violence
itself, not only in videogames. Instead of blaming a virtual piece of art, what
needs to be done is educating the people, and especially the kids, to know how
to react to violence so they wont just copy what they see or develop a
necessity for it.
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Works cited
Cullen, David. Columbine. New York: Twelve, 2009. Print
Essential Facts about the Computer and Video Game Industry Entertainment
Software Association. ESA Entertainment Software Association. May
2013. Web. 25 Apr 2014
Ferguson, Christopher, and Claudia San Miguel. "A Multivariate Analysis of
Youth
Violence and Aggression: The Influence of Family, Peers, Depression,
and Media Violence." The Journal of Pediatrics 155: 904-908. Science
Direct. Web. 30 Apr. 2014.
Greitemeyer, Tobias, and Neil McLatchie. "Denying Humanness to Others: A
Newly Discovered Mechanism by Which Violent Video Games Increase
Agressive Behavior." Psycological Science. Association of Psycological
Science, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Hasan, Youssef, and Laurent Begue. "The More You Play, the More Aggressive
You Become: A Long-term Experimental Study of Cumulative Violent
Video Game Effects on Hostile Expectations and Aggressive
Behavior." Journal of Experimental Social Phychology 49.2 (2013): 224-
27. Science Direct. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Susanto, Timothy. Personal interview. 30 Apr. 2014
United States. Department of Homeland Security. Secret Service. "The
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Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for
the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States." United States
Secret Service. United States Dept. of Homeland Security. May. 2002.
Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
United States. Dept. of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. "Juvenile Arrests 2010." Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention. Dept. of Justice. Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Wong, Jiang. Personal interview. 25 Apr. 2014
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