Computer Games and Violence
Have you ever been to the movies and denied a ticket because you were not old enough? Or, have you ever attempted to buy a game, and, of course, you got turned down, because, once again, you were not old enough? Although, you probably do know why you were denied or turned down, because of those great warning or rating systems on every form of media nowadays. Video games have been a part of American culture since the late 1970’s and first emerged as a controversial social problem in late 1994 and has continued until the present. Violence in video games is one of important issues that most countries are facing right now. They number of children exposed to violent video games is increasing dramatically and results in violent situations such as fighting at school. Even though this is not a new concern in the United States, it has reappeared at the top of many controversial social problems among the government, parents, educators, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (E.S.R.B), and game producers. An example of the controversy is that some people claim that children are progressively becoming more aggressive because of video or computer games. Other people claim that the E.S.R.B should reform the rating system for video or computer games. Also, people claim that video games should be censored. According to the American Psychological Association, children who play violent video games are progressively becoming more aggressive and the violence in video games has a direct correlation to more prominent violence among adults. So parents, educators, and the government are concerned about how much the damage of the violence in videogames inflicts on children, causing more crimes, creating more school problems, affecting children’s physical and mental and even continuing into adulthood. If we can reduce the number of children who are exposed to violent video games, our society will have less violence, more peace, and healthier children. The thesis statement of my research
Cited: he History of Video Games. Leonard Herman, Jer Horwitz, Steve Kent, and Skyler Miller. GameSport. 8 July 2007 Burnham, Van. Supercade: A Visual History of the Videogame Age, 1971-1984. Cambridge:MIT Press, 2001Glazer, Sarah. “Video Games.” CQ Researcher 16.40 (2006): 937-960. CQ ResearcherOnline. CQ press. Mt. San Antonio Library, walnut, Ca. 9 July 2007. “Industry Split Over Video Games Ratings (sidebar).” “Issues & Controversies On File 21Feb. 1997. Issues & Controversies @ FACTS.com. Facts On File News Services. 8 July 2007 Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB). 8 July 2007http://www.esrb.org/ratings/faq.jsp“Key Event: Columbine High School Students Slay 13, Kill Themselves.” Facts On FileWorld News Digest @ FACTS.com. Facts On File News Services. 8 July 2007. Mt. San Antonio College Library, Walnut, California. “Key Events in the history of Video Games and Violence (sidebar)” Issues and Controversies,13 February 2004. FACT.com. Facts On File News Services. Mt. San Antonio College Library, Walnut, California.