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Kyle Hand
ENC 2135
Professor Brandi Bradley
February 18, 2016
Virtual Reality Effecting Childrens Reality?
Virtual reality has taken the world by storm in the form of video games. Games today
allow players to do what they want to do or be who they want to be. These games could be
anything from playing a professional sport to being a secret agent to even living a normal life
that the gamer may not be able to live. The gaming community has an issue that is challenging
the reputation of gaming. Two sides are battling each other over the question Do video games
make children violent? Each side has ups and downs to their argument but both back their side
up with credible evidence.
The gaming community has members of a wide variety and several purposes for being
created. These members include children from preschool to high school. Adults that play video
games and college aged kids are included as well. The members also include the parents of these
children and their families. Parents are not thought to be part of the community but they are
because they are the ones that typically buy the video games for the children and are directly
involved with a lot of the gamers. The community also has organizations and sponsors that make
up a big part it. These organizations create and regulate the video games that the community
plays. Organizations that create games include Electronic Arts (EA), Bungie, Epic Games and
Infinity Ward. The main company that regulates the gaming industry is the Entertainment
Software Rating Board (ESRB). On the ESRB website, it is stated that the ESRB assigns age

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and content ratings for video games and mobile apps, enforces advertising and marketing
guidelines for the video game industry, and helps companies implement responsible online and
mobile privacy practices.(ESRB) Sponsors are another overlooked member of the community.
They allow professional gamers to play in tournaments in the Major League Gaming (MLG)
community. These sponsors can be organization that gives money to the gaming teams. The
main purpose for this community existing is purely to entertain. These games have hour upon
hour of gameplay to keep the player engaged throughout. Many games also have bonus material
that will extend the duration of the game. Depending on the game, the gaming community is
also educational. For young children, games are created to teach them about shapes and colors
along with other essential information needed for the development of young minds. Another
reason of course for the gaming community to exist is to make money. Corporations make
billions of dollars every year selling game consoles, games, and accessories to the gaming
community. According to Statistic Brain Research Institute, the total video game sales from
2007 to 2013 ranged between 15.39 billion to 19.3 billion dollars. (SBRI)
Issues such as this one are important to address because they can be harmful to a lot of
different people. If gaming does make children violent then other children may get injured.
These children will eventually grow up and could harm people both inside and outside of the
community. If video games were to be proven to cause violent behavior then the gaming
community would struggle because there would be more regulations on the games themselves.
These new regulations or restrictions would cause less money circulation which would lead to
people losing their jobs. Gaming companies could possibly shut down and there would a chain
reaction through all of the sponsors and other supporters of the community. This community is
in much need for a solution to the issue.

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The side of the community that takes a stand agreeing that video games make children
violent has lots of research to back up their point. One of the first things that this side believes is
that the combination of developing brains and the violent behavior in many games creates a
mentality in children that dims the significance of violence. This mentality that these children
have makes the child believe that the violent act that they have done seem acceptable. In the
What Science Knows About Video Games and Violence article on the PBS.org website states that
children have a Monkey See, Monkey Shoot mentality. This article continues on to quote Gary
Slutkin who is the founder of Cure Violence, an organization that has reduced gun violence in
Baltimore and Chicago. The article says The military knows this very well, Slutkin says,
noting the U.S. militarys use of video games in training soldiers, partly to break down their
instinctive repulsion to killing. To Slutkin, whats known about our brains is justification for
concern: Humans are social, highly conditioned creatures who learn how to behave by watching
whats around us, turning social messages into so-called scripts that play in our minds as we
engage the world. (PBS) This point made by the agreeing side of the community creates
concern to the people looking from the outside. There is more evidence that comes from the
Journal of Applied Social Psychology by Michele J. Fleming and Debra J. Rickwood. The main
points of the Effects of Violent Versus Nonviolent Video Games section are that the more
repetition of seeing or being involved with the video game violence, the more likely the child
will show aggressive behavior. (Rickwood) According to this section of the book the cognitive
information processing model of aggression proposed by Huesmann (1988) suggests that
viewing violent material can lead to the development of aggressive scripts. Aggressive scenes on
the television and video games provide examples of new scripts and may also act as cues for the
use of existing scripts. (Rickwood)

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The opposition counters this point by bringing up the Entertainment Software Rating
Board. This organization creates ratings that give details about what a game contains. These
warnings are labeled on every game and are carefully placed. These ratings include Early
Childhood, Everyone, Everyone 10+, Teen, Mature, and Adults Only. (ESRB) The warnings that
are placed on games are Violence, Blood/Gore, Sexuality, Nudity, Language, Substances,
Gambling, Humor exc. (ESRB) Depending on the type of warning that is given, a rating is given.
These ratings have age requirements to limit the purchasing and distribution of these games. For
example, a Mature rating requires the purchaser to be 17 years of age or older. This prevents the
wrong game falling into a childs hands that may not be able to handle the content. The
argument for the No side, countering this point, is that the child or Monkey should not see
anything that they do not understand.
Another point made by the Yes side to Do video games make children violent? is that
video games cause a high level of arousal which leads to more aggressive behavior. Video game
arousal was much higher than other media sources such as television in children. (Rickwood)
The Effects of Violent Versus Nonviolent Video Games section mentioned before continued on to
discuss the general arousal theory. In this theory, physiological arousal is thought to enhance
an individuals responsiveness to the environment and the intensity of that response (Malmo,
1959). It has been suggested that the general physiological arousal, arising from many different
activities, can lead to aggression if there is sufficient provocation soon after the activity (Zillman,
Katcher, & Milavsky, 1972). (Rickwood) This argument shows that the aggressive behavior
comes from more than what is on screen. The player does not have to be necessarily be engaged
in the violence because the activeness of the brain in pushing buttons on the controller creates
agitation.

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The opposition uses the same section to respond to this point. There are a few things
pointed out that both help and hurt the oppositions argument. The section used discusses the
catharsis theory after mentioning the general arousal theory. This theory is described as our
need to purge or discharge our aggressive feelings by performing or even witnessing aggression,
we can be relieved (Breuer & Freud, 1894/1961) (Rickwood) According to the text, violent
video games could be a release to reduce aggression which has been proven in 11 to 14 year olds.
(Rickwood) The hurting part of this argument is that the Calming effect that these violent
video games can bring has not been researched as much. The overall question remains a
stalemate on these points.
A big point that the opposition stands by is that video games are prosocial and
educational. According to a study done by Douglas Gentile, Ever-improving technology also
provides players with better graphics that give a more "realistic" virtual playing experience. This
quality makes the video game industry a powerful force in many adolescent lives. When a video
game is pro-social and rewards players for building a town or helping others, children tend to
show more empathy and helpfulness in their daily lives. (PAMF) Douglas Gentile is a Ph.D.
associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University so having his study creates credibility
to the opposing side. The gaming community has several networks that are associated with their
game console that allow players to work together and communicate to form relationships.
People from all over the world can connect. Companies such as Hasbro are designed to create
educational and child friendly games. Companies such as this are crucial to the opposing sides
argument.
The agreeing side counters this argument by saying that these networks are full of trash
talk and aggressive competiveness. The multiplayer environment in most violent video games

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allow players to speak to a real person and connect that person to the player that they are
shooting. As for the educational argument, there is very little that the agreeing side can say
except for saying that these educational games do not carry forward through the teenage years.
They are directed more toward young kids. The number of violent video games that children can
get their hands on are much more and these games are much more desirable to children.
The genres used in this issue are informative and persuasive. Many of the beliefs are
backed up with scientific evidence that show statistics of certain tests. They inform the people
on the outside of this community so they can make a better judgement. These studies also show
off their authors because they are from universities which gives the studies ethos. This ethos
makes readers or viewers more prone to listen. Each side of the issue also uses persuasive
techniques. Their goal is to connect to the viewers pathos and make them either happy or sad
about the issue. For example, the new casts create an ethos because they are professional and on
the television. They portray the victims as innocent individuals so that the viewers feel sad for
anyone hurt by the violent crime committed. On the other side, the viewers are made to feel
happy to hear about how children are learning faster and becoming more intelligent by seeing
commercials.
The genres are constrained by the technology that people have. Almost all of the genre
involved with this issue are distributed through television. If the people do not have a television
then they cannot reach them. The people in the community should not have any issues with
having a television because they play video games on theirs. This constraint is directed toward
the people on the outside of the community. Another constraint is that video games are popular.
Video games are all over the world and are loved by the community. It is difficult for anyone to
change someones mind when they are taken away by it. Each side also constrains the other by

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keeping the opposing evidence under wraps. For example, a gaming corporation is not going to
allow commercials or advertisements to be sponsored in their games or on their own small
community because it may hurt business. No matter what way the genre is distributed; there is a
lot of money involved.
The issue in this community is communicated through several ways. The main
communication used is the news. There are many news reports that have spoken to the public
about a violent event that a kid was involved and blamed the actions on the video game
influences. They inform viewers throughout the day to reach as many people as possible and
often make the story as frightening or engaging as possible. Audio and video messages are
relayed through this communication. For example, a teenage boy by the name of Evan Ramsey
was the shooter in a school shooting in Alaska. He charged into his school with a .12 gauge
shotgun and killed two people. (CBS) The news cast talked over and over about his obsession
with the video game doom. This led people to believe that he was influenced solely by the game.
It wasnt until later that the information about his rough childhood came out. According to CBS
news, When he was 7, his father went to prison. His mother became an alcoholic, and Evan and
his brother were shipped off to a series of foster homes. In one of those homes, he suffered
sexual abuse and humiliation, according to court testimony. This information was relayed all
over the area so that people knew the issue surrounding video games. Another form of media or
communication is the many different labels and written language such as game ratings and
reviews that help prevent these things. As mentioned before, the Entertainment Software Rating
Board has a variety of different warnings that allow gamers to know what to expect. There are
studies that are published in books such as Debra Rickwoods and Douglas Gentiles. Studies

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such as these ones are sent around to universities and put online so people can read up on and
learn about the issue.
There are several possible solutions. There can be more regulations for the distribution of
gaming or the purchasing of games. This might hurt the overall sales but it would protect
children better. Another solution would be to add classes in school that would teach moral
concepts such as Violence is not the answer. This may costs schools money but there would
be less aggression in children. A solution could also be to limit violence in the video games.
Again, video game companies may lose a little money but there would be less provocation to
aggressive behavior and would teach children other ways to solve problems. The solution to the
problem could be one of those or could still be out there.
Overall, both sides bring up sold points to the question of Do video games make
children violent? The Yes side used studies to claim that violent video games gave children
wrong impressions of real violence and discussed the arousal effects games had on children. The
No side countered each of these points with their own studies. They also brought up new
points such as video games being prosocial and educational. The Yes side countered that and
the issue remains a back and forth problem. The gaming community is often blamed for issues
like this and it is up to researchers and scientists to find the truth about video games so that the
people in and out of the community can solve the problem in the best way possible.