Impact of Violent Video Games

In today's modern but volatile society, playing video games is considered very much a norm. You can find video game consoles in almost every household and even on peoples mobile devices. This exposure to video games makes the players very vulnerable to being affected by the games they play, since video games have become to hard to avoid.


The content put out by the companies that publish video game titles have evolved over the years. Ever since the first video games, these companies have been constantly trying to introduce new games and revolutionary gameplay to attract new players and keep the video game industry going.
From the earliest arcade games to today's modern titles, the change in the content and intensity has changed significantly. The main difference being the sheer amount of action and violence in modern games.



Game developers decided that adding more over-the-top violence and allow gamers to do outrageous actions would end up generating more sales. This did more than just that because the video game industry has been dominated by violent video game titles due to their massive appeal.
However it has been noted that the psychological effects of playing violent video games for extended periods of time can be detrimental and can have adverse consequences.


Research has shown that immediately after playing a violent video game, kids can have aggressive thoughts, angry feelings and physiological effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure. In addition, studies that survey large populations of kids on their game-playing habits and measure aggressive personality traits or self-reported aggressive acts — physical fights, arguments with teachers — often find an association between games and aggression.
A lab experiment showed that individuals low in violent video game exposure (VVE) behave more aggressively after playing a violent video game than after a nonviolent game but that those high in VVE display relatively high levels of aggression regardless of game content. Mediational analyses show that trait hostility, empathy, and hostile perceptions partially account for the VVE effect on aggression.

However, not all people who play violent video games will show some signs of aggressive behavior immediately afterward. A person who just played Call of Duty for example won't always have the sudden urge to pick up a gun and start shooting at other people or start being very hostile toward others. It is true that there is a certain connection between violent video games and the aggressive behavior shown in those who played them but it is not always apparent.

I feel that alot is dependent on the players themselves and depending on their age, they play the games deemed appropriate for them. Or else they risk exposure to game content that they might not understand or be prepared for. There is a rating coupled with every video game sold today which suggests the age appropriateness for the game, and appears on the front of virtually every game box available for retail sale or rental.



For example, a little kid picks up a mature game from the local store and goes home to play it, he might be exposed to things which might not be appropriate for his age, such as the level of violence or deaths of the in-game characters. This might trigger a unintended response in the kid and may result in a permanent change in his behavior.

Although this is just a hypothetical and extreme situation, my point is that aggressive or unpredictable behavior in the player would typically arise because he is not prepared. Also not be able to distinguish between virtual reality and real life can attribute to aggressive behavior.

Amongst other things..




Sources:
http://www.esrb.org/ratings/index.jsp
http://psp.sagepub.com/content/31/11/1573.abstract
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/03/health/la-he-closer-20100503