The Effects of Video Games on Society

           As a second in the series of papers written for Composition Class, I have a debate 

paper written as the negative (or 'con') view on the effects that violent video games have on 

society. Hopefully, it proves as interesting as my Science Fiction paper from last year.

            

            Comments (good or bad) are welcomed but keep it clean please!

Ray Bardin

GE217, Composition II

D. McWhorter and V. Sweetser

24 Nov 2011

The Effects of Video Games on Society

            As video games and other media have become more and more violent, the age of the consumer has become younger and younger. More of our young people are playing violent games that were originally intended for adults or older teens. As our children and young teens consume this media, they are bombarded by a constant stream of violence and gory mayhem. The effects of this have been an increase in instances of violence by younger and younger persons, and desensitization to violence in general. As purchasing rules have been relaxed, as in California where the Supreme Court struck down a law banning the sale of violent games to minors (Olsen), younger children have had easier access to these games. Video games, as a whole, have had a negative effect on society in general through addiction issues, violence by minors, and desensitization to violence.

            Studies have shown that some children are more likely to be addicted to video games, violent and otherwise. These addictions increase in children who have been diagnosed with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, possibly due to a connection with the activities in the game causing an autistic-like concentration on the action. These “pathological gamers” (McCoy) spend an in-ordinate amount of time playing games and are as addicted to the games in the same ways as some adults who are addicted to gambling. Addicted gamers show some of the same traits as gambling addicts, such as lying about the amount of time played, skipping school or schoolwork in favor of game time, and restlessness or irritability when not engaged in gaming (McCoy).  While most researchers admit that this problem is limited to a small percentage of subjects, they do agree that parents are the first line of defense in reducing the effects of addiction by reducing the time allotted to gaming and presenting more positive sources of entertainment. On a more positive note, a Pew Internet American Life Project Survey in September of 2008 found that a number of frequent players were as socially engaged as less frequent players and gained a positive social benefit from co-operative gaming in a few select games.