Video Violence And Juveniles

4 Pages 909 Words

Major Paper: Violent Video Games Influence on Juveniles
In our great land of America, violence is all too common and often children are behind these dreadful acts. The most commonly asked question is who is to blame? There are many different explanations, but videogames seem to be an easy target. Although videogames have been proven to have some violent effects on youthful behavior, parents, religious groups, politicians, and especially the media are eager to point fingers, rather than to address the real problem.
Much of the attention is directed around shooting games like Quake, Grand Theft Auto, and Doom. The object here is to use a weapon in order to injure your opponent. The player has access to guns, knives, or bombs depending on the particular game. Shooting games have been in the industry for a while, but the technological imagery of violence is causing a good deal of controversy (Newsmagazine, 2000). The injuries sustained are becoming remarkably realistic. The more horrific injuries include exploding bodies, dissembling limbs, and decapitation.
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The realistic injuries may overshadow the other deviant acts that are carried out. The game has characters committing crimes like muggings on the street, drive by shootings, and car jacking. These images could provoke youth to commit a crime more than seeing a dissembled body.
Violent games are among the most popular in the video game industry, and children are significant contributors playing the games (Cesarone, 1995). The games will only continue to be bigger, better, and bloodier because this is what the American pubic demands. What the people want, the video game industry should give. These games are intended for the adult public, not to adolescents. The industry issued voluntary warning label in 1994, but now all videos are required by law to issue a rating (Freedom Forum, 2001). Not the video industry, but the distributors should be the ones ...