--Original published at Zach Nawrocki's Blog

The increase in violent video games has been obvious, as there seems to be a new first-person shooter game coming out every month. Personally, my brother and I both grew up playing these more violent games and neither of us became violent people as a result of playing these games.

As most people know the first few years of a kids life and what they are taught or shown in that period of time will define how they will act in the future. Personally, I don’t see a bunch of 5-year-old kids playing Black Ops. Nevertheless, even though there are age restrictions on games that have violence in them many kids under that age will be playing them, I would say kids that are around 13 playing games like Black Ops. I feel as though kids at this age that are playing games like this have developed their brain enough to realize the difference between a video game and the real world and have been taught that violence like that is not okay. There is a difference however between kids getting more violent while actually playing the game such as kids “rage quitting” and having that violence persist after the game has been turned off. I feel as though once the game has been turned off most children understand that it is a game and will quickly get over it. I do not believe that violent first-person shooter games should be banned but just have better parental control about what their kids are playing. At a certain age when they believe their kids can handle the game and understand that it is just a game, then allow them to play those types of games.

Overall, I feel as though violent first-person shooter games do not have a major impact on weather or not a kid will become more violent due to these games. I think with proper control by the parents that at a certain age when kids understand its just a game should they be allowed to play them.

--Original published at Maddy Vingom's PSY105 Blog

The increase in violence in the media has piqued the concern in many Americans, especially when it comes to video games. Growing up I played video games with my siblings, most of which contained some form of violence. None of us became violent people as a result of these games, because my parents took proper precautions to ensure we knew the consequences of our actions if we mimic the behavior in real life. In addition to this, my parents also monitored what we were doing on these games and our behavior afterword. If they believed they were inappropriate for us they would confiscate them until they thought were mentally prepared.

I believe that it is the responsibility of the parents to determine whether or not their child has the mental capacity for violent video games, like my parents did. If a child is incapable of understanding the consequences of violence in real life, they should not be given permission to play violent games. Video game companies are required to place age limits for purchasing violent games and stores are required abide by the rules and will not sell games to children if they are under the age limit. The only option for obtaining these games for the child is if their parent or another adult buys it for them, ultimately making it the parents responsibility.

Overall, I believe that the regulations put in place ensure that the correct age group has access to these types of video games are very beneficial. When video games are used responsibly violence is not an issue.   

--Original published at Ally'sCollegeBlog

I never grow up playing video games, unless Wii counts. I do, however, see how violent some games are and it is scary that kids are able to access such inappropriate content. I do not think that every child who plays say Black Ops, will grow up to become an aggressive adult, but, on the other hand, I do not see any value in those types of video games.

There are age restrictions for purchase of certain video games, and there are the warnings of ’17+’ on the package, but that does not stop preteens and young children from playing. It is very surprising to me as well that parents would allow their child to play such violent games for hours on end.

I do not want violent video games to be banned though, because I believe that at a certain age, you can be exposed to that type of inappropriate content. At what age though? I would not want my eleven year old sister to be playing a non- age appropriate video game, but at a certain age, I think she will be able to make her own decisions on what she does.

As an adult, you are able to make decisions between right and wrong. You understand that murder and theft are wrong and not accepted by society. A young kid, does not know that. They grow up being exposed to a fake reality which is not conducive to their well being.

--Original published at Victoria's Psych Blog

I agree with Skinner’s assertion of operant conditioning is a powerful influence on free will. Humans have always been social creatures and surrounded by other influences. The minute we are born, we are under everyone else’s influence. Children are influenced by parenting styles, parent opinions, education, tv shows and books read to them at night. I believe that children are raised to be conditioned to the world views and rules. They are very vulnerable when they are infants and throughout development. That is nature. And as they are conditioned through parenting and other influences, they learn doing chores leads to cookies and biting leads to timeouts. The conditioning either sticks with them for the rest of their life or they choose to rebel against it. Either way, they are influenced to be on either of those paths. I personally have always grown up with my father teaching me that we are all conditioned to be the perfect citizens. He says that society always pushes you into society’s wants. Society wants to you to pay taxes, get married, have kids, own a house and buy stuff you might not need. Since I was raised with that viewpoint, I was influenced by parenting. I also feel influenced by my education and social media. I graduated from a school district that stressed going to college since I was seven. Social media influences all of us to want perfect picture lives and bodies have to be thin. Why are we conditioned to want these things?

--Original published at Voltage Blog

I grew up into a gaming family. I had three older brothers, all of them loved playing games. I could never play any games my parents deemed too violent, but I could watch my brothers play them. It was always a weird thing in my mind. As I got older I questioned my mother’s method behind this as to why I was not able to play such games with them, but was able to watch them. I think that violent games should be targeted towards older people. Younger kids would not be able to distinguish between real life and fantasy since their brains are not as developed yet. I think they will grow up with some more violent behavior, but not enough to commit dangerous acts.

I do not think that violent video games should be banned permanently. I believe parents should do a better job restricting access to such games with too much adult content. Companies and retail stores can only do so much to restrict access to these games, which leaves family and friends at fault for granting such to the younger generations. Violent games help relieve some built up anger in people who do not have ways of expressing their emotions in other ways.

--Original published at Ariana's Blog

Violent video games have always been a debated issue. Many children learn behaviors at a very young age. Violent video games with first person shooters and blood can teach the child unwanted behaviors at a young age. If they play these violent video games and learn from them, they may become more violent as they grow older. With that being said, I do not think that violent video games should be banned. If a child is young, he/she should not own those games or the parent should closely monitor what video games the child is playing. There are non-violent video games that are just as fun and more appropriate for a younger age. I also think that the amount of time playing these video games have an impact as well. The longer they spend playing these games, the more exposed they are to the high levels of violence. 

As the child grows older and matures, they have a better sense of reality and are able to make their own decisions. At an appropriate age, I think that the games a child chooses to play is his/her choice and they should be old enough to handle it. I would say an appropriate age is 14-15 years old (freshman in high school) because they are becoming adults, know it is just a game and will not repeat the actions they see in the video games. Even though there are age limits on the games, I feel that parents do not enforce them enough, and they should. 

--Original published at MaddieHinson

I think there are valid points on both sides of the “Violent video game” debacle. On one hand, I can see how if a child is constantly playing violent video games where there is shooting and killing people that it could be a concern they bring that into the real world. Kids pick up a lot from media, and a lot of times they act like images they see on TV, so why wouldn’t video games make them act more violently? Also, video games almost always allow the players a “Start over” option or have multiple lives where they can redo and try again. To me, if a child isn’t taught the lesson where we don’t have do-over’s or extra lives in real life, it could be a potentially dangerous situation. I can see why many parents wouldn’t want their kids to be exposed to such violence as well.

However, I believe that a violent person did not just learn to be violent through the work of technology. That person had to have other bad influences in their life as well. I think having a child play violent video games could be an okay parenting decision as long as they are being taught the right lessons in real life. A lot of times when I was really young and I watched a violent movie or one that involved things like drugs, my parents would have a discussion about what I Just watched to explain to me the difference between the movie and real life. They would use the examples in the movie, like doing cocaine, and explain how that can mess up your life, and make sure I understood or asked if I had any questions about it. I think that as long as the parent is involved in the child’s life and is making sure that they are learning the right lessons that it is okay to view violent movies or play violent video games.

I don’t think that banning violent video games would have a positive effect. For one, just because something is banned, does not mean that it is not obtainable. I’m sure it would just make prices of already violent games or ones made in other countries skyrocket. Also, I wouldn’t be sure how it could be controlled. Would the police enter homes and raid houses randomly to make sure there isn’t any violent games? I feel like that is a waste of time and resources.

--Original published at JanellesCollegeBlog

Growing up, I was not exposed to video games of any kind at my house. By the time I was old enough to understand the games my brother played, he was in college and did not live at home.

Although I was not exposed to violent video games at my house, I was when I went to some neighbor’s or friend’s houses. When I went to their houses, and saw their siblings playing games such as Call of Duty and today, Fortnite, I was taken back by what their parents would let them play. I also did not understand why my friend’s siblings would want to play a game that at the time, I thought was scary.

Although I do not think that playing these games will encourage a child to grow up to be more violent, I do not think it is a good idea for them to play games that show extreme violence. I believe it can give them a false sense of the world, and possibly make them more afraid of the world. Most people would not want their child to grow up in a violent neighborhood. I think by letting children play these games, they have the chance to experience the same psychological effects that would occur if they lived in a violent neighborhood. I do not think it is okay that children are taught from a young age through video games that randomized killing is okay. This could allow children to believe the type of violence displayed in these games is acceptable, when it is clearly not.

Despite what I stated in the previous paragraph, I do not think it is necessary to permanently ban violent video games. I believe there should be an age restriction on these games like the idea of a PG-13 rated movie. Like a movie though, it is ultimately up to each parent to decide what they would like to expose their child to when related to video games. When they make this decision, they should be aware their child could have psychological problems due to these games that they could have to deal with later. Violence in video games is a very controversial topic that will most likely continue to be discussed in future years.

--Original published at NataliesCollegeBlog

From Call of Duty to Fortnite, there are many games that kids, teenagers, and adults crave to play that promote violence. Seeing the frequent debate over video game violence has made me thinking that violent video games are causing people to become more violent. Comparing violent movies and video games, they all lead to some type of tension in people after they are done playing the game or watching the movie. I have noticed that after I watch a movie filled with violence, it has made me feel angry and uptight for a couple hours after the film has ended. This is what I think video games do to people too. My brother luckily never got into violent video games due to my parents not allowing him to buy them for our house; however, my cousins were allowed to. When I would watch my cousins play Call of Duty, I would notice how angry they would get with each other over who could play next, and would even push and shove for the controller. From first hand experience, I can say that violence in games are making gamers more fired up and tense. Not only does violence in video games make people angry, but it makes people not take violence as seriously in the real world. Kids that absorb violence in video games daily are thinking that it is okay to act violent. As these kids get older and become adults, it could cause them to think someone getting shot down the street is a normal occurrence rather than a concerning one.

Even though I think video games that promote violence will eventually promote violent kids/adults, I do not think a ban for all violent games is necessary. At this point, movies have just as much violence as video games. Getting rid of games would not eliminate other sources of entertainment with violence so it is not very beneficial to do. I think there should be more pressure for parents to limit the number of violent games their kids have and even maybe limit the amount of time their kids play them too. Limiting kids playing time could hopefully make kids less violent and allow them to focus on other activities.

--Original published at WilliamsCollegeBlog

Growing up I was never really into the shooting games. I was always playing the newest FIFA game or other sports games. It would make sense those to criticize the video game industry for having those types of games with all the gore and shooting. They know that they are making and advertising games that are violent and have an imagine behind being that kind of game. Each game that made does however have a rating that describes who they are supposed to be made for and allows who can buy a game. Most of those shooting games are rated at a level where people over the age of 17 can buy them without supervision. People know what they are getting into when purchasing such a game and how it is meant for older people. I remember when I bought Call of Duty at a young age, the cashier asked my mom if I could buy the game since I was under the recommended age.

I believe that there should not be a ban on these sorts of games. Growing up in a time when every kid was playing some sort of game that involved violence, I do not really see more acts of violence. I do not believe that these shooting games are causing the creation of more violence outside the world of video games. When kids of with there parents, they have some control on if they buy that one game. Once that kid is old enough to buy that one game though, they know what they are doing. However, I do believe that kids at a certain age should try and stay away from such video games. Obviously, that cannot be regulated and based on parental supervision. Hopefully a mom would not want there little kid watching or playing a game that brings a high level of violence.