--Original published at Carly's College Blog

Violence in video games has been gaining more and more controversy over the past few years. Most of this controversy being negative, people have been claiming it leads to violent behavior and other issues as well. I think there are pros and cons to these types of video games.  A child’s environment growing up has a strong impact on their development. The easy access kids have to these types of video games brings them into their daily routine at a younger age. Growing up playing violent games, especially with today’s technology, could definitely have an impact on a developing child if their parents are not limiting them or monitoring screen time.

However, I do not think these games just flip a switch and turn a kid aggressive. There are most likely going to be other contributors to a child violently acting out then just the fact that he or she owns an aggressive game. it could be a mental health condition, a family situation, or something else the child has experienced. I read an article one time for a separate class that argued violence in literature also has an impact. Their claim was that it doesn’t turn someone aggressive, but it could change the way they respond to provocation. I could easily see this working with video games as well. A child gets into a disagreement with a friend, are they more likely to confront them and talk, or hit them? Again, for the answer I think it depends on the situation and other confounding variables.

I think that as long as parents are monitoring their child and limiting how much exposure they receive, the video games are okay. I also think their needs be a stronger age restriction because there is simply no reason why young kids need this kind of exposure so early in their lives.

--Original published at jennacampanellipsych

I believe there is a good and bad side to everything, and violent video games is no exception. So due to this, my perspective on violent video games is mixed. On one hand, they can be very gory and may normalize this kind of violence. Children are very impressionable and too many of these video games may lead to kids being violent because they saw it on their games. It may also cause children to be aggressive later in life. This can also lead to bullying, or much worse-school shootings. Yet we cannot blame violent video games for all of this. I believe it could have positive effects too. It could be a therapeutic outlet for aggression instead of actually acting on it. Video games also help children with concentration and accuracy. I do not think all violent video games should be banned, but I think we should take a look at the worse ones out there. There is a line that could be crossed, then I think banning that game would be a good idea. But I think banning every video game with any kind of violence would not be a good idea. Age restrictions are a good way to avoid too young of children to be playing these games, only older children should be able to play in my opinion. Violent video games have been around for awhile and everyone has their own strong opinion, but the most important thing should be the effect on the children.

--Original published at Kaylyn's PSY105 Blog

For this week’s first- impression post I decided to talk about violence in video games. Personally, I have not played any first-person shooter games in depth; however, I have watched multiple people play them. Video games like “Call of Duty” or “Black-Ops” or even “Fortnite”, have become super popular, even in my own friend group. I believe that these games have become increasingly popular due to the idea that if you kill off a lot of people then you win. People love to be winners and that will make them more interested in these games where you could become the winner.  Personally, I am not a fan of shooter games because even though its all a game, I do not like pointing a virtual gun at a virtual person and pulling the virtual trigger. In my mind I do not see that as fun and I find it a bit disturbing at the end of the day. Although, I think there is a line between video game violence and actual violence. I do not believe that video games will cause a person to become a violent shooter. I think if someone is interested in violence, there is an underlying mental illness there which may cause them to turn to video games for a release. I think that for certain people these games are just a way to have fun with themselves and their friends. On the idea of banning them I do not believe it is necessary. I believe that there are age restrictions on games for a reason and that people need to respect them. Little kids that are below 18 should not be able to have access to these games, because they may make bad decisions. Overall, I am not a fan of violent video games; however, I do not see them as an evil thing that needs to be banned and erased. Video games are meant for fun at the end of the day, but also need to be handled maturely; especially, violent video games.

--Original published at Site Title

I would have to disagree with Skinner’s belief that there is no such thing as free will. To me, I see operant conditioning as the way life flows. As humans we either continue to do things, or stop doing things based on the response to our actions. Obviously, if we get punished for doing something we will not do it anymore, and if we get rewarded for something, we will continue to do it. For operant conditioning we still have to think about, and have control over the actions we are doing. I think the  loss of free will comes into play with the concept of classical conditioning, where a certain stimuli makes us do automatically do something without really thinking about it.

--Original published at Rachelsblog

Technology has been taking over our world for the past 20 years, but not necessarily all in a good way. Over these years, the amount of violent video games has increased. There are many negative criticisms towards these violent games. It has shown to have negative effects on the child playing the game. Young children and teenagers are playing these games and resulting of it, they have a more aggressive behavior towards real life people because they are aggressive to the characters in the game, so they think it is okay. I agree with this and think that young children, who have not had the chance to have their brains matured and developed, should not be playing such violent video games. This could lead to them thinking it is alright to be violent in real life.

In class, we have touched on the parenting styles and how the environment a child grows up in shapes the child. If parents allow and encourage their child to play these violent games, it will cause the child to be more aggressive and be negative towards the people around them. I do not think these video games should stop being sold, they just need to be monitored and sold to the correct age group.

--Original published at David's Blog

For this week’s impression post I decided to talk about option two violence in video games. The claim is that the violence and detail in video games manipulates children in being violent. These accusations are making people crack down on violent video games, from just regulating them to out right banning them. I myself find both of these ideas not necessary.

Personally I play video games almost daily, I think them to be a stress reliever or simply just a way to have fun. Now i’m not going to say video games can’t have an affect on children, I definitely think they can. What the problem is with violent video games go back to the parents and how the teach there kids to understand them. First of all parents need to realize that the violent video games have ratings on them telling you your child shouldn’t play the game till there a certain age. Further more if you do purchase these violent games for you child as a parent you need to explain to them this game isn’t real. Also teach them that if they replicate the actions in the game there are real world consequences.

So do I believe we need to ban violent video games, absolutely not. We need to reinforce the parenting to children who play these violent video games.

--Original published at Taylor'sEtownCollegeBlog

I believe violent video games are beneficial to an extent. The violence in video games allows for an expression of anger so the people who play the games do not show the physical violence. Violent video games are a way for those with anger issues to release this said anger and relax. These games also often require lots of problem-solving skills and team work and many citizens who play these games can benefit from the improvement of these skills. I do not however, agree with the amount of guts and gore of the video games. I believe the graphicness of the games is not needed and only adds a gruesomeness to the game. Also, I do not think that children of any age should be allowed to play these games because they can be influenced by the amount of violence.

I do not believe violent video games should be allowed to be permanently banned. This is a civil right to play these games and the government should not be allowed to take that away. I personally do not play violent video games; however, they are often a crucial part of many teenagers lives along with adults. The games are often interactive between other people from different countries and cities and towns and helps to foster interact that could otherwise never happen. For people who are self-conscious and shy around others face to face, the violent video games often provide an option for interaction between those who are not as comfortable with face to face interaction.
~Taylor

--Original published at Tyler's Ideas

Today, video games are very popular among children and young adults. The level of violence in these video games has risen, as stated in the prompt. I believe the fact that this level has risen has impacted the level of violence in everyday life. The number of shootings has sky rocketed recently and it may have something to do with the violent video games so many have becoming almost addicted too. Seeing and hearing gun shots and killing may have an effect of the mental state of the children.

Although I do not believe the answer is to ban video games, I do believe there should be stricter rules on the age requirement. A child of a young age being exposed to this type of violence may make them think it is okay when it absolutely is not. Something must change in order to lessen the gun violence. I am not saying that violent video games are the only reason, or even a primary reason to the gun violence but I do believe it plays a role.

--Original published at Zachs College Blog

The increase of kids playing first person shooter games and gore games has had a dramatic increase over the past 20 years. It has led to many negative criticisms and associations with children. Some negative affects that have been associated with kids playing violent video games is that they see increases in aggressive behaviors and actions in their daily lives. It also shows increases in aggressive thoughts and angry feelings overall making kids more negative than normal. I believe that kids playing violent games can spark an increase in violence but isn’t the only reason why some kids act out. Another big reason of why kids become aggressive and violent is due to the environment which they are raised in. If a kid is raised in a household with parents who are physically and emotionally abuse each other their kids will have a much higher chance of being violent and abusive. Violent video games might be a way for kids to lash out on make believe characters and games instead of actually doing it in real life which is very beneficial for kids. Although violent video games have proven to show an increase in aggressive behaviors and thoughts, I do not believe they should create a ban or stop selling these types of games to young children because it gives a way for people to  get away from the violence they see on a daily basis in their homes. Its also a great way for kids to get their anger out by killing computerized characters and not acting out in real life.

--Original published at HarrysCollegeBlog

Video Gaming as a whole can have many reasons why people are drawn to play them, whether they are to escape reality’s harshness, or just to have a fun time playing the game. Even before video games existed, violence did. Violence  has existed much before we have, and it still will. Video games, although may be a contributing factor to the rise of violence, are not necessarily the only reason. A game can be violent, and graphic, but without the factor of fun, it looses its meaning. We play video games because we find them to be fun, and plenty of people who play violent video games don’t end up committing crimes.

The Main contributing factor is how people are raised. If they are raised under bad conditions such as child abuse, alcoholic parents, then they might be more inclined to violence. These also can lead to them finding video games as a way to escape reality’s harshness, but more often than not, they become more addicted to the game, than their desire to do harm, as that desire is fulfilled by the violent game they are playing. Gaming can be cathartic, despite its violent nature, and its better to ensure a happy, safe environment with good parents than focusing on banning video games.