Self Assessment

Self-Assessment

            Do video games really make youth more violent? In my Issue Exploration Project I discuss the violence in video games controversy. Both sides’ views are expressed in this paper where one side believes that the violence portrayed in video games causes violence in teens and the other side believes that there is no correlation between the two. While this has been a conflicting argument for a long time, recent discoveries have found no link between the two giving a new light to the side with no correlation. This has caused more debate as it has been proven before that violence in teens and games do relate to one another.

            While I do address both sides of the argument my writing sides with the no correlation side. Although new research is proving that there is no link between the two many people do not believe that this is true.  Much of the past blame for violence often leads back to video games. Considerably much of the past research is conducted on non-reliable tests. This alone could prove that there is no correlation between violence in games and violence in youth in the future.

            My work in English 1010 this semester has built up my writing skills. During the class we wrote many different kinds of papers, which improved my writing of different styles including rhetorical writing, annotated writing and reflecting on my own papers and essays. While in the writing process for these papers we were taught how to brainstorm and focus main ideas in different ways.

Self Assessment

IEP Revision

            In my Annotated Bibliography I looked at what sources I actually used and what information I actually took from them. Most of the sources from the original Bibliography I either did not use, did not use that information that I summarized about, or I found that information in a different source. Some sources that I originally had on the bibliography were not reliable sources so I found a better known or more reliable source. The final sources that I used for my bibliography were the ones that I used in the paper.

            In my Issue Exploration Project revision process I started by having multiple people read my paper and had them suggest changes that would make the paper easier to read. Some of the changes were just parts of sentences that needed to be re-worded. In other parts of the paper I added more detail to make it clearer. When talking about some of the studies I left out information that could have been useful to know when reading about the research. I added more detail to these parts about the research itself such as when the study was done or how it was conducted.

            In the next part of my revision I had a quote but did not explain why it was relevant to my research or the paper. I added more to this part as to explain the quote and why it had a connection to my paper. In other places in the paper I also had to explain more claims that I had made. Some I just needed to explain in greater depth and others I did not explain enough to make a connection to the paper.

            When talking about specific research that was done on violence in games I claimed that they were all similar, but I did not go into greater depth as to why they were all the same. Then I always tend to repeat myself when I write so I had multiple claims that were the same but worded differently. When I corrected I used these similar claims to prove a different point instead of getting rid of them completely.

            While some of my information just needed to be revised some needed to have a higher syntax. When I write longer papers I tend to use the same words over and over or repeat the same ideas with different wordings. When I revised this paper I looked at the words that I used too much and tried to replace them with words of higher diction. As I corrected my paper I had more people read it to look at the changes and suggest better ways that I could write what I was trying to say. This way my point comes across clearer and more precise. Also someone else will see any mistakes that I missed. With multiple people reading my paper it will always read smother.

            In my introduction paragraph I had to change some of the sentences to accurately reflect what I wrote about in each paragraph. While writing and doing more research I found more things to write about that needed to be covered in the introduction paragraph. While doing this research while writing and constantly finding new information I had to go back and read through the paper to make sure that I did not repeat myself or contradict myself anywhere. While doing this I read the paper multiple times myself so I can find anything that needed to be changed before anyone else read it.

            When I was done revising my paper I read over it one last time to find anywhere that I missed or did not correct all the way. Doing this helps me to make sure that I revised everything that was suggested to me or that I found that needed changed. Then I have someone else read it one last time to do the same.

Issue Exploration Essay

Violence in Video Games

            For a long time it has been thought that violence in video games can cause more violence and aggressiveness in teens. More recent studies however are uncovering that this is not the case. Most previous research done on this topic shows that teens absorb the violence they see in the games giving them a more aggressive behavior. More recent studies indicate that video games become an outlet for these aggressive feelings and do not contribute to their behavior. These games are not the blame of all the violence they are said to be the cause of. The media pushes them to take the blame for teen violence that research has show is on the downfall.

            Recent studies on violence in video games suggest that these games do not cause a more aggressive behavior in youth. These studies focus on the games as being an outlet for aggression rather than a stimulant. “Sales of video games have more than quadrupled from 1995-2008, while the arrest rate for juvenile murders fell 71.9% and the arrest rate for all juvenile violent crimes declined 49.3% in this same period.” (ProCon) This new data demonstrates that while the proliferation of games has increased the rate of violent teen crimes has greatly decreased.

            Another study recently done by researchers at Villanova University and Rutgers University states that the connection between violence in video games and the real world is not related. Most research says that violence in games can lead to violent youth crimes, but this is not the case. "Finding that a young man who committed a violent crime also played a popular video game, such as Call of Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto, is as pointless as pointing out that the criminal also wore socks" (GameSpot) This contradicts most previous research in pointing out that most youth today have played these violent games. This is trying to conclude that with everyone playing these games there is no relation between the games and violent crimes. In addition to this statement the researchers found that the release of an M-rated game affected the crime rate in the following months. “…homicides tended to decrease in the months following the release of popular M-rated violent video games." (GameSpot) This data shows that with the increased sale of video games the violent teen crime rate goes down. This is the opposite of what claims from other research that violent games lead to violent crimes. With the results from this research and other studies like it, video games are being proven to have no connection with teen violence.

“So, how can we determine whether watching depictions of violence will turn us all into killing machines, rapists, robbers, or just plain ol’ desensitized thugs? Well, how about looking at the real world! Whatever lab experiments might suggest, the evidence of a link between depictions of violence in media and the real-world equivalent just does not show up in the data.” (Thierer) This writer claims that all the evidence that shows how violence and games are connected do not show up anywhere in the real world. The studies say that youth who play violent games have a more aggressive attitude and violent actions, while the real world data says that violent youth crimes have decreased over the years.

With more and more research pointing towards no connection between violent games and violent crimes, more people press towards the connection between them. The media itself presses the issue continually to try and show some connection to also further their own agenda on banning these games.  “Some lawmakers have also called for restrictions on violent video games, but CBS News correspondent Chip Reid reported in January that in 2011 the Supreme Court struck down a California statute banning the sale of violent video games for people under 18, saying the games were protected under the First Amendment.” (CBS) The more the issue is pressed to ban these violent games the more researchers find no connection and press for these games to not be banned.

With these research results in mind many researchers say the exact opposite, that This has been a controversial topic for a long time. Most previous research shows that youth playing violent games lead to more aggressive behaviors and violence. These researches all conduct similar tests to analyze the effect of the violent games on the brain. “But a closer look at kids who played more hours of violent video games per week revealed increases in aggressive behavior and violent tendencies, compared to those who played fewer hours a week.” (Time) This research believes that by playing more violent games it teaches youth to think in a more violent way. This is what is believed to cause the aggression. The violence in the games desensitizes youth to real world violence. “What this study does is show that its media violence exposure that is teaching children and adolescents to see the world in a more aggressive kind of way,” says Anderson. “It shows very strongly that repeated exposure to violent video games can increase aggression by increasing aggressive thinking.” (Time)

            Research done on this also suggests that the exposure to the violence in these games may change the brain. After a longer amount of exposure to the violence less activity is thought to be in the brain segment connected with emotions. This is where the youth would become more prone to aggressiveness. “In a 2011 study, for example, after a week of daily video gaming, brain scans of a small group of volunteers showed less activity in the regions connected to emotions, attention, and inhibition of impulses compared to participants who played non-violent video games.” (Time)

            With the idea that violence in games is giving youth a more aggressive and violent attitude, many violent teen crimes and other violent crimes are thought to have been influenced by video games. Many researchers believe that the violence in these games influence the decision-making skills to act out the violent things that the player sees in the game. The media and others who support this claim of violence in games leads to youth violence, have pushed the agenda of blaming video games to be the rood cause of violent crimes since the Columbine shooting in 1999. They blamed the video game Doom for the violence perpetrated by Eric Harris and Dylan Keybold. The shooters for numerous of these crimes have one thing in common and it is not video games, it is mental illness. The media is always looking for something to blame such as games, or guns, but sometimes it is just the person himself or herself. Many shootings such as Columbine, Virginia Tech, the Colorado Movie Theatre, and Sandyhook Elementary are thought to be other examples of a video game influenced violent crime, though there is no evidence to suggest the architects of these crimes got their ideas from violent video games. There is evidence that shows that all of the shooters did have one thing in common, a history of a mental illness.

Video games have taken the blame for youth violence for a long time as pushed by the media. More and more current studies are proving that this is not the case.  Current teen violent crimes are steadily decreasing and the sale of games is steadily increasing as the years go by. With research still proving the innocence of the games, this can never be true all the time. Violence in video games can be the cause of occasional violent crime, but not to blame for all the cases the media tells about.  Through the years there has also been an increase in the media that is readily available to the public. By the increase of media the coverage of this topic has also increased. With the steady increase of sales it will be hard to find someone who has not played these games in the future rather than someone who has not played them. With violence everywhere, not just in games; but also in the news, books, and movies it is a mystery why games get the blame alone and are attacked for this purpose.

  

Works Cited

ProCon.org. "Violent Video Games ProCon.org" ProCon.org. 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://videogames.procon.org/>.

"Do Violent Video Games Boost Aggression? Study Adds Fire to Debate."Fox News. FOX News Network, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

"Violent Video Games Don't Lead to Increases In Violent Crimes, Study Finds." GameSpot. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Carey, Benedict. "Shooting in the Dark." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

“Violent Video Games and Mass Violence: A Complex Link.” CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2014.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

"Do Violent Video Games Boost Aggression? Study Adds Fire to Debate."Fox News. FOX News Network, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.

                      This is an article from a journal done by Fox news. That makes this a credible source that includes evidence from studies done by scientists and the refute of other scientists. This article shows research that supports the belief that exposure to violence in videogames leads to more aggressive behavior in children later. The opposing side claims that there is no link what so ever and that these studies have flaws in them. Then there is a section of the article that speaks to the parents about having to decide what is best for their own family and respecting the decisions of other families. This is a suggestion that violence in video games has a different effect on everyone. Some may be greatly influenced while others may have no effect at all. This may prove the research flawed or define a new kind of test for scientists to evaluate with more accurate results.

"Violent Video Games Don't Lead to Increases In Violent Crimes, Study Finds." GameSpot. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

                     

                      This is a more recent article, from this year, from a gaming website about a recent study on violence in video games. This refutes the studies trying to prove a connection between violence in video games and violent behavior in children and teens. This article shows that video game, both with and without violence, have increased sales dramatically.  What the studies on behavior often don’t mention that this article does is that violent crimes in teens have been on the decline as the sales of these games goes up. This means more people are exposed to the violence and this is becoming common for people to play violent video games and fewer teens committing crimes. This may be contributed to the violence in the games creating an environment for the violence to occur. The article claims that playing these violent games have no association with behavior or crimes as most people have played them making the studies irrelevant.

Carey, Benedict. "Shooting in the Dark." The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Feb. 2013. Web. 25 Oct. 2014.

This article is from the New York Times which is a very well know source making it a credible place for information. This online article talks about different studies that have been conducted to find the connection between aggressive or violent behavior and violence in video games. In one study covered by this research the scientists found that high crime in teens were higher about a month after a spike in video game sales. This is thought to be the aggression coming after playing these games. Some studies were done about giving someone hot sauce after others playing the game Mortal Combat. The general analysis was that the ones who played the game were more aggressive about giving the person the hot sauce. This is said to show the immediate correlation between the game and aggressive behavior. Overall this article is covering multiple experiments showing a relation between violent behavior and violence in video games.

            ProCon.org. "Violent Video Games ProCon.org" ProCon.org. 6 Oct. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014. <http://videogames.procon.org/>.

All the pros and cons are listed in this article about violence in video games contributing to violence in youth today. It gives facts about the amount of games sold to different ages. It also gives many statistics about the increase of video games sold over all. This is a credible source and has its own testimonials page with many credible people advocating the use of this site including many well-known figures such as Time magazine. This website also gives other pro and con issues and shows both sides to the argument. At the end of the article this page also shows all of the sources and documents used in creating these pros and cons. This shows many people who are against the violence in video games and why, but also the people who refute the opposing side and why. Many of the sources used in this document are studies and documents form previous years that are credible and produced by scientists, giving more credible sources to these factual sides.