Do violent video games contribute to youth violence?
97% of 12-17 year olds in the US played video games in 2008, thus fueling an $11.7 billion domestic
video game industry. In 2008, 10 of the top 20 best-selling video games in the US contained violence.
Violent video games have been blamed for school shootings, increases in bullying, and violence
towards women. Critics argue that these games desensitize players to violence, reward players for
simulating violence, and teach children that violence is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts.
Video game advocates contend that a majority of the research on the topic is deeply flawed and that no
causal relationship has been found between video games and social violence. They argue that violent
video games may reduce violence by serving as a substitute for rough and tumble play and by
providing a safe outlet for aggressive and angry feelings.
Did You Know?
1. 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.
2. The 2008 study Grand Theft Childhood reported that 60% of middle school boys that played at
least one Mature-rated game hit or beat up someone, compared to 39% of boys that did not play
Mature-rated games.
3. California passed a law in 2005 that would have required violent video games to include an "18"
label and criminalized the sale of these games to minors. On June 27, 2011, the US Supreme
Court ruled 7-2 in Brown vs. Entertainment Merchants Association (485 KB)
that the law
violated free speech rights.
4. Following the controversy involving hidden sexually explicit content in Grand Theft Auto: San
Andreas, then-Senator of New York Hillary Clinton introduced a bill in 2005 to criminalize selling
"Mature" or "Adults Only" rated video games to minors, arguing that video games were a "silent
epidemic of desensitization." The Family Entertainment Protection Act was referred to the
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and expired at the end of the
109th Congress without becoming law.
5. In 2008, 298.2 million video games were sold in the US, totaling $11.7 billion in revenue. Six of
the top ten best-selling video games included violence, with four of the games carrying a
"Mature" rating recommended for persons aged 17 and older.
PRO Contribute to Youth Violence
1. Increasing reports of bullying can be partially attributed
to the popularity of violent video games. The 2008 study
Grand Theft Childhood reported that 60% of middle
school boys who played at least one Mature-rated
game hit or beat up someone, compared to 39% of
boys that did not play Mature-rated games. [2]
2. Video games often reward players for simulating
violence, and thus enhance the learning of violent
behaviors. Studies suggest that when violence is
rewarded in video games, players exhibit increased
aggressive behavior (112 KB) compared to players of
video games where violence is punished.
3. Violent video games desensitize players to real-life
violence. It is common for victims in video games to
disappear off screen when they are killed or for players
to have multiple lives. In a 2005 study, violent video
game exposure has been linked to reduced P300
amplitudes in the brain (275 KB) , which is associated
with desensitization to violence and increases in
aggressive behavior.
4. A 2000 FBI report (187 KB) includes playing violent
video games in a list of behaviors associated with
school shootings.
5. Violent video games teach youth that violence is an
acceptable conflict-solving strategy (193 KB) and an
appropriate way to achieve one's goals. A 2009 study
found that youth who play violent video games have
lower belief in the use of nonviolent strategies and are
less forgiving than players of nonviolent video games.
6. Violent video games cause players to associate
pleasure and happiness with the ability to cause pain in
others. [3]
7. Young children are more likely to confuse fantasy
violence with real world violence, and without a
framework for ethical decision making, they may mimic
the actions they see in violent video games. [4]
8. Violent video games require active participation,
repetition, and identification with the violent character.
With new game controllers allowing more physical
interaction, the immersive and interactive
characteristics of video games can increase the
likelihood of youth violence. [5]
9. Playing violent video games increases aggressive
CON Contribute to Youth Violence
1. Violent juvenile crime in the United States has
been declining as violent video game popularity
has increased. The arrest rate for juvenile
murders has fallen 71.9% between 1995 and
2008. The arrest rate for all juvenile violent
crimes has declined 49.3%. In this same period,
video game sales have more than quadrupled. [7]
[8]
2. A causal link between violent video games and
violent behavior has not been proven (112 KB) .
Many studies suffer from design flaws and use
unreliable measures of violence and aggression
such as noise blast tests. Thoughts about
aggression have been confused with aggressive
behavior, and there is a lack of studies that follow
children over long periods of time.
3. A 2004 US Secret Service review of previous
school-based attacks found that one-eighth of
attackers exhibited an interest in violent video
games, less than the rate of interest attackers
showed in violent movies, books, and violence in
their own writings (1.6 MB) . The report did not
find a relationship between playing violent video
games and school shootings.
4. The small correlations that have been found
between video games and violence may be
explained by violent youth being drawn to violent
video games. Violent games do not cause youth
to be violent. Instead, youth that are predisposed
to be violent seek out violent entertainment such
as video games.
5. Playing violent video games reduces violence in
adolescent boys by serving as a substitute for
rough and tumble play (115 KB) . Playing violent
video games allows adolescent boys to express
aggression and establish status in the peer group
without causing physical harm.
6. Video game players understand they are playing
a game. Their ability to distinguish between
fantasy and reality prevents them from emulating
video game violence in real life. [9]
7. Playing violent video games provides a safe
outlet for aggressive and angry feelings. A 2007
study (261 KB) reported that 45% of boys played
video games because "it helps me get my anger
behavior and arousal (162 KB) . A 2009 study found
that it takes up to four minutes for the level of
aggressive thoughts and feelings in children to return to
normal after playing violent video games. It takes five to
ten minutes for heart rate and aggressive behavior to
return to baseline. Video games that show the most
blood generate more aggressive thoughts. When blood
is present in video games, there is a measurable
increase in arousal and hostility (144 KB) .
10. Playing violent video games causes the development of
aggressive behavioral scripts (141 KB) . A behavioral
script is developed from the repetition of actions and
affects the subconscious mind. An example of a
common behavioral script is a driving script that tells
drivers to get in a vehicle, put on a seat belt, and turn
on the ignition. Similarly, violent video games can lead
to scripts that tell youth to respond aggressively in
certain situations. Violence in video games may lead to
real world violence when scripts are automatically
triggered in daily life, such as being nudged in a school
hallway.
11. A 1998 study found that 21% of games sampled
involved violence against women (165 KB) . Exposure
to sexual violence in video games is linked to increases
in violence towards women and false attitudes about
rape (47 KB) such as that women incite men to rape or
that women secretly desire rape.
12. Several studies in both the United States and Japan
have shown that, controlling for prior aggression,
children who played more violent video games during
the beginning of the school year showed more
aggression than their peers (288 KB) later in the
school year.
13. Exposure to violent video games is linked to lower
empathy in players (192 KB) . In a 2004 study of 150
fourth and fifth graders by Professor Jeanne Funk,
violent video games were the only type of media
associated with lower empathy. Empathy, the ability to
understand and enter into another's feelings, plays an
important role in the process of moral evaluation and is
believed to inhibit aggressive behavior.
14. When youth view violence in video games, they are
more likely to fear becoming a victim of acts of violence.
According to a 2000 joint statement by six leading
national medical associations including the American
Medical Association and American Psychological
Association, this escalated fear results in youth not
trusting others and taking violent self-protective
measures (103 KB) .
out" and 62% played because it "helps me relax."
8. Violent video games provide healthy and safe
opportunities for children to virtually explore rules
and consequences of violent actions. Violent
games also allow youth to experiment with issues
such as war, violence and death (211 KB)
without real world consequences.
9. The level of control granted to video game
players, especially in terms of pace and directing
the actions of their character, allows youth to
regulate their emotional state during play (601 KB)
. Research shows that a perception of being in
control reduces emotional and stressful
responses to events.
10. Alarmist claims similar to current arguments
against violent video games have been made in
the past when new media such as radio, movies,
and television have been introduced. Claims that
these various mediums would result in surges in
youth violence also failed to materialize.
11. Violent video games may affect the form of
violence (191 KB) , but does not cause the
violence to occur. Youth might model violent acts
on what they have seen in video games, but the
violence would still occur in the absence of video
games.
12. Exposure to violent video games has not been
shown to be predictive of violent behavior or
crime. Any link found between video games and
violence is best explained by other variables
such as exposure to family violence and
aggressive personality. [10]
13. When research does show that violent video
games cause more arousal and aggression, it is
because the comparative game is less exciting
(286 KB)
. A short-term increase in arousal and
aggression does not mean a child is going to
leave his or her house and commit a violent act.
14. In 2005, the US had 2,279 murders committed by
teenagers (27.9 per million residents) compared
to 73 in Japan (3.1 per million). Per capita video
game sales were $5.20 in the US compared to
$47 in Japan. This example illustrates that there
is no correlation between violent behavior and
playing video games. [11] [12] [13]
15. Violent video games can train youth to be killers. The
US Marine Corps licensed Doom II in 1996 to create
Marine Doom in order to train soldiers. In 2002, the US
Army released first-person shooter America's Army to
recruit soldiers and prepare recruits for the battlefield.
[6]
Are social networking sites good for our society?
The popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com more than quadrupled from 2005 to
2009. Many users say the sites are good for our society, but others contend
that
the
dangers
of
social
media
outweigh
the
benefits.
Proponents of social networking sites argue that these online communities
promote increased communication with friends and family, familiarize people
with valuable computer skills, and allow contact with people from around the
world.
Opponents argue that social networking sites expose children to predators,
increase vulnerability to computer viruses, lower worker productivity, and
promote narcissism and short attention spans.
Did You Know?
1. 43% of online sexual solicitors were identified as being adolescents (under 18), 30% were adults between the ages
of 18 and 21, and 9% were adults over the age of 21 (as of Dec. 31, 2008).
2. Social networking and blogging sites accounted for 17% (about one in every six minutes) of all time spent on the
Internet (180 KB)
[20] in Aug. 2009, nearly three times as much as in 2008.
3. Twitter was so important to the Iranian protests after the Iranian presidential election in June 2009 that the US State
Department asked Twitter to delay a scheduled network upgrade that would have taken the website offline at a busy
time of day in Iran. Twitter complied and rescheduled the downtime to 1:30 am Tehran time.
4. On Nov. 3, 2008, the day before the US presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had
2,379,102 Facebook supporters while Republican candidate John McCain had 620,359. Obama had 833,161
MySpace friends and McCain had 217,811. Obama had 384% more Facebook supporters and 383% more
MySpace friends than McCain.
5. Russians spend more time on social networking sites than people in any other country, an average of 6.6 hours per
month compared to the worldwide average of 3.7 hours per month.
Pro & Con Arguments: "Are social networking sites good for our society?"
PRO Social Networking Sites
1. Social networking sites allow people to create new
relationships and reconnect with friends and family.
Increased communication, even online, strengthens
relationships.
2. Social networking sites allow for creative expression
in a new medium. They provide free messaging,
blogging, photo storage, games, event invitations,
and many other services to anyone with access to a
computer and the Internet.
3. Social networking sites bring people with common
interests together, offer exposure to new ideas from
around the world, and lower inhibitions to overcome
social anxiety. People who have a difficulty
communicating in person are more comfortable
interacting via the Internet.
4. 60 million Americans received help with major life
issues (975 KB)
[21] (changing jobs, finding a new
place to live, buying a car, and caring for someone
with an illness) from people in their social networks
in 2006. These people said social networking sites
helped them connect with friends and experts who
assisted in their decisions.
5. 59% of students with access to the Internet (950 KB)
[22] report that they use social networking sites to
discuss educational topics including career and
college planning, and 50% use the sites to talk
about school assignments. Some parents and
teachers say that using these sites helps students
improve their reading, writing, and conflict resolution
skills, learn to express themselves more clearly,
and meet new and different kinds of students from
around the world. [2]
CON Social Networking Sites
1. Social networking sites entice people to spend more
time online and less time interacting face-to-face.
The sites offer many time wasting activities that
supplant more productive activities. Teens spend an
average of nine hours per week on social
networking sites (950 KB) . [22]
2. Teens growing up with these sites may not be
aware that the information they post is public and
that photos and text can be retrieved even after
deletion. Consequences from over-sharing personal
information include vulnerability to sexual or
financial predators and lost job opportunities from
employers finding embarrassing photos or
comments.
3. Social networking sites have no way to verify that
people are who they claim to be, leaving people
vulnerable to solicitations from online predators who
are able to mask their true identities. In Feb. 2009,
MySpace identified 90,000 registered sex offenders
with profiles on the site, while Facebook declined to
reveal how many were present on its site. Even if
the sites agree to remove sex offenders, they
cannot identify all of them or stop them from
creating new accounts. [6]
4. Social networking sites make cyberbullying, a type
of bullying that occurs online, easier and more
public than bullying through other online activities
such as email and instant messaging. A 2009 study
found that 17.3% of middle school students have
been victims of cyberbullying. [7] Victims often
experience a drop in grades, decreased selfesteem, and other symptoms of depression. [8]
6. Social media helps low-income kids become more
familiar with computers and related technology. One
study showed that nearly three quarters of children
from poor households have profiles on MySpace or
Facebook. By using these websites, they have
learned how to edit and upload photos and videos,
and have become experienced in using html code
to personalize their profile pages. [3]
5. The US Marine Corps banned the use of all social
media sites on its networks because the sites are "a
proven haven for malicious actors and content and
are particularly high risk due to information
exposure, user generated content and targeting by
adversaries." [9] The entire Department of Defense
is considering a ban on social networking sites
because of concerns over security threats and
potential computer viruses.
7. Studies have shown that being part of a social
network has a positive impact, including increased
quality of life and a reduction in the risk of health
problems. They help improve stroke recovery,
6. The use of social networking sites can cause
personality and brain disorders in children, such as
the inability to have real conversations, limited
attention spans, a need for instant gratification,
memory retention, and overall well-being. [4]
8. Internet users have larger social networks than nonusers, and using social networking sites to maintain
those relationships facilitates more face-to-face
interaction. Internet users are augmenting their
offline social networks, not replacing them. [5]
9. Social media can be a powerful tool for social
change and an alternative to more traditional
methods of communication. During the protests of
the Iranian election in June 2009, protestors used
Twitter to circumvent government control over
phones and the media. Twitter was so important
that the US State Department asked Twitter to
delay a network upgrade that would have taken the
website offline at a busy time of day in Iran. Twitter
complied and rescheduled the downtime to 1:30 am
Tehran time. The ability to remain anonymous
helped protect people who were spreading
information in real time.
10. To make social networking sites safer for children,
the sites have minimum age requirements and
default settings based on the user's age to protect
children. MySpace, for example, requires users to
be at least 14 years old, and the profiles of all users
under the age of 16 are automatically set to
"private" so they cannot be found during a general
search.
11. Social media sites are expanding from general
interest to more specific uses that benefit society.
For example, sites have been created for medical
purposes such as dealing with life altering diseases,
alcoholism, drug addiction, weight loss, and autism.
Social networking sites with a specific focus help
introduce people to others who are dealing with
similar issues and provide information, contacts,
peer support, and encouragement.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
and self-centered personalities. The fast pace of the
sites may rewire the brain with repeated exposure
because parts of the brain used for traditional,
offline activities become underused. [10]
7. The hours per day of face-to-face socializing have
declined as the use of social media has increased.
People who use these sites frequently are prone to
social isolation. Parents spend less time with their
children and couples spend less time together even
when they live in the same house, because they are
using the Internet instead of interacting with each
other. [11]
8. A 2007 study found that workers using Facebook in
the office were costing Australian businesses up to
$4.5 billion (US) per year. [12] A Feb. 2009 report
stated that social networking sites were costing UK
businesses an estimated $12.5 billion (US)
annually. [13] Numbers for lost revenue from lower
worker productivity when employees use social
networking sites in the US are not available, but one
study found that two-thirds of US workers with
Facebook accounts access that site during work
hours. [14]
9. A false sense of security may leave social
networking site users vulnerable to security attacks
such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and
sending viruses. People trust messages sent
through social networking sites and consider them
more legitimate than emails. However, social
networks do not scan messages for viruses or
phishing scams, while most email accounts do scan
the messages for spam and viruses through
antivirus software.
10. The public nature of online profiles creates security
risks about which most users are unaware.
Cybercriminals can gather information to be used
for identity theft from social networking profiles,
such as birthdays, pet names, mothers' maiden
names, names of children, and other details often
used in passwords and security questions. Offline
crime may result from posting personal information,
like home robberies committed after a person
announces vacation plans and alerts criminals
when the home will be left unattended.
11. Social networking sites were created to make
money, not to improve peoples' lives. These
websites use networks of online friends to
accumulate data about people for the purpose of
selling advertising. The sites place cookies on the
users' computers, gather information, and track
interests to show personalized ads. These
advertising practices may constitute an invasion of
privacy.