When
Nintendo and Atari introduced the 1990's to a new two-dimensional world of
Marios, Sonics, and Zeldas, one could hardly envision the development of modern
virtual reality entertainment. While today's top titles like Call of
Duty, Halo, or Grand Theft Auto are
masterpieces of realism, gamers are exposed to an increasingly intrusive degree
of gore and violence. Aggressive influences grieve the brain steeped in violent
video games, and research warns of impacts from a personal to societal level.
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| What attracts people to this? |
What sets violence
in video games apart from other media is the degree of user interaction. Unlike
passively watching a movie, playing a video game requires you to "interact
with the game psychologically and emotionally as well. You’re not just watching
the characters on screen; you’re becoming those characters."6 What's
more, this concentration on virtual aggression is rewarded by progressing
through the game. The brain becomes numbed3 to violent imagery and
extreme responses in a fantasy realm well on its way to virtual reality.
Have you
considered why game developers strive for higher tiers of realism? Can it be
that gamers are best entertained exactly when their brains are best fooled into
responding sincerely to a virtual environment? Or is it that their successes in
the game come closer to realization as concrete achievements? In either case,
violent video games foster cognitions that interpret false brutality as a channel
to ease psychological strain4.
The observation
that individuals already struggling with depression, frustration, and
aggression will likely prefer violent gaming does not dismiss a symbiotic
relationship between game violence and these negative traits. In fact, such video
games work to deepen the darkness of a troubled mind. The virtual realm can
serve as a playground, or rather, a boot camp for frightening mental pathways with
the potential of translating into the gamer's physical world. Anderson and Dill
report that violent video games "provide a forum for learning and
practicing aggressive solutions to conflict situations."
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| Call of Duty: Black Ops II grossed $1billion within 15 days of release. Photo: http://thecybersafetylady.com.au/ |
Young people with
a mind desensitized to violence and trained to respond aggressively in
stressful circumstances are a great risk to their communities. Even
subconscious thinking patterns can propagate from the virtual world to harm
real people. The horrors of recent shootings across America have reconciled
many to the idea that video game violence can contribute to such cold-hearted
atrocities. Practice makes perfect, and Adam Lanza had already completed 83,000
kills in online gaming before taking the first life at Sandy Hook Elementary
School.
But often the link
of violent media to increased crime and delinquency is made the critical factor
in this discussion. On account of studies5 which failed to identify
such a link, gamers hastily conclude that screen violence will not affect less
conspicuous psychological expressions. Though neither a necessary nor
sufficient cause for alleged societal woes, violent video game exposure is a
"causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition,
and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior."1
In summary, a growing
research base suggests that violent video game exposure has "lasting
deleterious effects on brain function and behavior"3 which
encourage aggression on an individual and ultimately societal level. Am I
arguing that one shouldn't play violent video games at all? On a personal
level, one must be convinced that this activity has no power to induce even
subconscious violent traits and harmful responses. On the contrary, for those
seeking a medium in which to express and cultivate such antisocial pathways,
violent video games will presumably continue to serve as an excellent platform.
In the above discussion (which is taken from an essay I wrote) I argued purely from a secular stance. There are clear scriptural reasons why a Christian should not partake in violent video gaming which I've not covered in this article. Just one scripture which speaks strongly on the subject is Psalm 11:5:
"The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence."
Works
Cited:
1. Anderson, Craig A., et al. "Violent video game effects
on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in eastern and western
countries: a meta-analytic review." Psychological
bulletin 136.2 (2010): 151.
2. Anderson, Craig A., and Karen E. Dill. "Video games and
aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior in the laboratory and in
life." Journal of
personality and social psychology 78.4
(2000): 772.
3.
Bartholow,
Bruce D., Brad J. Bushman, and Marc A. Sestir. "Chronic violent video game
exposure and desensitization to violence: Behavioral and event-related brain
potential data." Journal
of Experimental Social Psychology 42.4
(2006): 532-539.
4.
Bushman,
Brad J., and Jodi L. Whitaker. "Like a Magnet Catharsis Beliefs Attract
Angry People to Violent Video Games." Psychological
science 21.6 (2010): 790-792.
5. Ferguson, Christopher J. "Video games and youth
violence: A prospective analysis in adolescents." Journal of youth and adolescence 40.4 (2011): 377-391.
6. Huntemann, Nina, dir. Game
Over: Gender, Race & Violence in Video Games. Media Education Foundation, 2002. Film.
