Literature Review
Video Games continue to take the blame for many serious acts of violence in society.
Most commonly the games with high violence levels attracts a lot of negative attention.
‘The worst of these games- Doom, 007 golden eye, Duke Nukem, Postal, Quake, and redneck rampage- are also the most popular. (Grossman & Degaetano, 1999) These games are fun and also give players a sense of power and provides immediate reinforcement.’ (James Potter. W, 2003) Studies also suggest that exposure to violent video games may lead to desensitization to the real-life consequences of violence. (Baumgardner, n.d) and that young children often imitate the violence they see in the media. (Druin, 2001)
‘The worst of these games- Doom, 007 golden eye, Duke Nukem, Postal, Quake, and redneck rampage- are also the most popular. (Grossman & Degaetano, 1999) These games are fun and also give players a sense of power and provides immediate reinforcement.’ (James Potter. W, 2003) Studies also suggest that exposure to violent video games may lead to desensitization to the real-life consequences of violence. (Baumgardner, n.d) and that young children often imitate the violence they see in the media. (Druin, 2001)
Oppositely in the ten years following Doom’s release, homicide arrest rates fell by 77 percent among juveniles. School shootings remain extremely rare; even during the 1990s, when fears of school violence were high; students had less than a 7 in 10 million chance of being killed at school. During that time, video games became a major part of many young people’s lives, few of whom will ever become violent, let alone kill. (Sternheimer, 2007).
There is a great deal of conflicting evidence regarding the link between video games and violence yet the media continue to blame video games for the youth violence in society.
Hypothesis
The media often blames video games for the acts of violence in society. Are these accusations accountable or do video games produce any affect at all?
