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  • Essay / A controversial topic on video games as a cause of violence

    For years, violent video games have been blamed for immoral and shameful acts like school shootings and massacres. Famous researchers use fear to increase their greed; this behavior largely contributed to the panic by misinforming the public without the authors themselves suffering from the blissful ignorance of their consumers. Kreidler, a man who has written numerous scientific articles on media influence, explained how scientific evidence can either support, challenge, or misinform how media contributes to individuals and the world. Cases such as Christopher Harris, a man who was tried for the deaths of a family of five in 2013. Not only did the courts have forensic evidence against Harris, but they also had testimony from Harris' own brother . To place the blame on Harris, the defense chose to place the blame on the family's son, Dillen Constant. This strange tactic was briefly discussed due to expert testimony presented in court against Constant. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The expert said Constant was the offender because Constant did not do well in school, had uncontrollable needs like attention deficit disorder, and lastly, but not least, I owned violent video games. Kreider said in an article: "The expert in question admitted that he was not a clinical psychologist, that he did not hold any professional license, that he had not verified the information provided to him by the defense and that he failed to interview Dillen's surviving family or other witnesses." Although some people may be unaware of the harm they are committing by misinforming the public, causing outcry and panic; others, as in this case, use credibility to hold an advantage over the public and use it for their own or others' benefit. This is one of many examples that prove that sources we thought we could trust to keep the public safe and inform them of disastrous events can allow their selfish and insatiable desire to influence their judgment. Research, when you look up, is at two ends of a stick, with most in between trying to figure out what went wrong with their data and others so close to the end of the stick that the Understanding the other side of the research is out of reach. the question. Confusion over true theories about violent video games has been discussed as a highly controversial topic due to public concerns regarding the content of these games; however, more research and statistics show that many of these studies are flawed and not adequately documented. Experts and researchers make claims about the mental capacities of the public and users of violent video games; Statistics for the United States alone reveal that "1 in 5 American adults suffer from mental illness each year, 1 in 25 American adults suffer from serious mental illness each year, and 1 in 6 American youth aged 6 to 17 suffer from a mental health disorder every year. .” Usually, arguments based on this type of evidence suggest that people who cannot tell the difference between reality and fantasy will not understand that video game violence is not reality and will act based on this. that they see, but most of these people will have parents. or guards who can control what they play and watch. Restrictnot only confusing the minor, but also not giving them incorrect information, sources that parents and guardians can use are the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which reads video game ratings, limits the minors' access to video games based on age and maturity, learning from other families and how they control their minors' exposure, and finally, setting and respecting time limits for video games. All of these devices are free for public use and are encouraged to do so. Most are mandatory to show their target audience and what qualities their product has. This gives even more control to parents as they have the choice to decide if the game is still mature for their teen. Although this does not solve all the problems associated with being a parent or guardian, the tools, as mentioned above, allow parents to clearly know what situations are exposed to their minors when playing. A scholarly article was written by Ryan Halls to evaluate the Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association, a court case investigating whether states have the authority to impose certain restrictions on the free speech of minors by limiting the sale of video games violent. Hall recalls that eight states attempted to pass this legislation, but all were found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Halls also detailed a similar case study in the 1950s regarding public outrage over graphic comic books given to children and minors. Halls wrote in this article that "concerns were expressed that these comics would lead to a decline in public morals, an increase in violence and aggression, an increase in general lawlessness, as well as a lack of respect and a deterioration of society.” These two cases have in common the public indignation at the revelation of certain situations shown to minors. In both cases, the researchers said that violence, whether in video games or comic books, contributed to the aggressive behavior of minors, which would lead to even more violent acts, both supported and contested through statistics and evidence. Researcher Michele Zorrilla took a different approach than common experiences and tried to understand the gender roles of characters in video games and how they affect the player through different means. Through her understanding, Zorrilla discovered that "on the one hand, all participants, both men and women, saw violent images of men's aggressive behavior and sexually exploitative images of women's clothing and presented themselves as false because of the negative influences these images can have. on the attitudes and behavior of players. The research can be somewhat compared to the comic book crisis of the 1950s and how comic book characters portrayed women in derogatory ways. These events and the actions taken showed what appears to be the beginning of a never-ending cycle of blame throughout history. In today's society, as in the 1950s, people had to blame something they could not understand for the immoral acts happening around them. In 1950, it was comics, today's society is violent video games. Both cases share the involvement of minors being exposed to violence, trying to understand how it plays out in the minds of the players. An example of how history and modern society are linked is what Halls wrote in his article: "Many concerns that dominate the current debate.).