ABSTRACT
The popularity of video games in general and violent games in particular has skyrocketed. The extensive body of research on the effects of media violence serves as the foundation for the theoretical framework that hypothesis a link between aggressive behavior and the playing of violent video games. Theoretically, the effects of violence in video games should be stronger than those in other forms of media, such as movies and television. The research on the relationship between playing violent video games and aggressive behavior is reviewed in this essay. Also highlighted is the body of literature on how aggression is affected by virtual reality. The vast majority of studies show that playing violent video games increases players’ hostility and contributes to other aggression-related issues. However, a dearth of empirical evidence as well as a variety of
Keywords: violent video games, delinquency, violence, media, psychopathy
INTRODUCTION
Since video games first entered the market, they have been the focus of several moral discussions. Parents worry that they will cause their kids to act out and do bad things. Professionals in mental health are concerned about how they will affect psychological growth.
Nowadays, almost all young people in developed countries play video games, and this prevalence has raised concerns about the potential drawbacks of this pastime. Studies that surveyed members of the general public as well as scientists indicate that opinions on the effects of gaming on young people differ greatly depending on demographics and individual gaming experiences.
While some researchers come to the conclusion that gaming provides social and cognitive advantages, others contend that the medium contributes to mass shootings and has consistent, significant effects on aggressive behavior more generally. Children, teenagers, and even the elderly in our culture like playing video games more and more these days. They are the subject of several debates despite their immense appeal. Gaming disorder has recently been added to the World Health Organization’s list of mental health conditions. According to the organization, playing video games can be harmful if it severely interferes with people’s life in other ways, either directly or indirectly. Video games have a strong addictive factor. Like a moth to a flame, kids and teenagers are lured to video games. These games are intriguing, adventurous, and exciting. Each game takes the player on a vivid journey
Spending hours in an exciting fantasy world is a social drawback and promotes isolation. User decisions are influenced by the extreme fun of such games. This makes them more drawn to the fantasy world than the real world. Children who play video games online are exposed to many violent crimes. Children who are forbidden from playing such games frequently act out in an anger against their parents. Children may be drawn to more extreme criminal acts if they play video games that promote violent crime like shooting and murdering. The players take part in the games rather than just watching them.
The majority of people do not believe that playing violent video games or watching violent television in front of a 19-inch TV will make them, their children, or themselves violent. What makes video games so alluring is the excitement they contain. They provide all the imagined pleasures that are not attainable in reality. Children that play violent video games had higher levels of aggressive cognitions, aggressive behavior, psychological arousal, and antisocial behavior. Desensitization, which is characterized as “a decrease in emotion-related physiological reaction to true violence,” is another effect of playing violent video games. This means that if children are exposed to violence, they may grow up thinking that violence is the usual and develop accustomed to it. For instance, when children are exposed to violent material for the first time, they react with a lot of worry, but a subsequent exposure to the same or worse material does not have the same impact since they have grown numb to it. This poses a risk since it decreases the children’s tolerance to actual violence.
BODY
Children and teenagers now like playing video games more than ever. The popularity of these games has raised questions about the impact of violent video games on young people’s and adults’ decision-making processes, even while they provide enjoyable and escapist pleasure. A string of widely watched school shootings over the past ten years have exacerbated this discussion. This essay examines how children and teenagers are exposed to this relatively new kind of media and overview of the emergence of violence in video games. It also looks at a theory that attempts to explain how violence in relation to video games is processed cognitively and through decision-making. Video game violence increases a child’s risk of aggressiveness and stress. Additionally, it harms society by escalating conflict and violence and producing a lack of safety and security. Violent video games damage children’s personalities and make them more likely to behave aggressively against others.
Case study
Pakistan: Minor boy kills mother, 3 siblings ‘under the influence’ of PUBG
Lahore: According to police in this city, the capital of Pakistan’s Punjab province, a 14-year-old boy shot and killed his entire family, including his mother and two younger sisters, while reportedly “under the influence” of the online game PUBG.
Nahid Mubarak, a 45-year-old health worker, was found dead along with her 22-year-old son Taimur and two daughters aged 17 and 11 in Lahore’s Kahna area last week. The only member of the family to survive, her teenage son, who was unharmed, turned out to be the murderer, according to authorities. “Under the influence of the game, the PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds) addict boy admitted to killing her mother and siblings. Due to his prolonged daytime gaming sessions, he has experienced some psychological concerns, according to the statement. He, the boy was so into the game, that he could not think straight.
According to the police, Nahid was divorced and frequently reprimanded the youngster for putting less emphasis on his education and spent more time playing PUBG. Nahid reprimanded the youngster for the matter the day of the incident. Later, the child pulled her mother’s gun out of a cabinet and killed her and his three other siblings as they were sleeping.
The youngster raised an alarm the following morning, and the neighbors phoned the police. According to the statement, the youngster at the time told authorities that he was on the upper floor of the house and was unaware of how his family had been killed. The legal firearm was purchased by Nahid for the safety of her family, according to the police, who also stated that the youngster had put the gun in a drain where it has yet to be found.
They claimed to have found the suspect’s blood-stained shirt.
This is the fourth such crime associated with the online game in Lahore, according to a story in the Dawn daily. In order to save lives, time, and the future of millions of youngsters, then-capital city police officer Zulfiqar Hameed had advocated for a game ban after the first incidence came to light in 2020.
In the past two years, three teenage PUBG gamers have committed suicide, and according to police reports, the game is to blame for their deaths.
Gaming disorder is now recognized as an illness by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the International Classification of Diseases. A pattern of behavior known as gaming disorder is characterized by impaired control over gaming (digital or video), increasing priority given to gaming over other pursuits to the point where gaming trumps other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is reasonable to state that kids’ conduct is significantly impacted by violent video games. They frequently engage in violent behavior outside of school, lose interest in social activities, gain weight and experience a variety of related health issues, brag about trivial accomplishments rather than their achievements in academics and extracurricular activities, and most importantly, spend a lot of time engaging in activities that are more detrimental than beneficial. The government should take strong action to stop the manufacturing of violent video games or at the very least declare them off-limits to children and teenagers. In this case, parents play a crucial role and should accompany teenagers to the store in order to ensure that their children do not buy any harmful things. Addiction to gaming can lead to severe and fatal circumstances. Parents should limit their children’s use of mobile phones so they are not addicted to it and should encourage them to play physical outdoor games.
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