Videogames and Violence
In 1979 the United
States was vehemently attacked by aliens from outer space, an event that was to
forever change life on our planet. The
release of Space Invaders for the Atari Video Computing System became an
instant hit. Kids stopped listening to music, playing sports or going to movies,
choosing instead to defend the nation from alien attack, from the safety of
their television sets. The success of Space
Invaders launched the video game revolution as the demand for 
personal game consoles soared (Atari). Videogames soon became the preferred leisure activity
for children, forcing parents and critics to question the possiblibility of ill
effects. With the advent of new
technology, parents have even more reason to be concerned today. On October 26th of 2001, Sony
released its Playstation 2 
game
console to the public. It features a 300mhz processor with 32 megabytes of RAM
and 42 sound channels. Compare this to
Atari's 1.19mhz processor with 4k of ROM and mono sound, and it is easy to
conclude that today's systems deliver lifelike sound and graphics. Unfortunately these advancements in
technology and gaming quality have been utilized into creating games that more
often than not contain highly violent plots, action, and graphics, forcing
critics to once again question the ethics behind such games.
Three students were killed at a Kentucky high school in 1997 by 14-year-old gunman Michael Carneal. Testimony was given in a Congressional hearing on violence in videogames that Michael's only experience with handguns came from playing video games (Rattiner). On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launched an assault on their schoolmates of Columbine High School, murdering 13 and wounding 23 before turning the guns on themselves. Although the motive for the assault is unknown, one possible contributing factor was violent videogames. Harris and Klebold regularly played the popular fist-person shooter game Doom, a game licensed by the U.S. military to train soldiers to effectively kill. A version of Doom was found on Harris' website that had been customized so that there are two shooters, each with extra weapons and unlimited ammunition. For a school project Harris and Klebold made a videotape similar to their modified version of Doom, in which their enemies were school athletes. Less than a year later they acted out their performance in real life (Anderson).
Stories such as these raise
many ethical questions. Why are
videogames so violent? And, perhaps more centrally, what cultural values do
computer games communicate to their users.
These questions have sparked a surge of recent studies to test the
effects of video games on youth. 
A study buy Calvert and Tan (1994) compared the effects of playing versus observing violent video games on young adults' arousal levels, hostile feelings, and aggressive thoughts. College students who had played a violent virtual reality game had a higher heart rate, reported more dizziness and nausea, and exhibited more aggressive thoughts in a posttest than those who had played a nonviolent game (Cesarone).
Irwin and Gross (1995) performed a test on second-grade boys to identify the effects of playing an "aggressive" versus "non-aggressive" videogames. Boys who had played the aggressive game, compared to those who had played the non-aggressive game, displayed more verbal and physical aggression to inanimate objects and playmates during a subsequent play session (Cesarone).
Kirsh (1997) also investigated the effects of playing a violent versus a nonviolent video game on third and fourth graders. After playing these games they were asked questions about a hypothetical story. On three of six questions, the children who had played the violent game responded more negatively about the harmful actions of a story character whose intent was ambiguous than did the other children. These results suggest that playing violent video games may make children more likely to attribute hostile intentions to others (Cesarone).
Based on a review of
video game research in the 1980s and 1990s, Funk, Germann, and Buchman (1997)
state that there is insufficient research to support strong causal statements
about the effects of playing violent video games on children's aggression. They
note, however, that the studies that monitored behavior to measure aggression
suggest that there is some increase in aggression after children play or watch
violent games (Cesarone '94 ).
Many critics argue that videogames are not all bad, claiming they offer several benefits. They contend that it is better for a child to actively play video games than to passively watch television. In addition, video games may help children develop certain problem solving skills that they might not otherwise achieve. Also, videogames might also encourage social interaction. Children usually find themselves on the same skill level when it comes to video games. When a child owns a PC or a videogame system, it opens up opportunities for him or her to invite other kids to play, therefore enhancing or forming friendships (Choi).
There are several possible courses of action. The first would be to have no regulations on the content of videogame, leaving the decision up to game manufacturers. This solution has several problems because it gives no advanced warning to parents or children to whether or not there is adult language and content. This would be taking a step backwards. This also does not seem to be a productive solution since most people agree that some change needs to take place.
The second option is to develop a rating system, similar to those that already exist for movies and music. In fact, there are several such systems already in place. The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) produced a rating system in which game products are rated by independent raters. The ratings include five age-based categories: Everyone, Early Childhood, Teen, Mature, and Adults Only. The Recreational Software Advisory Council (RSAC) developed a content-based system, derived from manufacturers' responses to a complex questionnaire. For each product, a score of 0 (lowest) to 4 (highest) is provided for categories of violence, nudity/sex, and language (Choi).
The current problem right now is that these systems have little backbone and they are not enforced. For them to be effective, strict control over the sale and rental of violent games should be implemented, similar to the sales of cigarettes. Dealers and renters shuold be required to perform ID checks to ensure that the purchaser or renter is of legal age.
Extremist would like to see the government get involved. They would presumably regulate the content of video games. In this way, the content of violence in video games would drastically be lowered. The obvious counter to this argument is that this is pure censorship. Freedom of speech is protected by the Constitution and the government has no authority to get involved (Rattiner).
For now the best approach is for parents to
become involved and familiar with their children's videogame habits, much the
same way as they monitor what and how much television they watch. Parents can manage their children's
videogame experience by knowing the content of their children's games,
discussing the content with them, paying attention to the ratings, observing
their children while playing, and establishing guidelines such as limiting
playing time. Most children get their
games from their parents, making them responsible for the content of the games.
In the aftermath of incidents such as Columbine, attacks on music, movies, and videogames became more prevalent. With videogame systems now beginning to deliver lifelike sounds and graphics, now is the time for action. Videogame manufacturers should promote content awareness before the government steps in and fund an add campaign directed at parents to educate them about ratings. In cases such as Columbine, there is a natural desire to find answers. Unfortunately this can often turn into an exercise in pointing fingers and doling out blame and it is important to be careful not to jump to conclusions. Videogames do not insight violence in youth. Instead they make violent people more violent.
Works Cited
Anderson,
Craig A., Dill, Karen E. "Video Games
and Aggressive Thoughts, Feelings, and Behavior in the Laboratory and in
Life." Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology. Vol. 78, No. 4, 772-790. April 2000.
http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp784772.html
http://retrogamer.merseyworld.com/atari2.htm
Cesarone, Bernard. "Video Games and Children. ERIC Digest." ERIC. 1994
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed365477.html
Cesarone, Bernard. "Video Games: Research, Ratings, Recommendations." ERIC. November 1998.
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed365477.html
Choi, Suzanne. "Computer Games
and Violence: A Child's Friend or Foe?"
University of Calgary
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dabrent/380/webproj/sue.html
Rattiner, Marlen. "Video Game Violence." About.com 29 March 2000
http://videogames.about.com/games/videogames/library/weekly/aa032900a.htm