Opposition Towards Violence in Video Games Essay - 1353 Words

According to Henry Jenkins, an American Media Scholar and professor at MIT, â€Å"young people in general are more likely to be gamers —90 percent of boys and 40 percent of girls play.† That is an overwhelming amount of young people. In recent years, there have been incidents such as the Columbine school shooting which have shown young people committing terrible acts of violence. In the case of the Columbine shooting, the teenagers who committed the shooting were both found to be avid players of a violent computer video game known as Doom (Ferguson, 26). This has raised lawmakers and concerned parents to begin opposing violence in video games. These people believe that video games (and violent video games in particular) can cause young people†¦show more content†¦While opposition to violence in video games believe that violent video games cause people to become desensitized to acts of unjustified violence, this study performed by these professors blatantly prov es that the opposition is wrong. For example, Florida lawyer Jack Thompson was an avid supporter of opposition against violence in video games. However, in 2008, Thompson was disbarred for his â€Å"extensive history of public misconduct† (Cavalli). Thompson, in reference to the mature-rated video game Grand Theft Auto IV, called the game â€Å"a murder simulator for violence against women, cops, and innocent bystanders† (Chalk). Using the information gained from this study, we could potentially develop games that use violence in video games to teach children the difference between what is right and what is wrong. With there being such a large percentage of young people playing violent video games, shouldn’t there be a large number of violent crimes being committed by these young people? That would just be common sense if violent video games actually had an adverse effect on young people. According to Christopher J. Ferguson and John Kilburn, researchers at Tex as AM International University, â€Å"The influence of VVGs [Violent Video Games] on serious acts of aggression or violence is minimal† (174). Remember that ninety percent of young boys play video games. Now let’s do some quick math here. Let’sShow MoreRelatedMultimedia Violence : A Grave Threat Of Teens Of The New Generation. Craig A. Anderson1585 Words   |  7 PagesMultimedia Violence : A Grave Threat to Teens of the New Generation Craig A. 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